A new agreement between GE and Google will integrate Google Maps data into GE's Smallworld electrical, telecommunications and gas applications. The companies say this collaboration will help utilities increase productivity based on the ability to visualize and analyze their data with GE's Smallworld product suite.
The combined solution will enhance existing network-visualization capabilities and will allow utility customers to receive incremental efficiency and productivity of operations in the field. By enhancing the ability to visualize data on a map, the companies say utility customers will be able to quickly provide their end-use customers with important information, such as outage restoration times, and will help to more efficiently manage their network assets.
According to the companies, Google’s mapping content will form an integral part of GE’s solutions, strengthening the existing geospatial capabilities of GE’s Smallworld products by providing base mapping as well as visualization and analytics capabilities. GE’s distribution management systems and outage management systems also will utilize Google’s mapping content in the context of operational control of electricity networks. Notably, for field operators, GE will utilize Google’s Android platform to augment its existing portfolio of mobile products. The new portable solution will integrate Google Maps, providing better contextual information to users in the field.
"By using Google Maps and our API offering, GE is providing its customers with the advantage of a simple and intuitive user interface. Because so many people already know how to use Google Maps, this allows GE’s Smallworld technology to be an even more powerful enterprise solution,” says Tarun Bhatnagar, director of Google Geo Enterprise. “Both GE and Google have a heritage of innovation, and we look forward to working together to provide new ways to use and visualize data on a map.”
