We summarize the year: — new functions and added value for both the energy and telecom industry
Growth is the key word as we look back at the past year, alongside CEO Lars Erik Gjervan. New applications added to the SafeMon-family, new customers and more projects – leading to even better insight, control and overview of critical infrastructure for our customers.
— 2021 offered many highlights for us. We launched a number of new applications that increase the added value for our customers in the energy market, and have had several close collaborative projects with Telia, in connection with instrumentation of base stations and the roll-out of the 5G-network, Gjervan begins.
New energy application
The AMS-meters have facilitated the “holy grail” in the energy sector – being able to calculate, for example, losses and available capacity in the grid, as well as the quality of the power service at a completely different level than before.
— This year, we launched the SafeMon application “SafeMon Nettnytte” which enables insight of electrical distribution grid at a glance – all the way from consumers up to the transmission grids. The application is utilising both measurement data from the AMS-meters and our substation monitoring applications. The large benefit of this application is more efficient grid troubleshooting, better control of available grid capacity and loss. In addition, we have launched the application “SafeMon AMS Operations”, which helps the network companies operate AMS meters and infrastructure as efficiently as possible.
In October, the application “SafeMon KLO” (Cable and Line Monitoring) became available in SafeMon. We also signed a distribution agreement for the line sensor PowerDonut PD4.
— This application realizes the introduction of dynamic line capacity. We also have an ongoing collaborative project with Sintef, where we measure available capacity for high-voltage cables in the ground. We want to give the grid companies the opportunity to measure from A to Z – from high voltage to the AMS-meters. The new services for dynamic line capacity allow us to offer this width, says Gjervan.
Milestone for the telecommunication companies
The termination of the 3G-network has been a milestone for both Telenor and Telia. Now, the effort lies in rolling out the 5G-network – and SafeBase is closely involved in establishing effective methods for measuring the quality of the 5G-network.
— This year, we have completed several large projects in collaboration with Telia. Among other things, we have launched an application for monitoring the IP network, which visualizes quality, available capacity and reports deviations. We are also closely involved in fitting all base stations with SafeMon, to establish remote operation of the passive parts of the infrastructure in the mobile network.
This means that you can perform tasks from the office desk, instead of traveling to the site. All base stations will be equipped with hardware from SafeBase, and this year, among other things, Norway’s first off-grid mobile site on Trollstigen was instrumented and tested.
Launching a more user-friendly platform
A new version of SafeMon will be launched in December. For existing customers, this means a more user-friendly and modern user interface.
—Our philosophy is that professionals should not need user manuals to use our system. The new design will make it even easier to use SafeMon from day one.
For SafeBase, it is also important to take the necessary steps to prove ourselves as a reliable and predictable provider.
In 2021, a year in which the words “component shortage” has been on everyone’s lips, we increased our inventory and stock early, alongside our subcontractor Norbit.
— Due to our stock, we haven’t been late with hardware deliveries to any of our projects this year. In retrospect, we are pleased that we took the cost of expanding our component inventory early. Because of this, the component shortage hasn’t affected our deliveries to any extent.
Growth in the organization
It has been a hectic year, marked by large contracts, new customers, and the rollout of new features. Thus, the organization has also grown by 30%.
— We have strengthened the department that develops and operates the systems with more employees to meet the increased number of assignments and the application portfolio. We are also very pleased that we reached our target of an operating margin of over 20%. We have become so big that we will move to new premises in the new year – however, we will still remain at Pirsenteret, closely connected to the AI environment, Gjervan assures.
Gjervan also repeats his message from his summary of 2020.
— We are growing, but we always think of profitable growth – in that order – with profitability before growth.
First in the market with machine learning
Gjervan sees tendencies that NSO and ANSO will become even more important in the coming year. The transition to renewable energy continues to electrify our society, and new tariff models can create capacity challenges in the distribution network.
— The consumption pattern will likely change dramatically, with high power outtakes during low-cost periods. One example is smart electric car chargers in housing associations. If 50 cars are to be charged at the same time during low-cost periods, it will create challenges for the distribution substations. There will be a greater need to obtain additional information and added value from data, to facilitate operational operations and capacity planning.
In 2022, SafeBase will also launch a machine learning application for the telecom industry.
— Many attempts have been made to use machine learning to solve challenges in the telecom-industry, but so far no one has succeeded – at least, not to any great extent. We have worked on a solution for two years, which will soon be ready for the market. We will be out early with applications that provide added value with the use of machine learning, both for the telecom and network companies, Gjervan concludes.