By Joe Chow, VP & GM, Connected Devices Business Unit, Cisco

With the proliferation of IP devices and ubiquitous access to broadband, consumers are increasingly enjoying the benefits of "being connected". But being able to adjust your thermostat while on vacation or remotely limit your child's internet access is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a wealth of revenue opportunities that service providers can extract from the business market place.

One example is energy.

What does a service provider have to do with energy you ask? Wellthere is plenty.

Managing energy is one of the most important considerations for energy generators and providers. And it'll soon be the same for consumers.

While optimizing supply with demand is crucial from a business and quality of service standpoint, it is no less important from a consumer cost stand point.

In order to harmonize supply with demand, energy providers along with energy partners like Grid2Home must limit the occurrences when demand outpaces supply. To do this, energy providers need to give consumers an incentive to alter the way they consume energy.

This is where service providers come in.

With a rich heritage of aggregation, packaging services, and deep consumer relationships, service providers can facilitate "offers" to consumers that adjust their energy usage patterns. And, get this...the energy provider will pay them to do so.

This is currently a tried and true business model for enterprise energy management.

Take, for example, the Sears tower in Chicago, where the energy provider is paying a third-party aggregator to reduce energy usage in the building.

Energy management is just one area where service providers can branch out and work with businesses to drive more value.

Stop by our booth 1323 at the National Show and see how Cisco is working with partners like Grid2Home and to provide this new and exciting service.