Blue Pillar, the only IoT provider to connect all Energy Things, today announced the availability of its Aurora 5.0 platform, allowing service providers to increase reliability during power outages. With upgrades to cybersecurity, scalability and data management, the updated Aurora 5.0 platform expands Blue Pillar’s market leadership in helping businesses that rely on critical infrastructure be more productive and energy efficient.

For providers of critical infrastructure services, energy downtime can be the difference between profit and loss — or even life and death. Organizations providing critical infrastructure services, including telecom companies, government agencies, hospitals, universities and data centers, must maintain services even during power outages. And, because these organizations are also large consumers of energy, it is crucial they find ways to make everyday operations more energy efficient. Fa cing a slate of grid failures which grew six-fold[1] from 2000-2013, increased energy costs, and a workforce that has an expected 50 percent retirement[2] rate over the next 10 years, critical infrastructure providers must automate the process of collecting and controlling operational data while reducing energy consumption. 

“New IoT technologies improve everything from how we live to how we work and these capabilities are desperately needed within the energy industry. Without IoT, energy information that is instrumental to the success of the business remains trapped inside siloed systems and must be manually obtained through expensive truck rolls or time-consuming facility walk-throughs,” said Tom Willie, CEO of Blue Pillar. “Blue Pillar’s Aurora Energy Network of Things™ platform automates manual processes with universal connectivity and control of all emergency power and energy assets. Our customers have peace of mind knowing that when the grid goes down, their services will remain uninterrupted and real-time data and control will also help lower energy bills.”

Aurora is the only IoT platform capable of connecting any Energy Thing behind-the-meter that measures, generates, switches or stores energy. By connecting all these Energy Things into a single platform with automated real-time monitoring and control, businesses can avoid outages while improving energy efficiency.

“Blue Pillar has been a fast-growing leader in the behind-the-meter nanogrid, microgrid and virtual power plant space in terms of total on-line capacity,” said Peter Asmus of Navigant Research. “Adding stronger security, scalability and data management into the Aurora platform will be fundamental as more facilities and service providers connect a more diverse set of energy assets to strengthen infrastructure resiliency and avoid grid failures.”

New enhancements to the Aurora 5.0 platform include:

Built-in end-to-end cybersecurity

Aurora 5.0 now includes several advanced features that extend the platform’s industry-leading security defenses. An automated defense-in-depth approach allows service providers to have built-in security from the sensor to the cloud. Third-party cybersecurity assessors have independently attested to Aurora’s best-in-breed architecture, which encrypts all data and authenticates all devices with keys that rotate every 30 minutes. The platform also logs access records, enabling companies to quickly monitor and respond to any threats. A whitepaper explaining this enhanced security approach is available for download.

Scalable to a global footprint

Aurora’s data aggregation model makes it easy to scale globally. The platform now enables integration with public and private cloud-based service with distributed data storage and support for multiple time zones. This provides the scalability needed to support multi-site deployments in geographically dispersed regions. Whether small facilities with limited-to-no IT infrastructure or vast campus environments, Aurora 5.0 automatically prescribes a best-fit network to reduce costs and eliminate complexities when integrating distributed sites.

Smarter data management

Energy data collection can generate enormous amounts of raw unintelligible data. Aurora 5.0 optimizes data collection with a storage methodology that puts big data on a diet. This approach accelerates access to information and insights while reducing storage and wireless communications costs for unmatched performance and out-of-the-box data management excellence 

Learn more about Aurora 5.0 at Grid Edge World Forum or download new e-book

Blue Pillar CEO Tom Willie will discuss the new Aurora platform update as well as large trends affecting critical and complex facilities on a panel discussion of “Large Electricity Customers: Pivoting from Efficiency and Self-Generation to Engaged Grid Participant” at GTM Grid Edge World Forum 2016 on June 22, 2016, in San Jose, California. Blue Pillar has also released a new e-book in their Energy Network of Things series entitled: “Protecting Revenue Generating Services with Energy IoT” which is currently available for download.

For more information, visit bluepillar.com.