Utility Week

32 | MAY 2022 | UTILITY WEEK Technology Roundtable Realising the potential of interoperable data At a roundtable hosted by Utility Week and Iotics, data and innovation leaders discussed how utilities could best realise data-sharing ambitions, and in particular whether a centralised approach would help or hinder this ambition. James Wallin reports. A report released by the National Pre- paredness Commission earlier this year looked at lessons from the coro- navirus pandemic in relation to data sharing. It highlighted that wider sharing of data on vulnerable customers would have ena- bled better delivery of services and quicker identification of those newly in need. The report suggested that in many cases barriers to sharing data were self-imposed and that organisations across multiple sec- tors need to adopt philosophy of "dare to share". This theme was also explored in a report produced last year by Utility Week, in asso- ciation with data-sharing specialists Iotics, which looked at ways of achieving a zero boundaries world for industrial data. The report, A Zero Boundaries World for Data, was based on in-depth interviews with innovation and digital leaders across utili- ties and highlighted a common appetite to collaborate with peers and other industries on data sharing as well as communicating the value of digitalisation within their own businesses. However, barriers remain, not least the need to ensure the resilience of critical national infrastructure. The report also iden- tified perceived risks in areas such as legisla- tive and regulatory compliance, data privacy, intellectual property and consumer impact. It also analysed an ongoing debate about the need for data standardisation and man- agement and the question of who should be driving progress on digitalisation and giving legitimacy to data-sharing initiatives. Opinions on the merits of this kind of framework and to what extent data-sharing standards should be centralised are mixed. Some point to the need for the potential of the market to be unleashed, while others are sceptical this will actually happen without a guiding hand. This topic was at the heart of a follow- up roundtable with senior industry figures hosted by Utility Week and Iotics. The follow- ing is a summary of the debate. Do we need a digital spine? The period between the report launch and the roundtable also saw the publication of the long-awaited Energy Digitalisation Task- force report, which gave its own perspective on encouraging an open data culture. Its recommendations included delivering a digital spine solution, described as ena- bling a minimal layer of operation-critical data to be ingested, standardised and shared in near real time. The report also called for new approaches – and entities – around dig- ital governance and urged the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to appoint a chief data officer. However, some attendees at the round- table expressed concerns about a centralised approach and whether this would ultimately rob utilities of agency and derail innovation. One framed it as the difference between collaboration and co-operation. They said: "You can have a common frame of reference, so that we all agree what we will share, where we will share it and agree to a data governance piece. But where you need to move is towards a culture of cooperation – the balance between competi- tion and collaboration. Cooperation means we all say what we are driving at has a com-

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