| | JANUARY 20166E ERGYTech ReviewLocation awareness can improve user experience, but knowing a user's preferences and specific environment makes for a more powerful proposition. That is where mobile apps and devices can tap into this information, to create relevant experiences for consumers. The Energy Industry has today arrived upon this critical realization. Privatization of government-owned utilities, competition for wholesale and even retail customers, and mergers and acquisitions have added new elements of risk to the management of these respective bodies. No longer are energy and water service providers able to rely on regulatory protection of territory and customers. New tools and strategies are required for capital-intensive companies to stay competitive in the marketplace. Better use of spatial data is one of the key areas of focus. It focuses on automated mapping, facilities management, and geographical information systems (AM/FM/GIS). Critical utility applications include map-editing, creation of map products, facility query and display, design/work order processing, network modeling, and executive information systems.Major investments need to be made in society's utility supply lines; water mains, sewage systems, and telephone lines amongst others. Often the geographic location is recorded on inferior quality maps. Certainty of supply, environmental protection, and efficiency of operations, however, require good basic data. By next year, 40 percent of smartphone users will opt-in to context service providers that track their activities. Utilities and energy firms, in particular, stand to gain from these trends.These apps and devices are only scratching the surface. Currently, all of them require at least some user intervention or prompting. Eventually, we will see smarter applications that can infer more about a user, digging deeper into their interests and preferences, and learning from mistakes. Energy Tech Review has come up with a list of the `Top 10 Vendors to Watch in Mobile and Location Aware Technology 2016'--a list of companies that are at the forefront of tackling the burgeoning challenges in the Energy Space. Let us know your thoughts.EditorialMobile Intelligence and Location Awareness Technologies: The Way to GoCopyright © 2016 ValleyMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine and accordingly, no liability is assumed by the publisher thereof. E ERGYTech Review JANUARY - 2016, Vol 06 - Issue 04Published by ValleyMedia, Inc. To subscribe to Energy Tech ReviewVisit www.energytechreview.com SalesRich Gonsalvesrich@energytechreview.comVisualizersScott JuasyManaging EditorCharlotte Smith*Some of the Insights are based on the interviews with respective CIOs and CXOs to our editorial staffEditorial StaffAaron Pierce Ava GarciaVian IsaacJoshua Parker Kenny PeruzziCharlotte SmithManaging Editoreditor@energytechreview.comE ERGYTech Review
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