Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 8TH - 14TH DECEMBER 2017 | 27 Operations &Assets Views from the speakers: 1. Strategies for serving future cus- tomers should centre on communities and social purpose, not simply individual- ised service offers. 2. Customers will remain diverse in their service prefer- ences, but a strategy to provide simplicity and ease in interac- tions can transcend this diversity. 3. New entrants or existing technology giants may be better positioned than utili- ties to integrate ser- vices for maximum ease and efficiency of use. 4. AI and voice- controlled interfaces will define the future of customer inter- actions. 5. Utilities must take bold action to restructure their businesses for a future that centres on customers, not assets. Key points to take away Wayne Flanagan, IoT utilities lead, Vodafone "Over time, today's consumers will become suppliers and traders of utilities in their own right. How we'll choose to manage that, while ensuring security of supply and delivering a quality service, will be interesting. Tech- nology has to play a big part." Ben Newby, customer services and IT director, Bristol Water "The political land- scape is changing and we need to move with it … technology will be our saviour – it has a societal role and so do we. We need to make the two work together." Ben Carter, head of critical infrastructure services, Vodafone "Together, regulation and technology are driving positive dis- ruption in how utili- ties will be delivered in the next ten years. Shifting the focus to end customers versus the providers' assets will continue to be a catalyst for change, especially as service expectations and digital technology continues to evolve." Joanne Hollamby, head of customer strategy, Severn Trent "We've certainly seen that some people want to become more self-sufficient. We need to think about how customers want to deal with us. To a degree they will dictate that, because they'll tell us where they want to go. It used to be the other way around, but that dynamic has changed. Consumers know what they want and they aren't afraid to say it, which is a good thing." Brought to you in association with Susan Robson, head of strategy (Global IS), National Grid "The ways in which customers want to converse with us and pay us are changing. This will drive us to really think about how we do business. Companies will need to be ready for disruption and have the courage to self-disrupt. That's a bold approach but it's something we need to start thinking about."

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