There was a LOT of great activity today in San Diego at DistribuTECH! The day started with a Keynote session from industry executives Jeff Martin and Ted Craver, sharing their insights followed by future prognostications from renowned physicist Dr. Michio Kaku.
Both Mr. Martin, CEO of SDG&E, and Mr. Craver, CEO of Edison International, described their commitment to a greener energy future, accepting the challenges of adding more renewable sources of power to their respective utilities. Attendees left the session more prepared to welcome the inevitable challenges and opportunities that come with this changing landscape. The best part of the keynote for me was the acknowledgement of how the industry is going to change more in the next ten years than it has in the previous 100 years.
After the session, all attendees, including myself, were ready to gear up for what’s next by attending and learning from the various workshops and sessions planned throughout the day. The afternoon kicked-off with conference sessions along with concurrent product workshops and demos on the exhibit floor. The conference session topics ranged from advanced metering to water utility technology, but I was particularly interested in sessions on security, grid automation and the policy discussion on renewables and transmission. These areas are at the heart of the industry transformation. Regulation of the industry needs to change just as much as the industry needs to change.
Product workshops and demonstrations are always a big draw for our customers and one of my personal highlights from this event. As my colleague Peter mentioned in his last blog, Cisco’s booth doesn’t disappoint! Our featured solutions include Field Area Networks, Substation Automation, Secure Ops Solutions and our FirePOWER threat defense.
The day came to close with the opening reception on the exhibit floor. This networking event provided us a great opportunity to meet with customers and hear their top challenges first hand. The overwhelming feedback was positive and customers are looking to Cisco for how to deal with legacy equipment, security threats, and the new capabilities required by grid transformation.
All good things must come to an end but thankfully for us, it’s just the beginning! The Cisco team is looking forward to another packed day Wednesday, beginning with breakfast round table discussions starting at 7:30am. If you haven’t already, make sure to stop by Cisco Booth #3413 in the exhibit hall and check back tomorrow for another daily recap from your Cisco team, live at DistribuTECH!
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