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Data Management Keeping Pace With Data Management Evolution How to harness technology and information to overcome modern municipal challenges wateronline.com ■ Water Online The Magazine 32 A ccording to the Water Research Foundation, the volume of data generated by water/wastewater utilities is doubling every three years with increas- ing automation and adoption of new systems and applications. Simultaneously, operators are retiring at an unprecedented rate, leading to a tremendous loss in knowl- edge and experience. The recent economic downturn cre- ated a third stress point, asking utilities to do more with less, in spite of infrastructure challenges. Fortunately, the Internet, tablet-based computing, and various wireless technologies are providing operators and utilities with a new set of tools to tackle the challenges at hand. The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with a cursory overview of the data management evolution taking place today, rec- ognizing that we are in the early stages of this transformation and that many professionals are still in discovery mode. Recent Technical Evolution Leveraging The Cloud — Until recently, the two biggest hurdles small and midsize utili- ties faced when it came to IT projects were hardware and software costs. With the introduction of cloud-based solutions, the point of entry to undertake IT projects has dropped significantly, leading to more cost- effective alternatives. In the case of cloud-based solutions, the utility has the option to hire a third party to manage its software and hardware risks through a hosted solution. In doing so, the data generated by the utility can securely reside off-site. The immediate benefit for small-to-midsize utilities is a lower-cost solution, because hosting vendors are able to spread their costs over a larger number of customers, providing significant economies of scale. Be aware, however, that not all cloud solutions are identical, and the market offers public, private, and hybrid clouds with varying feature-sets and associated capital and maintenance costs. Utilities will need to carefully evaluate their internal corporate, compliance, and security policies before adopting a specific path. Additionally, for a utility, not all systems should be made available over the Internet. For security reasons, utilities are advised to keep operational control systems such as SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) off the Web, using desktop-oriented client/server technology. The recom- mended practice is to dissociate enterprise data management systems from operational and plant-critical platforms. Under this configuration, data is pushed with no direct link among systems. In other words, SCADA systems should be managed separately from enterprise data management platforms, the first providing real-time operational control and the second near-real-time operational oversight focusing on business and operational intelligence. The following table outlines a high-level comparison between Web-based and client/server systems. In the coming years, utilities will continue to leverage both technologies. Building An Integrated Data Management Vision — Other key innovations taking place are shaping the future of the industry. The vision proposed by Biju George, Greater Cincinnati Water Works general manager, is a fully integrated solution bringing together wireless tech- nologies, field data collection improvements, and math- ematical and predictive engineering models. A set of tar- geted services for the utility manager to help operate the plant in an optimal mode is built around this. Hardware and software innovations are, once again, among the key building blocks to this vision. Wireless Technologies: While meter companies have under- gone tremendous changes in the last few years by combining drive-by and fixed network solutions, the most groundbreak- ing innovation is yet to come. Companies such as Qualcomm are starting to integrate smartphone technology into meters, enabling utilities to leverage existing cellular networks as a means of pushing data. Soon, 3G smart meter technologies will be integrated in pH meters, turbidity meters, and most online analyzers. The immediate benefit of such technologies will be a lower By Dr. Bruno Levine Categories Web-Based Client/Server-Based Interface Web browser Operating system User requirements Internet access Hardware and software Benefits Accessible anywhere; scal- able, low cost Faster and more powerful; established technology Challenge Cybersecurity Enterprise implementation and maintenance cost Delivery mechanism Software as a Service (SaaS) Software acquistion/license 3 2 _ V E R T _ 0 2 1 4 E Z i n e _ F L O W a t c h _ D G . i n d d 1 32_VERT_0214 EZine_FLOWatch_DG.indd 1 2 / 3 / 2 0 1 4 4 : 2 2 : 0 3 P M 2/3/2014 4:22:03 PM