The proposed architecture provides a generalized framework for the design and development of various components of the IT infrastructure and emergence of necessary standards and protocols needed for the smart grid—especially with regard to reliability issues. The essentiality of an architectural approach in the transformation of the grid to a “smart grid” is analogous to the role of the iPhone paradigm in the transformation of the phone system from its intelligent form of the 20th century (represented by the touch-tone phone shown in Fig. 7) to its current state. It was not because of a few specific applications that iPhone revolutionized the “phone” but for its architecture that led to an explosion of functionality.
The proposed architecture is intended to enable a similar transformation of today’s grid to a “smarter” grid. It provides a framework for a systematic development of innovative applications and the integration of new and existing applications to meet various reliability concerns, and as such facilitate integration of various smart grid resources.