SAIC and C3 are teaming up to deliver integrated energy solutions to commercial, industrial, and government customers in North America. Under the agreement, SAIC will sell, install, and support C3 software as part of its energy services offerings.

In tying SAIC's portfolio of energy services with C3's energy and emissions software, the formidable alliance will compete with the likes of Schneider Electric, ABB, and Siemens for enterprise-wide energy management and smart grid integration.

The extended relationship between SAIC and C3, which began in August 2011, will include joint development on a range of solutions include strategic energy positioning, practical energy solutions, and project integration and management.

"An effective energy strategy requires an investment in robust software to aggregate and analyze energy data. C3's advanced energy management software platform provides an enterprise-class solution. For optimal results, highly specialized expert services to design, build, finance, and execute are a must," said Adrian Bowles, Principal Analyst with independent advisory firm Sustainable Insights Group, in a statement.

Indeed the energy management software market can be confusing as companies navigate options to track and reduce energy use. Software packages range from a stand-alone product or a module of an operations, maintenance, sustainability, or environmental suite of solutions.

Founded by software veteran Tom Siebel, C3 came out of stealth last year after raising $45 million and enlisting an impressive roster of board members, including Condaleezza Rice. Among C3's clients include Mazdar City, Dow Chemical and PG&E.

C3 offers a software-as-a-service (SaaS) suite with five components: C3 Energy (for energy management), C3 Sustainability (for greenhouse gas inventory), C3 Mitigation (to track energy projects and their return), C3 Incentives (a library of government and utility financial incentives), and C3 Foundation (for energy modeling, key performance indicators, security, etc.).

Earlier this week, C3 launched a Version 3 of its energy and sustainability applications adding new functionality, user interaction models, and data analytics. The software, available in the coming months, can be deployed as either a hosted or on-premise application.

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