Oracle has announced the availability of Oracle Utilities Network Management System 1.10.0 with new smart grid and security enhancements.

The new functionality includes:

Enhanced smart grid support: The application provides the necessary operational framework to integrate more tightly with smart switches and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems on the grid. This functionality helps utilities support "self-healing" operations to restore customers' power automatically, increasing customer satisfaction and meeting key performance indicators (KPIs) by diminishing sustained outages.

Increased security: Oracle Utilities Network Management System helps utilities meet today's increasingly tight security requirements. The new release provides more secure network connectivity, database transactions and user authentication. For example, the solution now ties directly into a utility's active directory or open Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), rather than requiring separate passwords for the network management system.

The new release also enables enhanced damage assessments (DA), expanded outage management alerts and advanced analytics for suggested switching and Volt/VAr optimization.