Welcome to the Mclowd Community Newsletter.
If the energy entrepreneurs interviewed by BOSS for this story are correct, big power companies have less than a decade to reinvent themselves or see their business models blow up – just as legacy media, music, retail, transport and accommodation companies have been disrupted.
The Powershifters, AFR Boss Magazine, April 2017
Introduction
As the above quote indicates, the energy sector is undergoing profound change, as one incumbent after another is targeted for disruption.
While journalists are struggling to join the dots, all of the examples in the article reflect the same theme:
How governance can be married with technology to drive down prices.
Specific examples include:
- When you aggregate ‘behind the meter’ renewable energy supply – like Mojo is doing – you can create a virtual power plant while deploying almost no capital
- When you allow residential and commercial solar customers to share their electricity in front of the meter via a dedicated blockchain – like Powerledger – you can create a virtual electricity retailer, while also deploying almost no capital
Innovations such as these are about to tear the energy value chain apart, driving out incumbents and pushing prices towards marginal cost, while decarbonising our entire economy.
(As we have all seen recently, politicians and regulators are losing control of the energy agenda because that agenda reflects a centralised, capital-intensive past which will soon be part of our economic history)
SMSF Accounting Update
With online lodgement now live our focus is squarely on improving the user experience for practitioners, and specifically:
- Third party integrations
- Development of a centralised transactions page from which data feeds will be allocated (first manually, and then via data matching, leveraging exactly the same machine learning capabilities deployed by incumbents)
From its trustee-centric origins Mclowd will now move steadily towards functional replication, first of BGL360, and eventually Class.
However through a unique combination of governance and technology Mclowd will deliver these outcomes while:
- Deploying a limited amount of capital (less than $500K in equity to date)
- Offering per unit costs savings unthinkable for any incumbent
Postscript
My family and I recently spent some time at the Kawana Aquatic Centre.
While the kids were swimming our electric car was being charged up courtesy of the solar panels on the roof of the nearby Sunshine Coast Stadium.
For free.
When I bought a Nissan Leaf a couple of years ago it was on the understanding that owning a car with a relatively limited range would (in the short term) involve compromise.
However two years down the track:
- We are surrounded by free charging stations (many of them solar-powered)
- Our annualised savings now measure in the thousands of dollars, while we are reducing our carbon footprint
As of 1 July 2017 a number of large firms will begin their migration from BGL Desktop to Mclowd. While that journey will similarly involve compromise in the short term, the end result will be savings that measure in the tens of thousands of dollars every year.
Maybe even enough to buy a Tesla…
Regards
Ashley Porter
Managing Director
Mclowd Pty Ltd