The joint cloud-based service minimizes the upfront capital investment for utilities since the offering can be purchased on a per-use basis, says GigaOM. Verizon and other phone companies have been leveraging their infrastructures and networks to offer machine-to-machine services as an area of future growth.
Verizon also recently purchased Terremark, a provider of managed cloud services, for $1.4 billion. That purchase along with its partnership with eMeter are key components of the carrier's "everything-as-a-service" strategy.