Utilities have historically preferred to acquire their own physical assets and any software required to manage these assets, store all related data in-house, and use their own staff to perform related business processes. Significant barriers have stymied the adoption of service-based delivery?ranging from the innate conservatism of the industry to security concerns, finance models, and regulatory rules on where sensitive data can be stored. However, over the past 2 years, the adoption of smart grid as a service (SGaaS) solutions has been increasing noticeably. Utilities are increasingly turning to service-based delivery to help them take a more flexible approach to business processes, mitigate technology risks, and reduce costs. Competition is becoming a more and more important driver, even for utilities operating in monopoly markets. Significant additional value will be created by the Energy Cloud that could be snapped up by new entrants. It is therefore imperative for utilities to rapidly develop new products and services to counter the threat of these new entrants. According to Navigant Research, the global SGaaS market is expected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2016 to $6.0 billion in 2025. This Navigant Research report analyzes the global SGaaS market, with a focus on three segments: data services, cloud-based software, and fully managed services. The study covers a number of smart grid functional areas and provides forecasts for managed distribution/substation automation,Microgrids, distributed energy resources (DER) management, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), demand response, home energy management (HEM), and analytics. Additional commentary is provided on virtual power plants and commercial building energy management. The report also examines the key technologies related to SGaaS, as well as the competitive landscape.