Unlocking AMI 2.0: Why Utilities Need a New Meter Data Platform

A new AMI investment cycle is underway — and it demands a step-change in performance, resilience, and flexibility..

Data platform

As AMI 2.0 takes center stage, one thing becomes increasingly clear: the data platforms designed for AMI 1.0 are no longer fit for purpose. 

Today’s popular Meter Data Management Systems (MDMS) were built 15–20 years ago, designed around batch processing, fixed infrastructure, and predictable data volumes. 

AMI 2.0 changes that equation entirely, introducing: 

• New device types

• Higher data frequency

• Event-driven use cases

• And far greater expectations around performance, resilience, and flexibility.

AMI 2.0 doesn’t just require new meters — it exposes the limits of legacy data platforms and marks the moment when MDMS architecture becomes either a strategic constraint or a competitive advantage for utilities.

Introducing Diverge:

A Platform Designed for AMI 2.0

Diverge is a next-generation meter data platform, purpose-built to meet the performance, resilience, and flexibility demands of AMI 2.0. As a flexibility-forward solution, Diverge can be deployed in two ways:

1. As a full MDMS replacement, or

2. As a meter data analytics (MDA) platform, operating side-by-side with an existing legacy MDMS

This approach allows utilities to modernise and scale at their own pace — unlocking new value from AMI data without a disruptive, all-at-once replacement.

When deployed as an analytics companion, Diverge enables advanced meter data analytics to be introduced alongside an existing MDMS. These capabilities support improved visibility and insight across the low-voltage network, including more accurate network mapping, voltage compliance and headroom analysis, fault and anomaly detection, and enhanced outage and restoration insights — without replacing core systems.

Diverge is fully vendor-agnostic and independent of both AMI vendors and CIS/Billing systems. This gives utilities the freedom to choose best-of-breed technologies and avoid long-term platform lock-in, while still delivering a cohesive, future-ready data foundation.

What Makes Diverge Different from Legacy MDMS Platforms

Diverge separates itself from legacy MDMS platforms in three critical ways.

1. Performance & Scalability

Diverge is built on a cloud-native, serverless microservices architecture. 

Unlike traditional MDMS platforms, it does not require on-premises hardware sizing or pre-provisioned infrastructure. The platform scales elastically based on meter population, data volume, and operational workload — automatically and in real time. 

Whether supporting millions of meters or accommodating peak event loads, Diverge delivers consistent performance without the operational burden of capacity planning.

This architecture enables true parallel, event-driven processing — a foundational requirement for AMI 2.0 use cases.

2. Resilience & Uptime

AMI 2.0 environments demand near-continuous availability. 

Diverge is built on AWS Platform-as-a-Service infrastructure, providing active-active-active redundancy by design.

The platform automatically recovers from underlying infrastructure issues, with no manual intervention required. Its microservices architecture also enables zero-downtime upgrades, allowing new functionality and improvements to be deployed without disrupting operations.

For utilities, this translates into higher reliability, reduced operational risk, and greater confidence as AMI programs scale.

3. Flexibility

Diverge is modular by design. 

New capabilities can be introduced by deploying additional microservices or extending existing data pipelines — without re-architecting the platform or provisioning new hardware.

This allows utilities to respond quickly to changing regulatory requirements, evolving business needs, and new AMI 2.0 use cases. Functionality can be adopted incrementally, cost-effectively, and without disruption.

The result is a platform that evolves with the utility, rather than constraining it.

Built for Today. Ready for the Next AMI Cycle.

Diverge is designed for the realities of today’s AMI environments, while providing the flexibility and performance required for the next generation of metering programs. 

Whether used as a modern replacement MDMS or as an analytics overlay to accelerate value from existing systems, Diverge gives utilities a future-proof foundation for AMI 2.0.

As utilities prepare for upcoming AMI 2.0 RFI and RFP processes, Diverge offers a proven, cloud-native foundation for the next generation of metering programs.

Talk to the VTS team about how Diverge can support your AMI 2.0 roadmap today.