The power networks of the world utilize technologies that were first introduced over a century ago, during the late Victorian period. Many existing transmission networks were designed and built during the 1940s, '50s, and '60s and still operate in an environment that lacks the advanced information and communications technologies that enable grid operators to manage their networks efficiently, reliably, and cost-effectively. Today's "smart grid" requires the use of ultra-high-speed data processing, computation, network modeling, and analytical tools to function effectively.

Worldwide smart grid investment by utilities was approximately $24 billion in 2012, and that figure is expected to increase substantially over the next two decades. Spending on smart grid software constitutes a growing component of this investment trend, with GTM Research (the research arm of Greentech Media) forecasting that global spending on smart-grid-related analytics and software will exceed $20 billion between 2012 and 2020, reaching $3.8 billion annually in the year 2020.

Enter Nexant. As a global provider of intelligent grid software and clean energy solutions headquartered in San Francisco, Nexant has been a leading developer of innovative energy software applications and platforms designed to make the electric power grid more secure, reliable, and efficient.

Under the able guidance of Founder and CEO Basem Sarandah and Chairman Arjun Gupta, Founder of TeleSoft Partners, the company is pioneering, developing, and advancing electric power grid and alternative energy technologies and services. Enjoying a sweet spot by providing effective solutions across the energy value chain, Nexant's solutions help utilities, power producers, and retailers improve operational and financial efficiency, reduce risk, and enhance customer engagement. The company also provides strategic, operational, and technical advisory services to utilities, grid operators, energy resource companies, and major petrochemical players.

Nexant has been a success story since its inception. Over the last five years, company revenues have nearly tripled, from approximately $60 million in 2007 to over $165 million in 2012, with a forecast of over $200 million for 2013 and annual growth rates of 25+ percent.

Nexant is a leader in the innovative strategy and planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of many of the largest commercial, industrial, and residential DSM and energy efficiency programs in North America. The Nexant iEnergy platform transforms the way utilities launch and manage entire portfolios of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and demand side management (DSM) programs.

Nexant's Genesis

Founded in 2000 as an energy solutions company, Nexant's industry experience and expertise largely resided in the company's seasoned professionals. Capturing this knowledge and embedding it in reliable, first-of-a-kind software applications and standardized energy efficiency services and products became the company’s primary objective.

During 2007-08 Arjun, a veteran Silicon Valley VC, was contemplating the major changes he saw developing in power networks around the world. "Like the transition in IT, which went from a monolithic network of large mainframes to an even larger distributed network with millions of very small devices, I thought a similar transition would occur in power networks too," he says.

Arjun is known for finding high-value companies with promising teams that can be molded into becoming the industry leaders in their respective sectors. One of Arjun's TeleSoft's Directors, Paul Unruh, was well acquainted with Basem and Nexant and put the two in touch. "At the end of my very first breakfast meeting with Arjun, he verbally committed to investing in Nexant," reflects Basem. The two immediately began focusing on how to turn Nexant from an energy consulting and services firm into an energy software company.

Arjun and Basem developed a new and comprehensive strategy for transforming Nexant into a major energy industry software provider. They worked on capturing Nexant's extensive industry expertise and converting it into robust software applications and platforms that could be offered as standard, scalable products as well as configured to meet the specific needs of the company's diverse energy client base.

TeleSoft's investment in Nexant also marked a shift away from investing in conventional technology and communications to investing in the new grid technologies that enable transmission and distribution networks to function more intelligently. Although TeleSoft Partners is Nexant's lead investor, Nexant has raised over $80 million to date from investors such as TeleSoft, Oak Investment Partners, The Beacon Group, Intel Capital, R&K Wadhwani Trust, Nth Power, Morgan Stanley Global Energy Group, and Frog & Peach Investments.

Nexant's Revolutionary Software Platforms

Nexant's software is used in 120 control centers worldwide and its software engines are embedded in energy management systems produced by GE, Toshiba, ABB, and others. "By enabling those energy management systems with our technology, users manage power flow calculations in real time thereby helping to ensure the reliability and integrity of their power supply," says Basem.

Nexant has also launched several additional platforms including Nexant iEnergyTM and Nexant Grid360TM.

Nexant iEnergy is a revolutionary cloud-based, demand side management (DSM) platform that enables utilities and their customers, trade allies, and regulators to interact and manage energy efficiency programs. Utilities can streamline their business processes to develop, launch, and manage an entire portfolio of energy efficiency, renewable energy and DSM programs faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.

Utilities adopting the Nexant iEnergy platform can achieve significant reductions in administrative costs while managing their portfolios more effectively. The Nexant iEnergy solution automates the end-to-end energy efficiency and DSM business processes—from back office operations to market engagement with end customers and utility trade allies.

Nexant iEnergy transforms the way utilities manage energy efficiency and DSM programs and business operations to meet compliance and reporting requirements and reduce operating costs, saving energy and reducing risks such as disallowance, errors, audits, and adoption delays.

On the electric power transmission and distribution side, Nexant recently introduced the first component of its new Nexant Grid360 platform, Grid360 Distribution Manager—an advanced network modeling and simulation application that utilizes advanced modeling, error correction, state estimation, and power flow software—enabling power system engineers to build, monitor, analyze, and perform "what if" scenarios in a collaborative environment. It is built with a highly sophisticated N-tier open architecture to easily address security, interoperability, extensibility, and scalability.

In addition to Nexant iEnergy and Nexant Grid360, the company also offers Nexant iHedge®, the industry’s leading energy market platform that is deployed at independent system operators, regional transmission operators, and power pools.

For utility customer care and complex billing, Nexant's RevenueManager® is a fully integrated, customer care, billing, and contract management software platform that simplifies complex billing, pricing, and settlement for utility residential, commercial, and industrial energy users.

A Nexant iEnergy Success Story

A major North American gas distributor was facing various business challenges, including managing multiple energy efficiency programs of different types with no central system to collect and manage program information; lack of visibility across its DSM program portfolio; and difficulty in enforcing business rules and validating program data from implementation contractors with speed and accuracy.

Nexant is helping the distributor's energy efficiency program address these business needs by deploying its Nexant iEnergy platform to manage programs; enforce business rules via a centralized system of record; provide audit trails for all program data and processes; streamline project application, approval, and validation; and ensure data integrity and improved customer satisfaction.

The gas distributor's energy efficiency program has benefited from improved validation and management of program data using a central database, automated tracking and reporting of program performance, and improved program visibility. Additionally, Nexant iEnergy has enabled streamlined report generation and dissemination to stakeholders and regulators, and increased efficiency of program administration and management.

Nexant India

Nexant's vision of promoting the use of energy-efficient technologies across the globe has brought it to India. The company has been chosen by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to lead the agency's Partnership to Advance Clean Energy - Deployment (PACE-D) technical assistance project in India.

"The single largest project we have right now is in India and focuses on accelerating the use of energy efficiency and clean energy technologies in the Indian subcontinent. It is aimed at developing local capabilities to replicate the technologies that have been tested and proven in the U.S.," explains Basem.

PACE-D is also designed to develop financing mechanisms to enable India to deploy clean energy and energy efficiency technologies on a much wider scale.

The PACE-D platform will enable public and private stakeholders to develop, test, validate, and commercialize innovative technologies for the growing low-carbon market. It will also help U.S. and Indian clean energy developmental partners to overcome common business challenges and barriers to deliver environmental, social, and economic benefits from clean energy deployment.

"We will select a specific area in India and will look at the best energy- efficient technology that can be adopted for the commercial sector. For example, to promote the use of mobile energy efficiency controls, we will identify the technologies and equipment required to deploy the technology and will partner with local Indian manufacturers and engineering companies to implement the best solution," Arjun adds.