Trilliant, IBM join forces to help utilities smart up their grids

August 24, 2009 | Camille Ricketts | Comments | |

show_logoTrilliant, provider of radio transmission devices and networks that allow smart meters to wirelessly beam energy consumption data between utilities and their customers, has become the newest of IBM’s partners in its smart grid efforts.

Trilliant will be integrating its software, called UnitySuite, with two of IBM’s software products, WebSphere and Tivoli. The result should help utilities scale their smart meter rollouts much faster and more securely, Trilliant says. The deal gives IBM rights to a wider array of smart grid offerings, while endowing Trilliant with the firepower of a major IT company. No financial terms have been released.

The two companies will also work together to create and share industry standards to encourage interoperability between smart grid projects. This is something IBM has taken a keen interest in of late, as other big players like Intel and Cisco have joined consortia to develop workable standards. The company will also benefit from the more than 200 utilities Trilliant counts as customers.

In May of this year, IBM sunk $2 billion into the smart grid space to help both startups and utilities develop related projects (that’s nearly half the amount earmarked by the government for these initiatives). Its goal was to provide enough in low-rate loans and structured lines of credit to make companies more appealing to the U.S. Department of Energy’s smart grid stimulus program. The DOE has since collected a first round of applications for this money, and will take in another round later this month. Utility recipients should be notified later this fall. By supporting companies vying for federal support IBM could find itself at the front of the pack depending on which utilities win out, and which technology they opt to use.

Redwood City, Calif.-based Trilliant is a venture-backed company that has raised $40 million to date from MissionPoint Capital Partners, Zouk Ventures and others. The last time VentureBeat reported on the company, it had just acquired SkyPilot Networks, a providor of mesh broadband coverage.

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About the Author, Camille Ricketts

Camille is the lead writer for GreenBeat. She came to VentureBeat from Google where she worked on its traditional platforms team, particularly in TV. Before that, she was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York and London. Follow her on Twitter at @camillericketts, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

With GreenBeat 2009, VentureBeat's all-star conference on all things Smart Grid, coming up in November, Camille will be expanding coverage of this exciting space. Stay up to date by following @greenbeat2009 on Twitter or by becoming a fan of the event on Facebook here.

  • Jake Cashman
    Trilliant is, in a word a LAME DUCK! They missed their chance to "smarten" the grid when they tried, and failed, to make their 'network' talk intelligently with other devices out there. When are these companies going to realize that they should report NEWSWORTHY news, like a DEAL - not just that they have found a new partner to suck their resources dry, and to make something out of nothing. Trilliant needs a warm injection of people who care, who are passionate and who can actually get products into the marketplace that work TODAY....Not just a year or two from now. Good luck there, IBM! You'll need it - and another $2M to invest in companies worth investing in, like Current, or Itron - oh, wait, they aren't in need of any capital!!!
  • Santhana Krishnasamy
    I think the author meant to say "IBM sunk $2 billion...." not $2 million.