India, Mumbai, December 17, 2020: IBM (NYSE: IBM) and India Grid Trust (“IndiGrid”) (NSE: INDIGRID), India’s leading infrastructure investment trust, today announced a multi-year collaboration agreement to build an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled asset management platform. IndiGrid will deploy a hybrid cloud solution with IBM Maximo Application Suite running on the secure and open IBM Cloud to optimize the quality & utilization of its assets throughout their lifecycle, increase productive uptime through preventative & predictive maintenance, drive efficiency & reduce operating costs — ultimately delivering better value to its investors.

Enterprise asset management (EAM) is crucial for obtaining the insights and visibility needed to maintain and control intelligent assets and equipment. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), monitoring performance and scheduling repairs with predictive maintenance alone can reduce costs by 15%-20%, improve asset availability by 20% and extend the lives of machines by years.^[1]

IndiGrid currently has 11 operating projects consisting of 28 transmission lines with more than 6,280 circuit KMs length and 9 substations with 11,460 MVA transformation capacity and plans to grow its asset base in transmission and solar sector. Through this digital transformation with IBM Services, IndiGrid will be able to monitor, manage & maintain these multi-component assets efficiently and leverage AI for detecting anomalies at scale – thus proactively preventing their breakdown and boosting availability. The IBM Maximo Application Suite will allow IndiGrid to become future-ready by improving the overall health of its assets and maximise the full potential of their operating life, while adhering to safety & regulatory guidelines.

The IBM Maximo Application Suite deployed by IndiGrid integrates IBM Maximo Enterprise Asset Management, IBM Maximo Asset Monitor and IBM Maximo Asset Performance Management on a single hybrid cloud platform running on IBM Cloud and Red Hat. It will be further bolstered by capabilities purpose-built for transmission and distribution businesses with specific asset hierarchies, industry asset models and usability features.

Commenting on the collaboration, Mr. Satish Talmale, COO, IndiGrid said, “IndiGrid has adopted a long-term Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) approach to manage its assets with utmost safety, reliability and efficiency. This collaboration with IBM will enable IndiGrid to lead the sector transformation from the conventional-corrective practices to preventive and resilient-RCM approach. This approach is laid on the back of industry-leading process standardization, predictive and risk-based maintenance practices and also upskilling of its workforce for digital asset management.”

Kamal Singhani, Country Managing Partner – IBM Services, India/South Asia added, “For India’s energy companies, constant upkeep of critical infrastructure is paramount to ensure reliable, safe, and uninterrupted services. The operational and financial impact of these assets are multifold. By capitalizing on new AI and cloud capabilities to bring Industry 4.0 live in action and gain from it, IndiGrid is paving the way for the industry. With IBM’s Maximo Application Suite running on IBM Cloud, IndiGrid will be able to take the preventive, predictive and prescriptive actions required to reduce risk, lower costs and improve efficiencies – helping them to realize their vision to be the most admired yield vehicle in Asia.”