Utility Week

16 | 3RD - 9TH APRIL 2020 | UTILITY WEEK Operations & Assets Analysis respondents admit that their businesses have "only recently" started looking at data democ- racy, while just over 30 per cent say it "has been a big focus" over the past two years. Dr Richard Dobson, data systems practice manager at the Energy Systems Catapult and a key player in the Energy Data Taskforce, is relatively sanguine about the di erent rates of progress seen across the sector. "That makes sense," he says, comment- ing on the results of Utility Week's survey. "There will be some earlier adopters out there doing great work already – there are always the ones that want to be € rst because that's part of the business model. And there are always those who will be followers, and that's part of their business model. It's encouraging that the majority are working to open up their data and increase access to it." Sean Crouch, sales director for the utili- ties and energy sector at Talend, is also relaxed about the mixed picture, but adds that some of those struggling to make pro- gress on data democratisation may be grap- pling with internal cultural and procedural barriers which can make open data bene€ ts elusive. "Most of our clients are at the begin- ning of their journey. However, the major- ity are still working in silos solving niche problems," he observes. "There's still a fear among senior management about the risks that open data potentially exposes them to. "The reality when you look at other industries that now embrace open data is that when you do it properly it drives inno- vation and enables them to ask challenging questions of the process and value chain to make it better." Unlocking system value When asked what they view as the biggest challenges to increasing access to data, the survey respondents o er a wide range of answers. Security and compliance worries account for almost a third of responses, while 15 per cent cite lack of funds or investment to support initiatives and at least three oth- ers mention issues around board "buy-in" or understanding the business bene€ ts as blockers. These are issues that Crouch recognises from Talend's work with utilities, in the UK and beyond: "Many of the challenges revolve around fear," he says. "[That can be] fear from the lack of understanding about what that technology can do, and how to do it. "The other fear is in losing control of the data and exposing the weaknesses of parts of the business. Silos enable managers to continued from page 14 SURVEY RESULTS (conducted 16 December 2019) HAS YOUR ORGANISATION TAKEN STEPS TO "DEMOCRATISE" OR SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASE ORGANISATION-WIDE ACCESS TO DATA IN THE PAST 2 YEARS? DO YOU SUPPORT THE PRINCIPLE OF "PRESUMED OPEN" ASSET DATA ACROSS THE UK UTILITIES INDUSTRY? WHAT DO YOU VIEW AS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES TO INCREASING ACCESS TO DATA WITHIN AND ACROSS UTILITY ORGANISATIONS? HOW IMPORTANT WOULD YOU SAY IT IS FOR YOUR ORGANISATION THAT IT CAN COMMERCIALISE ITS DATA? Yes, this has been a big… Yes, but we have only… No, we have not started… 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Yes, whole- heartedly Yes, but within certain… No 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Critically important… Inflexible legacy IT… Poorly categorised… Security and compliance… Lack of data analysis and… Lack of fund/ investment… Lack of time and resource… Something else… Somewhat important… Not very important… 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

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