IBM Corp. might not carry the same kind of clout in the public cloud as rivals such as Amazon Web Services Inc. and Microsoft Corp., but it’s managing to compete in specific niche industries where its unique artificial intelligence and data analytics capabilities can make all the difference.

Such is the case with Smart Energy Water, which has just agreed a multimillion-dollar deal to move some of its most critical workloads to IBM’s cloud from another leading cloud platform. SEW, which provides customer engagement, workforce engagement and big data analytics services to energy and utilities companies, said it’s moving to IBM’s cloud in order to take advantage of Big Blue’s highly specialized AI, data analytics and “internet of things” capabilities.

The idea is that it can tap into these services in order to help its customers ensure that the energy they provide is used more efficiently. To do this, SWE provides services to help companies manage their energy grids more effectively. It also sells smart meter tools that help consumers to keep tabs on their own energy use more easily.

IBM reckons its expertise is valuable to energy sector companies like SEW because many are struggling to move applications and workloads from on-premises environments to the clouds. That’s because the energy industry is one of the most heavily regulated in the world, and most companies simply don’t know where to begin, it said.

IBM’s claims are backed by the large number of energy firms with which it has recently partnered. For example, it’s working with TenneT Holding B.V.’s subsidiary TenneT Energy, which provides power to customers in Germany and the Netherlands. IBM is helping TenneT to build a blockchain platform on its cloud that will be able to manage the provider’s electricity grid more effectively, helping it to reduce the cost of delivering power from fluctuating renewable energy sources.

Other IBM partners in the energy industry include Ista UK Solutions Ltd., which uses its cloud to host an interactive energy metering and billing platform. There’s also Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc., which relied on IBM’s expertise to abide by industry regulations when migrating to its cloud platform.

So far this year, IBM has signed more than $3 billion worth of new cloud contracts, including new customers such as BNP Paribas S.A., Juniper Networks Inc. and the Bank of the Philippine Islands.

Photo: SEW/Facebook