MILAN / PRAGUE, May 15, 2015 — On March 23 and 24, 2015, IDC Energy Insights hosted the third edition of its IDC Pan-European Utilities Executive Summit. The summit was held at Landgoed Duin & Kruidberg, a late-19th-century country estate which provided the ideal backdrop for the delegates to discuss this year’s theme — Redesigning Utilities for the „New Normal“. (TZ)
In keeping with its objectives, the summit provided a collaborative setting to merge the IT and business worlds and address the key challenges facing the utilities industry now and in the future. This year, the breakdown of delegates was skewed slightly toward the lines of business (63%) rather than IT (37%).
At this year’s summit, around 40 utility executives representing 24 leading utility companies from 13 European countries, alongside IDC analysts and partners — C3 Energy, NTT DATA, Opower, Infosys, OMNETRIC Group (A Siemens & Accenture Company), and isMobile — tackled some of the key issues facing the utility sector through presentations, panel discussions, debates, and workshops.
Following the discussions at the summit, IDC Energy Insights finds that:
- With European utilities going through the „perfect storm“ of energy transition, achieving profitability and easing the crunch on margins remain key objectives. Energy management services (particularly for commercial and industrial customers), electric vehicle charging services, and distribution grid services other than commodity delivery are among the most promising new revenue generators.
- Utilities need real customer centricity if they want to improve consumer satisfaction and trust. Utilities should provide more personalized information and better service during key moments along the customer’s life cycle, while positioning themselves as trusted energy advisors.
- Non-utility companies — including Internet companies (Google, Amazon, etc.), consumer electronics manufacturers, and telcos — are seen as the most serious contenders to the utilities‘ business. Most brands in these industries have better consumer appeal, are more able to extract value from data, and have deeper relations with customers.
- Playing the role of market facilitator will be the single most important role for DSOs in the future. This involves the DSO becoming a data handler as well as an enabler of flexibility. But regulation is perceived to be holding back innovation.
- Digital transformation is set to produce the biggest benefits for utilities. With data the industry’s most precious asset for championing digital transformation, utilities should make sure their IT organizations are up to speed with new opportunities.
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