Energy Trading Market To Grow By 30% During 2002-2006, Energy Insights Research Reveals
Jun 27 - Business Wire
High commodity prices and volatility are driving growth in energy trading as producers try to maximize their market share and profitability and buyers attempt to control their energy costs and risks, reveals a new study published by Energy Insights, an IDC company.
"Elevated prices and increased instability in energy commodity are
driving increased activity in energy trading and risk management," said
Jill Feblowitz, program director for Energy Insights' Energy Wholesale
Strategies research program. "For the last two years, IT investments have
shifted from the front office to the middle and back offices, mostly in response
to regulatory pressure. Although this focus is likely to continue throughout
2005, additional trends within the industry indicate a swing of the pendulum
away from risk avoidance and toward revenue opportunities."
Energy Insights believes that for users of technology to take advantage of
the growth in the energy market, they should make an effort to understand how
best-in-class companies, which may be their competitors, are utilizing
technology to their advantage. Technology users will want to assess how wide the
gap is between themselves and their competitors as well as what it takes to
close the gap.
Among the recommendations this document provides for vendors of technology is
the importance of easy integration of applications with products from other
vendors, especially enterprise resource planning systems. Although application
suites are attractive to energy trading companies with small trading volumes,
they are not complex nor complete enough to meet the needs of integrated
utilities and integrated majors.
The Energy Insights study, Catch the Wave - Energy Trading and Risk
Management in 2005 and Beyond (Doc #EI10043), examines the current business and
regulatory conditions shaping energy trading and risk management. The document
starts by defining the energy markets, the market players, and the various
strategies companies are taking to succeed in this market. Also discussed are
the business processes that are the foundation of energy trading and risk
management. A review of advances in technology that will strengthen the energy
markets is provided. Finally, essential guidance for trading companies on where
to focus their attention when examining their business and supporting technology
and for vendors on where to target product development and marketing strategies
is included.
For additional information about Energy Insights, contact Paul St. John at
508-935-4760 or email pstjohn@idc.com.
About Energy Insights
Energy Insights, an IDC Company, provides energy industry executives with
research-based advisory and consulting services that enable energy companies to
maximize the business value of their technology investments, minimize technology
risk through accurate planning, benchmark themselves against industry peers,
adopt industry best practices for business/technology alignment, make more
informed technology decisions, and drive technology-enabled business innovation.
Energy Insights provides full coverage of the energy industry value chain
from upstream to retail activities. Staffed by senior analysts with significant
technology experience in the energy industry, Energy Insights provides a
portfolio of offerings that are relevant to both IT and business needs.
Founded in January 2005, Energy Insights is headquartered in Framingham,
Mass. Visit www.energy-insights.com
for more information.
IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading IT media, research, and
exposition company.