Water and Effluent Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/790461
12 WET NEWS MARCH 2017 For all utilities, transformation and fl exibility are not optional as they face the challenges ahead: they are the key to survival. Driving this change in culture are a number of people, whilst a number of key technologies will enable and shape the utilities' transformation and increasing fl exibility. In this issue of WET News, we look at some of these individuals and technologies. Despite being perceived as essential, actual cloud adoption by UK utilities varies widely. New entrants to the retail energy market, have built their entire IT landscapes on the cloud and consider themselves to be 'technology companies' • rst, while energy network companies are at the other end of the spectrum taking their • rst steps in cloud investment. Water companies and large energy suppliers are somewhere in the middle. One thing that all utility companies agree on, however, is that investment in the cloud is essential for their continued agility, pro• tability and relevance in an interconnected digital world - and now we are seeing them all take steps to enlarge their cloud footprint. They are also aware that with all large so ware companies moving the bulk of their product development budgets to cloud solutions, the argument has shi ed to whether utilities are ready for the cloud, and not Consultancy view - cloud Jacob Tompkins Former managing director, Waterwise "Iot can help drive behaviour change." Industry view: Internet of Things In the future, your fridge will be able to get the best spot price for electricity, or even switch itself o- for an hour when grid loading is high, all because of the Internet of Things (IoT). Networks of interconnected sensors and nodes gathering smart data should facilitate network optimisation. Networks of devices will provide information on things like peak ƒ ow or water quality, enabling operational and strategic decisions. Currently, real-time data is too expensive but is becoming more accessible. IoT will also provide information to customers, which can help drive behaviour change. Looking further forward, IoT will enable fully autonomous machines and self-managing networks. Soon drones and robots will make their own decisions, whilst combining IoT and 3D printers means networks would be able to • x themselves. Greater interconnectivity in the future will require the water sector to review what data it really needs, and in my view, there should be a presumption of open data which would facilitate greater interconnectivity and innovation. whether the cloud solutions are suitable for them. Utilities in the UK have invested in cloud solutions primarily for the following reasons: • Reduction in costs and IT consolidation: Many of today's utilities have emerged through a series of mergers, acquisitions and divestments, resulting in a plethora of old inherited systems. Cloud solutions provide a quick way to consolidate these systems, optimise the IT footprint and reduce costs. • Speed and scalability: The relative speed of standing up cloud systems, and then scaling them up or down, is a major draw for utilities. This drives rapid innovation cycles and allows utilities to be lean and mean to withstand new competitive threats. • Process standardisation and increased functional capability: Cloud solutions drive process standardisation and have matured to provide rich functionality which can be leveraged within a fraction of the time required for on premise options. As they progress with their cloud investments, we believe it's vital that utilities are aware of the following areas: • Technology and IT management complexity: Factors like mission-critical systems, the regulatory environment and security concerns mean some IT systems will remain on-site for the foreseeable future. Currently, it is unlikely that utilities will be able to source all their cloud solutions from a single provider, so businesses will need to ensure they have the capability to deal with building, designing and running hybrid IT landscapes with multiple cloud providers. • Vendor lock-in: Portability between cloud providers remains untested territory that needs to be considered to ensure that the exit costs are not prohibitive and the transition does not result in disruption. • Security: Since utilities are responsible for critical national infrastructure, they need to ensure that data security and legal issues are considered when getting into cloud service contracts. While utilities have proceeded with caution in the • rst round of cloud deployment, they have now tested the waters and learned the lessons. Many are now • lled with con• dence that by extending their cloud footprint, they will be able to reduce their IT costs and can invest in di- erentiation and innovation opportunities in preparation for the impending market and industry changes. Anand Ganguli, technology consulting director, PricewaterhouseCoopers