Virtual Interoperability Is Gaining Momentum

Does it seem like the virtual grid is all around us? We’ve investigated virtual power plants, virtual twins, and virtual inertia. Now there’s another entry in the field named virtual interoperability. It’s getting attention as utilities and grid operators address system connectivity between the legacy power grid and the digital smart grid. Like it or not, it’s a software-defined power grid that’s almost been changed into a sensing device. There are systems for control, cybersecurity, safety, and more. It’s a complex power grid and it’s too expensive to rip and replace. The challenge is taking an approach that balances the old with the new, while not impacting the power grid’s flexibility.

Have you ever heard of “middleware?” Experts refer to middleware as the software glue holding together different systems. One of the best explanations comes from Microsoft. They say “Middleware is software that acts as a bridge between applications, databases, and operating systems. It plays an important role in cloud computing by helping maintain streamlined communication, data management, and interoperability across environments, including on-premises servers, hybrid setups, and modern cloud platforms.” For our discussion let’s say middleware is playing a key role in modernization transition.

The middleware of 2026 operates well beyond what was once considered middleware’s scope. It has been described as becoming an “enabler” that’s smoothing the way to virtual interoperability, but there’s a little confusion about what virtual interoperability is. Some literature uses the terms middleware and virtual interoperability interchangeably, but they’re not. These two entities are separate, but as they advance and mature the distinction blurs. Virtual interoperability is not an app or specific software; it’s a characteristic or capability according to the experts. Virtual interoperability uses APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to allow existing assets to communicate in modern protocols which connects diverse technologies without replacing them.

It's All About Blending

Analysis suggest that virtual interoperability be thought of as the “seamless connection between virtual session platforms, documentation systems, and prescribing tools, ensuring they function as one cohesive system.” So it’s different from middleware yet similar. Maybe complementary is a better descriptor. They work together to bridge gaps. Let’s use middleware and virtual interoperability, but not interchangeably. Also, it’s not being implied that virtual interoperability is replacing traditional interoperability.

In the early 2020s artificial intelligence (AI) was introduced to both middleware and virtual interoperability, which benefited them both and blended them together more closely. AI enabled the two not only to pass data around, but to understand that data. They also understood how and when to move that data. This enabled real-time data exchanges, enhanced security, and most importantly permitted outdated equipment to work alongside newer digitally enhanced devices. It also enabled the use of natural language along with being able to utilize modern cloud-based applications according to the experts.

IBM reports that the partnership between middleware and virtual interoperability is advancing to more of a hybrid AI-based middleware-virtual interoperability platform. This hybrid approach has been specifically designed to bridge the gap between IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology) using iPaaS (Integrating Platform as a Service). The hybrid framework provides a combined "virtualized" layer for data exchange, cybersecurity, and protocol translation. They said, “It allows organizations to connect legacy, on-premises systems with public/private cloud environments, facilitating communication across disparate platforms,” and that’s as deep as this discussion will go into the technological theory.

Work Smart Not Harder

A hybrid framework lets the power grid manage high-volume data traffic so important for infrastructure awareness applications like distribution energy resources management, load management, and all the rest. It’s a communication wizard for merging smart meters, or even renewable energy sources from different manufacturers. It’s proven beneficial for these technologies and makes it possible for them to work together seamlessly. Another important feature of the framework is it’s scalability. That makes it easy to add sensing technologies, and it does it without needing to reconfigure the network.

One example getting attention is the challenge of departmental silos. They’re isolated, needing interconnectivity, but they don’t have it and modernization will not happen without it. Breeching those siloes has caused many sleepless nights for grid personnel. Utilities can’t afford the downtime required to remove and replace the old systems. In addition, there are incompatibility issues, they’re not easily accessible, security risks, and other obstacles. It’s slowed down modernization significantly. Hybrid platforms are breaking down these old-school, organizational silos. They’re blending the older infrastructures with the modern infrastructures.

Think of the hybrid environment as being similar to a tech-agnostic scheme. It’s not tied to any single technology, equipment, or vendor. It enables all these diverse elements to coexist in a virtual environment without needing to modify any of them. The AI-based hybrid setup is a dependable framework that’s utilizing real-time monitoring for faster outage responses. Valuable data is available to departments across the enterprise and it’s no longer inconsistent or fragmented. That simplifies operations and decision making, which saves time and resources while speeding up modernization of the utility’s infrastructure.

Virtualized Middleware

Technologists indicate that AI-based, virtualized middleware adjusts to the dynamic environment of power grid conditions making the electric system more responsive, resilient, and flexible. Being able to understand the complex big-data generated throughout the network allows those schemes to understand that something is taking place. Virtualized middleware improves the reliability of data transfer and minimizes the time delay between sending and receiving data ensuring “near-instantaneous, real-time interaction.”

In addition, it plays a critical role in self-healing grid abilities such as detecting anomalies, and potential equipment failures in real-time. Essential services like frequency corrections, predicting load, and real-time load balancing require this low latency, but it’s beneficial to other areas. Some fault location systems monitor line segment conductor temperature readings. An increase of a segment’s temperature may indicate a fault. There’s also the ability of isolating that fault, which lowers the numbers of affected customers. Understanding what data means is important because it supplies flexibility to the power grid. That is needed as it faces extreme weather fueled by climate change and the increasing power demands from customers.

According to the International Energy Association global electricity demand is rapidly growing and expected to continue at an average annual rate of 3.6% between 2026 and 2030. Unfortunately, this demand is growing faster than traditional methods of adding to infrastructure can allow. A recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report indicated, however, that the power grid doesn’t necessarily need more power capacity. What is really required is a smarter grid that is more flexible. According to their study, “a 1% improvement in system flexibility could unlock 100 gigawatts in the U.S. alone, equivalent to US$500 billion in avoided infrastructure.” They went on saying that modernization of the power grid would help fully utilize the assets we have.

A Responsive Grid

Modernization is critical for a flexible power grid especially when considering how old its existing infrastructure is. It was built for an environment that no longer exists. Power only moved one direction, and its movement was very predictable. Even forecasting followed specific models and designs, but that changed. The 21st century power grid has bidirectional power flows from virtual power plants, distributed energy resources, and renewable energy with power storage options. Adding to the challenges are customers who produced and consumed electricity along with electric vehicles (EVs) that can consume power and produce it at multiple-locations that are continuously changing.

It’s no wonder there is limited flexibility, not to mention responsiveness, and traditional methods can’t match the multiplicity found today. According to an IEEE paper, “the smart grid is a diverse ecosystem of components — including smart meters, AMI networks, renewable generators (solar/wind), EV chargers, and industrial sensors — that differ in manufacturer, communication protocols, and functionality.” AI-based, virtualized middleware addresses those challenges like gathering and aggregating data from those heterogeneous devices found across the smart grid.

As the WEF report stated, there’s a great deal of power available if we can take advantage of it by “using AI to make the grid itself more intelligent. It’s a challenge of optimization, rather than scarcity.” The power grid has to stop constricting itself with its lack of flexibility. Fortunately, virtual interoperability is a powerful tool to accomplish that. There’s an old adage, “there’s no substitute for wire in the air,” but in the 21st century that has become a cliché! It was true back in the day that was the only choice.

Today, it’s not unusual for it to take over ten years to add new transmission. When the hyperscale datacenter craze started a developer could get a gas turbine installed and online before the datacenter became operational. Now lead-times for new turbines are slipping past seven years and growing. Utilities have to take advantage of every advanced technology available. Legacy thinking is a dead-end. Virtualized middleware is a trending tech solution that’s making a difference. It continues evolving and it’s gaining momentum improving the grid’s flexibility along the way!