The utilities sector is characterized by myriad unconnected, legacy-based heterogeneous systems offered by several vendors that operate according to different standards (e.g. Ethernet, SCADA, OPC, ONVIF, MODBUS). Each system typically covers a particular area of activity (e.g. temperature, pressure, noise, alarm, access control), and is not integrated with the others. Due to this complexity, utilities management teams typically find it difficult to create a coherent, cross-organization situation picture, and to make operational decisions.