Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | MAY 2022 | 33 Technology mon goal, without then saying we all need to be in it to the same level." The data expert stressed that utilities should be focusing on "selective sharing" rather than opening up entire datasets, which would inevitably necessitate a frame- work of governance. They added: "Trying to virtualise the data and the information in such a way that we can selectively share and do that progres- sively is the key. When we meet in real life and we progressively share information as trust evolves, as we feel comfortable or as we see bene• t to ourselves, we don't all agree up front to a common level of what we're going to share." Touching on the Taskforce's suggestion of a digital spine, this participant said: "We need a digitalisation web. We don't need the core, we need the • ourishing of all the indi- vidual projects. We need regulation, abso- lutely, but we should be looking at how we can decentralise it and make it progressive." However, a senior • gure from an energy company posed the challenge of how the electricity grid could be managed live with- out these underlying standards. They said: "This is all well and good when you're talking about encouraging inno- vation but when it comes to balancing the system, if things go wrong, there's a black- out. That has criminal consequences. I don't see how we can operate without having at least part of that agreed – having that skel- eton set down." The selective sharing advocate explained their view of a "federated" system where some elements have standards but not every- thing is bound by them. They said: "There are intranets and internets. There are pieces we use where we know, this has a standard, this has control. Selective sharing means there will be those edges, the interoperability piece. It's why for me the [DT Hub's] information manage- ment framework approach is right because it doesn't say this goes all the way to the ground at the same level. It says there are standards to this point, then we use technol- ogies like semantics to allow interoperability out of this silo and into another. It doesn't have to be completely decentralised." Another participant suggested that a cen- tral spine was feasible within sub-sectors and agreed that some form of standardisa- tion was needed when dealing with critical national infrastructure. However, they posed the problem of expanding that spine across multiple organisations. "When you are going across organisa- tions, market dynamics win out. If you look at the industrial control centres out there, everyone is slowly moving towards an IP infrastructure. Why is that? Because the market dynamics have won out. You need to start sharing and work out what are the mar- ket dynamics, what is the winning solution. That's why, for me, a spine across organisa- tions won't win." Identifying an enforcer But how does this trust in market dynam- ics work in heavily regulated sectors such as utilities? One participant said: "There are three things you need: the plan; who is going to enforce it; and how they are going to enforceŽit. "If we don't have those three hand in hand, it's going to be a failure. You can have a brilliant plan but if you don't come with an enforcer or a way to enforce it, it's going to go nowhere. Likewise you can have a central data o' cer at BEIS or something but if they don't have a plan, it's going nowhere." They added: "If we agree that common standards are necessary for this to work then we must also accept that someone is going to have to impose them. It might sound draco- nian but this is how we work as an industry. Most of us are regulated. We're not purely driven by the market. You need a plan, yes, but you also need a way to enforce it." A representative of the water sector pointed out that if regulation is going to play a prominent role in creating a world of open boundaries in data-sharing, then it needs to evolve and truly embrace cross-sector working. "If regulated industries can't do this then who can? Perhaps we need to look at the dif- ferent approaches of regulators and if that makes sense. Joint targets across regulators is something that should be considered." A senior • gure at an electricity network pointed out that one of the problems of debating a digital spine is that it is not clear what this means – "is it a technology, a framework, standardisation"? They added: "There's no way we can have everything centralised in government because it just doesn't work in reality. That's because we're not just talking about multiple organisations but multiple sectors. "I struggle to see how you could have an over-arching body for digitalisation because it would have to cut across multiple di– erent sectors. How would it operate and interact with di– erent regulators and di– erent sys- tems? Equally we can't be at the other end of the spectrum where absolutely everyone is doing their own thing because that interop- erability doesn't work without some stand- ardisation. You need that commonality." They urged the sector to take the initia- tive and break down boundaries wherever possible. "We need to come together at an indi- vidual sectoral level and then across sec- tors to establish where we need to align and standardise. We need the common founda- tional building blocks that will provide that structure, rigour and alignment that then drives us, as individual organisations and as separate sectors, to develop internally and provision externally an output that is readily usable and interoperable." However, they stressed that there still needed to be someone "steering the ship" who can ultimately make the decision on where organisations align. "No part of government or regulator seems to be driving this. The Taskforce report, though very welcome, is also rather aspirational and conceptual. Who is tak- ing that last step to drive the change that is needed?" Push and pull Summing up the debate, Ali Nicholl, head of engagement at Iotics, said a key ques- tion was "how we marshall the pull and the push". He said: "Sustainability and net zero are providing a very clear pull, both in this coun- try and globally. But where is the push? Not just the plan but the authoritative push? "What is encouraging is that there is a clear recognition that this is inherently pro- gressive. No-one is expecting a solution to arrive fully formed tomorrow and no-one is expecting one so™ ware or actor can achieve it alone. "If we can have the pull from the value and the push from the regulatory elements along with the recognition that the plan has to be progressive and cooperative, then we can just start and make real progress and make a real di– erence." James Wallin, editor In association with In this report Why do we need interoperable data? Picking up the pace of progress It starts at home – tackling internal data quality and governance first Rationalising risk factors Finding the value C A S E S T U D Y A cross-boundary ecosystem I N S I G H T R E P O R T A zero boundaries world for industry data: necessity or pipedream? Pressure is mounting for energy and water companies to break down barriers to the visibility and use of data across organisational functions, company divides and the sector borders. But do technology and business leaders in utilities buy into this ambition and how hard will it be for them to achieve? 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 01000001 00100000 01 1110 1 0 0 110010 1 0 1 1 1 001 0 0100 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 00 0 0 0 011 1 1 0 1 0 0 110 0 0 0 0 01 0 1 0 0 0 01 0 1 0 1 101 01 01000 0 01 00 1 000 0 0 0 1 11 1 01 0 0 1 100 1 0 1 01 1 1 0 0 1 0 01 10 Download the report Download the report A zero boundaries world for data free at: https://utilityweek.co.uk/a-zero-boundaries- world-for-data/ in association with

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