Trends in Energy Trading, Transaction and Risk Management Software 2009 - 2010

Energy trading, transaction and risk management (ETRM) software is that category of software applications, architectures and tools that support the business processes associated with trading energy and broader commodities. In the broadest sense, energy trading means both the buying and selling of energy commodities such as crude oil, coal, natural gas, electric power, emissions and refined products, the management of the movement and delivery of the energy commodities, and associated risk management activities. Recently, with the emergence of energy and commodities as an asset class for financial traders such as hedge funds and banks, the boundary between ETRM and CTRM (Commodity Trading & Risk Management) has become increasingly blurred. UtiliPoint research indicates that few, if any trading firms, now trade a single commodity and even what constitutes 'energy' is less distinct than it once was. These days, commodities such as freight rates, ethanol and emissions might be traded by energy trading firms in addition to crude oil, natural gas and so forth; and ETRM software is increasingly likely to cater to commodity trading generally and not just energy commodities. In this new edition of the UtiliPoint Expert Series, UtiliPoint's CommodityPoint experts, drawing on the company's industry leading library of research, review the latest developments in the energy and commodity trading space and provide the reader an in-depth look at the impacts these changes have had on the vendors of mission critical trading and risk management systems, and on the users whose companies operate in this volatile marketplace.