In this role, I get to work with so many organisations that are determined to collectively make a difference and accelerate our journey to net zero. One such organisation is Aberdeen City Council. I met with the Corporate Management Team and Alex Nicoll, co-leader recently to discuss their vision for the Council and its ambitious sustainability goals.

The team at Aberdeen sees acting on sustainability as a social and environmental duty. The Climate Change Scotland 2009 Act set out targets to reduce carbon footprints, make the best use of resources, reduce waste and protect water. It is something that Aberdeen City Council takes very seriously.

On the council’s own progress, Andy MacDonald, Director of Customer Services at Aberdeen City Council, said, “We will achieve net zero corporate carbon emissions by 2045 at the latest, with interim targets of a reduction of at least 48% by 2025 and a reduction of at least 75% by 2030. As a city at the heart of the energy sector, the energy transition is a vital priority for Aberdeen. Using skills, knowledge, and experience as a world-leader in energy, the city is investing in net zero technology, building low carbon infrastructure and reskilling and upskilling to support a just transition to net zero.”

This isn’t a new vision for the city. It began its journey to net zero several years ago. In 2020 the Council set out its Energy Transition Vision. This is its progressive plan to position Aberdeen as a climate positive city while helping to lead the world on the rapid shift to a net zero future.  

The city has also launched Aberdeen Adapts, which is a framework for city-wide adaptation to changes to our climate. The framework incorporates the views of local organisations and communities, and sets the direction to build long term city climate resilience.

Working with its citizens is key to meeting these goals. In fact, it is critical. We are all in this together so only by bringing the community into the actions taken can we see the change we need.

The Council has developed a Net Zero City Routemap, along with its Energy Transition Vision, following public consultations and engagement with citizens. This collaborative approach with stakeholders, both public and private, and communities is what will allow Aberdeen to succeed. With investment in the plans going far beyond the Council and into the communities they are supporting, there is a collective effort to see real change.

Making progress

The Council is already further along than many. It has been leading on low carbon technology with two hydrogen refuelling stations to service its growing hydrogen bus fleet. It has also rolled out LED street lighting, expanded its range of electric and hydrogen fleet vehicles, increased connections to district heating for some public buildings and council housing, and installed several green roofs across its buildings.

This overarching approach to reaching Net Zero means every part of the Council is being reviewed and changes made where needed. It also shows the citizens of Aberdeen that their Council is taking its commitment to everyone’s future seriously.

Technology will play a vital role in how Aberdeen City Council is able to achieve these goals. In how it is able to retrofit housing projects, in how it monitors scarce resources and in many other projects. This is where we come in. It is only when we work together that we can see real progress.

Find out more

The need for urgent action: COP27 and the road to net zero

Microsoft 2021 Environmental Sustainability Report

Accelerating the Journey to Net Zero study

Microsoft Sustainability Webinar: From COP26 to COP27

Resources to empower your development team

Get started with Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability Training

About the author

Musidora joined the Microsoft UK Senior Leadership Team in February 2022 as Chief Sustainability Officer. She is accountable for driving sustainability outcomes for our customers, partners and internally. Prior to that, Musidora spent three years at Salesforce setting up and leading the Energy and Utilities Go to Market. She has extensive experience of the technology industry across hardware, consulting and software sales, over the past twenty years.

She featured at number 3 in the top 100 global sustainability leaders for 2022 in Sustainability Magazine, was named one of the top 100 female future leaders in 2020 by INvolve and Yahoo Finance UK, and was included in Kindness & Leadership’s Rising Star list for 2020.

Musidora is passionate about D&I and particularly in supporting more women in the STEM industries. She is an active coach, mentor and sponsor both inside and outside of the industry.

The post Aberdeen City Council shows ambition and leadership in tackling climate change appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

New infrastructure, new business models, new partnerships, new energy markets, unknown costs – this complex terrain is uncharted. So, given the industry’s net zero aspirations and goals to decarbonise, how can business decision-makers make the most of today’s unique opportunities, while mitigating the accompanying risks?

Together with Avanade and Accenture, we’ve created a five-pillar approach to decarbonise the energy sector. It incorporates targets for reducing system costs and goals for boosting and balancing the national energy supply. It also advocates that stakeholders adopt open data principles, new skill sets and a shift in organisational culture. This will support innovation and new business models.  

1.      Decarbonise energy supply

A 25 percent reduction in the levelised* cost per megawatt-hour of grid-scale renewable revenue streams, maximise renewables and optimise nuclear energy value.

*Lifetime costs divided by energy produced.

Core to the government’s aims to reach net zero by 2050 is the goal to decarbonise the energy sector. The government expects emissions need to be reduced by at least two-thirds by 2035 and by at least 90 percent by 2050.

The sector has already significantly cut the levelised cost of wind. However, we believe more can be done with the help of data analytics. For example, Danish renewable energy supplier Ørsted constantly streams data from thousands of turbines. Using Microsoft-powered analytics and AI, it can maximise capacity and drive down operational costs by predicting and pre-empting usage. As a result, they’ve been able to reduce coal consumption by 82 percent in the last decade. They’re planning to fully phase it out by 2025.

2.      Balance the system

Operate a zero carbon electricity system by 2025 and cut the cost of connecting generation, storage and load by 20 percent.

By balancing hydrogen storage through the production of green hydrogen when there is excess wind power and flexible thermal generation with carbon capture and storage, organisations can build more cost-effective systems.

Along with Accenture, we’ve proposed an industry target to cut the cost of connecting energy generation, storage and load by 20 percent in three to five years.

To achieve this, the energy sector needs to take new approaches to system planning and operations. They can achieve this by using smart technology, such as digital twins. With smart grid solutions to increase visibility and control, the network could also work at higher levels of utilisation. As a result, they can more effectively balance power flows as demand rises.

For example, bp uses Azure digital twins to help their sustainability goals and make the transition to net zero carbon by 2050 or sooner. By looking at past and real time data, they can predict future data and improve the efficiency of their facilities.

3.      Electrify demand

Enable 50 percent of new electrification load (transportation and heating) to contribute to system balancing.

If an integrated digital approach is adopted across the energy system, it will help optimise generation and supply. It will also create a grid in which system balancing can be fine-tuned. In the future, this will enable at least half of new electrification load growth to flexibly contribute to system balancing and/or the overcoming of network constraints.

Additionally, hydrogen has a key role to play. Both to store energy and to help balance the system and decarbonise high-temperature industrial processes where electrification is not viable.

Centrica Storage is working with Net Zero Technology Centre and mixed reality specialist VISR Dynamics with support from Microsoft to grow new ways of working. They use HoloLens 2 to support frontline workers and streamline processes on the way to net zero.

4.      Trusted data

Make industry data trusted, open, secure, consistent, accessible and usable to drive efficiency and innovation.

When an organisation creates or adopts an open data standard, it can ensure consistency and predictability for data users. The data also becomes easier to compare and link up, which encourages interoperability between systems and ways of working. This is a powerful asset in business partnerships. In addition, as data becomes easier to access, open innovation often follows. New ways of working help accelerate development processes, enabling smarter solutions and reducing costs

For example, stakeholders can better assess the feasibility, location and operation of projects, as well as practical questions, such as where to connect to the system.

We already have direct examples of sharing trusted information, with Centrica Storage building cross-industry partners and even tech partners in Microsoft. Our partnership with Accenture, Avanade is also helping UK’s transition to net-zero carbon emissions by empowering energy companies with the tech to reach their goals.

5.      Enable the digital workforce

“A technology-powered workforce which is diverse, inclusive and effective.

Net zero will be enabled by new business models centred on digital ecosystems and the cloud. To realise this vision, organisations will need new skills in communications, data infrastructure, analytics and data science. Radical innovation and systemic transformation are best supported by highly agile, dynamic teams that specialise in digital and sustainability solutions.

Leaders need to build a growth mindset culture and focus on re- and upskilling their workforce to be digital-ready. Our Digital Skills Hub has lots of resources to help organisations build the skills they need now and in the future.

Decarbonise and deliver a net zero future

We believe that if the energy sector can implement these pillars in the next three-to-five years, it will be in a strong position to drive the government’s 2050 net zero target and help create a sustainable future for all.

Find out more

About the author

Kevin is responsible for developing the UK strategy in energy and utilities, supporting the enterprise commercial team to help clients achieve more. Working as part of the leadership team in Manufacturing and Resources for Microsoft UK, he supports the development of new digitally enabled markets, helping Microsoft continue its transformation from a technology vendor to a trusted partner.

Kevin is an Honorary Research Fellow with Warwick Manufacturing Group, supporting leading academic work to help solve infrastructures challenges in cyber security. He also works across government, academia and industry within the Construction Leadership Council, helping to accelerate digital transformation within the built environment.

The post 5 steps to decarbonise the energy sector and reach net zero appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

And organisations are responding to these ambitions. According to the ESO, 2020 was the greenest on record. And 2021 looks like it is readying to exceed this. In fact, in early April, almost 80 percent of the grid was powered from low-carbon sources.

We recently hosted a roundtable with Accenture and Utility Week. This brought together energy firms, regulators and partners to answer an important question: Are energy organisations doing enough now to meet these goals?

At the roundtable, topics included the need to build a cohesive roadmap that covers the entire energy system, taking advantage of digital technology, and change the way consumers interact with energy. Perhaps most importantly, the need to cross-collaborate internally and externally with other utilities, regulators and third-party tech providers was agreed. Here are the four most important topics that came out of the discussion:

1.      Reduce silos and focus on collecting better data

Energy firms are collecting more and more data. But as the roundtable asked – are they collecting the right data?

Often in utility companies, like many industrial environments where systems have built up over time, data is siloed between departments. The billing department sees customer-centric data, while field operations see a different type. However, these silos can be barriers to an energy firm’s innovation and sustainability ambitions. By connecting data and reducing silos, utilities can ensure the right data is collected. This creates more visibility over energy demand, and even opens new business models to monetise data.

Organisations need to not only think about the present, but also the future. For example, data may be being collected around current methods of green energy consumption. But organisations must consider the type of data needed to take advantage of any possible future energy sources, such as geothermal. By futureproofing data, they will be in a better space to drive innovation and keep up with change at pace.

2.      Build partnerships and share open data to reach net zero

Taking those data silos one step further – the net-zero carbon goals are our collective responsibility. So, to reach them, must involve collaboration across industries, governments, and regulators. Open data sharing was a big topic for the roundtable, highlighting the importance of multi-disciplinary action on it.

An open data plan reduces silos across companies and in the sector. This builds creating innovation, and allowing us to transition quickly to a low-carbon future. However, there are some challenges to this. Organisations are at different stages of their journey, with varying datasets, data governance strategies, and often using different data standards.

Energy firms and regulators need to work together to create standardised data formats. This is already in motion, with activities such as the Modernising Energy Data Access (MEDA) competition. Set up by Innovate UK and the Modernising Energy Data group, the aim is to help develop the concept of a Common Data Architecture (CDA) for the Energy Sector. As organisations move to the cloud, data standards and sharing in a secure way can be driven forward, leveraging AI and machine learning to deliver insights. For example, cross-industry partnerships could build digital twins of energy networks or even cities, gaining insights to optimise operations.

For example, we are working in collaboration with Accenture and Avanade to help energy firms such as SSE to reach the UK’s net-zero carbon goals. By using open data, the partnership aims to provide secure, consistent and accessible information. This will drive efficiency, support cross-industry innovation around new markets and improve asset performance and optimisation.

“The scale of the net zero challenge is so great and the significance of achieving it so important, we need all-hands-on-deck. The energy system – electricity in particular – must be completely decarbonised very quickly, so that trickier sectors like heat and transport can reach zero carbon emissions. The answer to all the technological, market and regulatory challenges that result, cannot possibly come from a single organisation or sector. Partnerships, like the one between Microsoft and Accenture, are essential in bringing together an electricity utility like SSE with business and digital technology transformation specialists,”

Rachel McEwen, Chief Sustainability Officer at SSE Renewables.

3.      Personalise customer experiences

This cross-industry approach can not only help drive net-zero carbon, but better serve communities. By collecting and sharing the right data, energy demands can be better responded to. For example, a cold spell in the north might use more resources, so energy companies can work together to respond quickly. It can help organisations better identify vulnerable customers and help as, or even before, needed. Open data will also help identify disengaged users, creating more competition within the energy marketplace. Reducing silos internally and externally will ensure customer service teams can access insights to personalise customer experiences. As a result, they can respond better to customer’s needs.

Energy firms rolling out smart meters will collect better insights around energy usage. At the same time, it empowers customers to take control of their personal sustainability journey. A large percentage of users want smart homes, so long as it is at an acceptable price point. This is a great opportunity for energy companies to drive new value. By collaborating with other industries, this aim can be achieved, opening new revenue streams and data sources.

4.      Reach net zero by supporting the new energy system

By 2030, the energy system will be more decentralised. There is expected to be more small-scale generation (some estimates as much as 30 times), such as solar and wind farms. Additionally, there’s an increase in domestic and grid storage, and a growth in renewable gas, more heat networks, heat pumps and hybrid generation. These changes could mean a shift to two-way systems that generate and store energy locally. This could see distribution networks becoming active managers, helping the system remain stable and secure. Enabling data sharing will make this transition smoother.

Moving to a new energy system means a need for more collaboration and partnerships. Also, organisations need to support employees with new skill sets. Everyone, from frontline workers to data teams, needs access to support and information to help drive new insights, workflows, and experiences for customers.

A chance to start building partnerships and achieve net zero

When it comes to net-zero, the roundtable participants agreed that the energy industry is thinking big. But there needs to be more action. The government and regulators need to incentivise and create policy that mandates the embedding of digital technology into projects, and encourages open data sharing. However, organisations shouldn’t sit back and wait. There is real opportunity to act now and drive cross-industry collaboration, build partnerships, support employees, and connect data silos to help drive the new energy system.

Find out more

Accelerate the energy transition

Transform your digital supply chain

Harnessing innovation to accelerate the transition to net zero

Powering a sustainable future podcast with Darryl Willis

Innovate with a modern data strategy

About the authors

Rik leads Microsoft’s industry strategy across manufacturing, energy and resources in the UK. Responsibilities include working with the government and regulators, industry bodies, industry partners, and largest customers to ensure Microsoft enables sectoral needs. Rik sits on multiple industry boards for energy, manufacturing, research, digital twins and digital skills. His focus areas include the energy transition, sustainability, cyber security and digital technologies for operational environments.

Rina leads several commercial businesses within Microsoft UK including Manufacturing, Utilities, Life Sciences and the Built Environment Sector. In this role, she is responsible for supporting customers to accelerate their digital transformation with Microsoft technologies. She supports the enablement of this through partnerships with integrators, regulators, government and industry bodies.

Rina has over 25 years’ experience in the IT industry. She has spent 14 of these in diverse roles across Microsoft. This included Chief of Staff for the UK CEO and EMEA President, where she was a core part of the cultural transformation of Microsoft as part of the broader transformation that Satya Nadella has led for the business.

Before joining Microsoft, Rina held several business development and marketing-related roles within smaller IT and start-up organisations. She lives in Wokingham with husband and enjoys the moments of being a mum again when her children visit from university.

The post How utility firms can help the UK reach net zero by 2025 appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Therefore, the water sector requires new thinking and greater collaboration than ever before. Data, and digital technology has the power to unlock this opportunity. It can also unlock new approaches and processes that can support consumers, create a new universal system, and help us reach our collective net-zero goals. At a recent roundtable with Utility Week, we discussed how the water sector can transform sustainably. We talked about how sharing data can transform the water sector. As a result, we created a graphic of our main outcomes from the roundtable discussion.

Open data platforms and data sharing in the water sector

A centralised, accessible universal system can help water organisations better manage demand and unlock new insights. However, to do this we need to get the basics right. Water organisations need to ensure they are collecting the right data and that data needs to be of good quality. You need to reduce silos internally before looking outwards. By taking advantage of apps such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, you can start taking steps to reduce business silos.

We also need unified data standards and governance. This is easier said than done, as there’s no national body leading this and no means of enforcing standards. Also, organisations could risk spending too much time and effort deciding on what standards to use instead of focussing on immediate priorities. A practical approach could be to choose a non-competitive aspect you can collaborate on. This will establish de facto standards that can be adopted further as collaboration progresses. For example, Azure Data Share helps organisations securely share data in a common standard, while taking advantage of AI and machine learning to drive new insights. This data can be used to create a digital twin of the UK’s water network to help plan for the future, run scenarios, and gain even more insight.

Fostering and accelerating water sector partnerships and ecosystems

Sharing data helps drive new partnerships and relationships. It will also help us collectively manage water supply demands, sustainability goals, and support consumers. As previously mentioned, there’s no national body. This means the onus is on organisations to communicate and collaborate with each other and regulators. For example, we’re working with Accenture on a five-point plan for utilities that aims to speed up the UK’s mission to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

A good way to start, is to focus locally. Connect with other organisations who are geographically close and then start building out towards a national approach. By sharing environmental data, water supply information, and other types of data, you can build more resilient systems, react with agility to demand periods, and even identify and support vulnerable customers.

Digital technology in ecosystems and the water supply chain will help deliver insights and data. Using IoT across water networks can help detect leaks, plan predictive maintenance or adapt to demand. For example, Anglian Water introduced smart meters to consumers. This gives consumers the ability to monitor their own water-saving journey. At the same time, it also gives Anglian Water the insights to better plan water supply and respond to demands. As a result, they’ve delivered an eleven percent reduction in demands across households.

Building digital skills in the water sector

The PR19 stresses the importance of ‘resilience in the round’. This focus is not just on infrastructure resilience but operational, financial and corporate resilience. This means as water organisations look to use digital technology such as AI, IoT, and machine learning to optimise and support operations, they need to ensure their employees can use these technologies effectively.

This can also help them attract new talent and retain current talent. According to Energy and Utility Skills, English/Welsh water organisations will have needed to replace (by volume) their entire workforce by 2024. Despite that, the water industry had the lowest number of utility apprenticeship starts and completions in 2013/14.

By ensuring you have a culture that focusses on learning, you can open up innovation and new value chains, become more resilient, and empower the next generation of employees.

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Accelerating sustainability in the water sector

The water sector relies on a healthy environment. Therefore, it’s important for water organisations to have robust plans on how they are supporting and improving the ecosystem. PR19 commits water companies to reduce water leakage by 16 percent and empower customers to use 13 percent less water by 2025. At the same time, Microsoft has committed to reach net-zero.

Data and digital tech will help us build sustainability. By sharing data across the industry, introducing smart meters and even connecting with other industries such as energy, we can better manage demand, fix leaks, and support the maintenance of water treatment centres.

Building sustainable water systems

The time is now for water organisations to start working together, with regulators and other industries to build cross-collaboration. By creating an open data system, organisations will be in the right spot to help support the UK’s transition to net-zero. At the same time, they will build resilience, agility and innovation. Also important to this is ensuring your employees have the digital skills and tools to support this move.

Find out more

The role of data sharing in water transformation

Discover how to harness the power of data

Accenture and Microsoft collaborate to help accelerate UK’s transition to net-zero carbon emissions

Learn how to drive innovation with data and analytics

Build digital skills with these resources

About the author

Rik leads Microsoft’s industry strategy across manufacturing, energy and resources in the UK. Responsibilities include working with the government and regulators, industry bodies, industry partners, and largest customers to ensure Microsoft enables sectoral needs. Rik is a board member in techUK’s Smart Energy & Utilities working group, techUK’s Digital Twin steering board, UK Research & Innovation Manufacturing Made Smarter, and a member of the BIM4Water Digital Skills steering group. His focus areas are the energy transition, cyber security and digital technologies for operational environments. He is also an independent technology strategy advisor to a super major.

Read more blogs from Rik.

Carrie works with Energy and Utilities customers and partners in the UK. She aligns industry needs to digital capabilities to drive innovation with business leaders. Passionate about learning, she has spent the last four years at Microsoft empowering organisations to upskill employees to adapt to new ways of working with digital technology. In order to inspire the next generation, Carrie volunteers as a STEM Ambassador and has guided others to realise and exceed their potential through mentoring schemes.

The post How to innovate and transform the water sector appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

The English regulator has stated that “the solutions of the past will not be enough to continue to deliver the services of the future.” Amid this, there is also uncertainty about levels of demand, changing weather patterns, population growth, lifestyle and demographic shifts. For the current regulatory period, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland has already adopted the principles of Ethical Business Regulation.

As we work to build back better and reduce our impact on the world, the water sector must not wait to act. It must find better ways of doing things and must start looking for solutions now. Here we review the broader landscape of opportunity for insight-led sustainability in the water sector and five areas of consideration.

Water companies need to build technology partnerships

Last month, we discussed how the water industry could learn from oil and gas as it reinvents itself. Emerging technology such as analytics, AI, IoT, machine learning and smart metering have enormous potential to reduce utilities’ water footprint. Additionally, these technologies can improve productivity, cost-effectiveness and deliver remote solutions to hybrid and frontline workers.  Fundamental to building sustainable approaches is the need to increase the use of digital technology, the alignment of water industry domain expertise with cross sector collaborations and the pursuit of a comprehensive internal reskilling/upskilling programme.

Partnering with transformation companies allows for collaborative innovation ecosystems to harness these emerging technologies and drive the sustainability agenda forward.

Reducing the leak lifecycle in water companies

For the current regulatory period, Ofwat has tasked water companies to cut leakage rates by 16 percent and reduce mains bursts by 12 percent. When comparing to the improvements demanded over the last decade, this is a quantum leap. Water companies cannot simply continue to pursue strategies that have struggled to deliver typically single-digit improvements in recent years. Harnessing data and analytics is key to meet these targets. Microsoft’s cloud technology provides the foundations for organisations like EY to analyse and visualise massive quantities of data collected by sensors and pumps. Combining that data with historical information enables proactive, predictive and even prescriptive maintenance scenarios.

We believe there are five key data and analytics capabilities water companies must establish to enable effective leakage management, and step-change operational performance:

1.     Leak detection – accelerated awareness

By combining existing and long-standing data from SCADA sources with IoT and other distributed assets such as bulk meters and critical pressure points, water companies can analyse and understand pressure and flow anomalies in the supply network. Add in machine learning, and organisations can quickly identify and validate leak events. They can do this at a pace that is unrecognisable in comparison with enduring net nigh-time flow methods, which commonly require days or even weeks to elapse before catalysing on-the-ground investigations.

2.     Leak location – increased accuracy

Knowing you have a leak is only part of the problem. To fix it you must first find it. Here, the opportunity is to extend the data landscape to incorporate operational maintenance, network asset and other open and acquired datasets such as weather, soil type, council works registers, CCTV networks, utility groundworks datasets and even satellite image data. Additionally, there is substantial value and insight in establishing a segmented view of network ‘leak propensity’. In our experience, this vastly accelerates the ability of on-the-ground leakage teams to pin-point leaks up to 70 percent faster and significantly reduce the number of interventions resulting in dry holes.

3.     Intervention optimisation – enabling a digital workforce

With faster leak detection and more accurate leak location, you can rapidly make risk and priority-based decisions for human or automated job ticketing and allocation. Coupled with field-force digital enablement that combines engineers with location and asset information, the latest information is placed directly in the hands of on-the-ground teams for faster, smarter and better-informed decisions and outcomes.

4.     Network pressure – limiting collateral damage

With a focus on reducing service interruption and improving customer service, the rapid post-repair re-pressurisation of the network can often lead to destabilisation of other vulnerable assets in the area. This can create a domino-effect of leak repairs causing further outbreaks. Automated pressure balancing is increasingly common. However, to reduce destabilisation, the speed and level of recommissioning a post-repair segment of the network plays a significant role. Taking an insight-led approach over an extended period can provide support in post-repair decision making; further reducing unwanted additional leak events.

5.      Network renewal – better targeting capital investment

Traditional water and wastewater utility systems are not built for the dramatically changing stresses of climate change and rapid urbanisation. Typically, less than half of one percent of the underground asset network is replaced annually. Putting that into context, it’ll be around 200 years before the current network is refreshed in full. Yet the average pipe lifespan is considered to be around 30 years. The risk that this aging infrastructure brings – both in terms of potential failure and poor environmental compliance – is a key concern for water utilities and highlights the opportunity to embrace digital modernisation.

Therefore, an effective asset replacement strategy is informed by clearly understanding network condition and weak points. The insights common to leak detection and location can be applied with equal success to drive condition-based network replacement priorities and associated value for operational KPIs.

EY has worked with several UK water companies and have extended practical experience creating and implementing analytics-driven solutions including leak detection. In our experience, organisations pursuing an analytics-led augmentation of leak management processes can achieve:

• 25-50 percent reduction in leak awareness lead times
• Up to 70 percent precision in identifying DMA leak locations
• Up to 75 percent reduction in leak location duration
• Over 10 percent reduction in severity of I2S leakage impacts

Adapting operations and demand for efficiency and energy cost reductions

Approximately half of typical water companies’ energy spend relates to pumping clean and wastewater. Yet, many pumping head operations continue to run at fixed and highly conservative schedules aligned to peak demand.

EY found that using demand insights to optimise pumping head operation can reduce the volume and cost of energy. At the same time, it negates the impact of Triad and other punitive tariffs. Software running on Microsoft Azure’s highly scalable Platform as a Service (PaaS) optimises pumping head daily schedules. This allows them to meet customer demand while aligned to operational, safety, regulatory and water quality constraints. As a result, there were significant energy cost reductions for optimised pumping stations enabled by the integration of demand insights across seasonality, weather and external events, using advanced analytics and AI.

In our experience, organisations pursuing an analytics-led approach to clean water pumping optimisation can achieve on average:

• 1-5 percent reduction in energy consumption
• 20 percent average reduction in energy costs

These digital solutions for improved sustainability outcomes are a result of innovation ecosystems and collaborative approaches. For instance, a team from Microsoft, alongside data experts, conducted a water leakage hackathon as part of Northumbrian Water’s Innovation Festival. Analysts worked on data relating to leaks, soil types, water pressure, pipe materials and other elements that impact the likelihood and location of leaks.

Business sustainability in water companies

Sustainability is not just a subject for now. It also means investing for the future and beyond. Today, water companies have spent the bulk of sustainability investment on ODI targets and carbon reduction. They’ve focussed on the operational efficiency of assets and the workforce, leakage, and reducing environmental impact. However, we are already seeing many organisations seriously look to the future. These organisations are developing new business models that drive new revenue streams and business diversification. This is in addition to broader factors around process lifecycle emissions, operational and supply chain circularity, and community engagement.

Historically sustainability innovation initiatives have been more science projects or POCs. This is changing with a transition targeting new profitable sustainable business models and business diversification.

For example:

• Sewage sludge extraction can provide a large part of the nitrogen and phosphorous for crop production.
• Recovering ammonia from wastewater and turning it into green hydrogen fuel.
• Turning heat recovery from purification process into energy.
• Making fertiliser products from production carbon exhaust.
• Creating oxygen for commercial sale from sustainable hydrogen electrolysis.
• Extracting cellulose from the waste stream.

In addition, newer technologies such as AI and digital twins provide more efficient and sustainable ways for the industry to plan, model, simulate, and operate.

Building collaborative innovation ecosystems in water companies

As Ofwat increased sustainability standards in PR19, so did the estimation that the UK will need an extra 3.4 billion litres of water daily between 2035 and 2050.

Human-managed water systems degrade as they’re used. Circularity has the potential to achieve resource efficiency, reduce waste production and to improve environmental, economic and social sustainability. This can be achieved in the transition of wastewater treatment plants to resource recovery facilities, to recover materials and energy. Additionally, circularity can enhance resources via the use of alternative water sources such as rainwater or stormwater harvesting.

This restructuring is an opportunity for UK water companies to be a beacon for sustainability. They can drive progress in the water sector worldwide as we collectively push towards UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, for there to truly be a sustainability revolution in the water sector, we need to collaborate. This is not just between utilities, but regulators, transformation companies and other stakeholders as well. By working together, water companies can improve environmental performance, keep their assets safer, reduce costs, and deliver greater efficiencies.

Therefore, collaboration with transformation companies can play a key role. The right insights at the right time can put utilities on a path to reduce water usage and reach their customer service and sustainability goals. At the same time, technology has become more accessible, with the cost of tools like AI, IoT and smart devices decreasing. There has never been a better time to take a great leap forward to achieve a true digital transformation. Together, we can create a resilient, digital water utility for the future that embraces sustainability.

Find out more

Intelligent Energy Management Systems

Microsoft’s commitment to sustainability

Resources to empower your development teams

Sustainable software engineering

About the authors

Rik joined Microsoft at the start of 2020, with responsibility for Microsoft’s strategy across manufacturing, energy and resources in the UK. He is Microsoft’s lead when working with regulators, industry bodies, industry partners, and our largest customers to ensure Microsoft enables the needs of industry. Since joining, Rik has become a board member in techUK’s Smart Energy & Utilities working group, techUK’s Digital Twin steering board, UK Research & Innovation Manufacturing Made Smarter board, and the BIM4Water Digital Skills steering group. Prior to Microsoft, Rik worked at Cisco for 13 years, with global lead roles in energy and resource industries, IoT and security, and digital transformation.

He has an MBA in international leadership and is currently studying for a Masters in Green Economy.

Mark is a director of Ernst & Young’s insight-led transformation services in the UK. He also leads business development for the UK data and analytics practice and is an analytics subject-matter expert for the UK power and utilities sector. He works across all sectors with a focus on UK power and utility clients providing services in support of insight-led operational optimisation.

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For Microsoft, sustainability has been at the heart of our business for quite some time. We plan to be carbon negative, have zero waste and replenish more water than we consume by 2030. In addition, we are also aiming to use data and AI to help us address biodiversity issues. Mando is a Microsoft partner who uses Azure to help utilities, telecoms, manufacturing and financial services organisations deliver better customer experiences.

In a recent webinar, we discussed the new consumer expectations on utility suppliers around sustainability. Consumers want their suppliers to help them make a difference and create a greener society. It’s no longer about organisations steadily progressing towards meeting sustainability goals. It’s quickly becoming about streamlining and revolutionising your existing processes to ensure you’re positively contributing towards a greener society.

But how can your organisation do this? And how can you support customers on their sustainability journeys? Here we are sharing the five most important points organisations need to consider when building a sustainability strategy.

1.      Streamline and reduce operations

Perhaps the first thing you need to do is to understand your impact on the environment. This is where your data comes into power. You can use data to gain deep insights of how much your organisation relies on carbon, water, and more. We’d recommend starting with the Microsoft Sustainability Calculator, which can help you gain insights and understand your organisation’s carbon emissions. It can help you start the process of improving them and tracking them along your journey. AI for Earth helps organisations solve environmental challenges by harnessing AI and the cloud. You can leverage a range of open source tools that will help accelerate operations, such as analysing land cover or machine learning APIs to spot wildlife.

You can also take advantage of tools like Dynamics 365 to combine your data and reduce organisational silos. Power Platform is a no/low code solution to help streamline operations and reduce paper waste. Machine learning and AI is a great way of reducing paper-based workflows, while improving insights and reducing errors.

Take SSE, for example. They’re deploying analytics, AI and data visualisation capabilities on Microsoft Azure. This means they can scale and gain insights faster, empowering them to generate actionable operational and commercial insights from diverse data sets. They are also using AI to ensure wildlife aren’t negatively affected by new windfarms.

2.      Improve your supply chain

For utilities, sustainability is about more than just providing renewable energy for your customers. It’s about the whole supply chain. Customers expect services that are built with sustainability in mind. The use of circular supply chains are becoming more common, so much so that a 2020 Gartner survey found that 70 percent of supply chain leaders are planning to invest in their circular economy in the next 18 months.

A circular supply chain model encourages organisations to achieve cost efficiencies, facilitate product innovation, create less waste and ultimately, minimise their environmental impact. This is key for your sustainability strategy.

Underpinning this supply chain will be technology. The cloud, IoT, machine learning and automation all have their place to drive transparency while delivering insights. Take Recycleye, for instance. They have goals to improve recycling in the waste management industry. They do this by using machine vision, AI and robotics to detect everything on a waste management facility’s conveyor belt and send it to the right place. For utilities, you can leverage this technology for predictive maintenance and real-time insights to manage customer demand.

3.      Educate and improve customer experiences

According to a 2020 BCG report, 76 percent of respondents think that environmental issues are just as – or more – concerning than health issues. When you announce or share your sustainability goals, you need to make sure you stick to them and stay accountable. For example, after we shared our ambitions in January 2020, we released a progress report a year later to share our journey and learnings with our customers and partners.

One unique position that utility organisations have is the ability to educate their customers on their own sustainability. Anglian Water provides over six million customers with a vital service. They use Azure to help track and manage water supply services to customers. They also have been trialing a smart metering scheme so customers can track their own water usage. As a result, they’ve seen an 11 percent reduction in demands on households. Customers were able to identify leaks and modify their behaviours. At the same time, Anglian Water have more insights to understand their customer’s needs.

4.      Include cross-industry collaboration in you sustainability strategy

For the world to become more sustainable, everyone needs to work together. This includes collaboration at every touchpoint to improve access to new technologies and renewable energy. This will help us be successful in our collective goals. Part of this means sharing data and looking at co-innovation and investment. It’s also about working with regulators to achieve and surpass goals.

This is why Microsoft is working with Accenture and Avanade. We bring together our collective knowledge in cloud, data, AI, IoT and digital twins to help utility and energy companies support the UK’s low-carbon ambition. SSE Renewables is working with the companies to leverage technology to be more cost effective and increase the reliability and life of its assets.

This is a key opportunity for organisations to consider in their sustainability strategy. Rather than just meeting expectations and new regulations you can become ‘best in class’ and shine. A way to do this is to collaborate with other industry experts and create smart cities. By connecting a city through intelligent cloud technologies, you can build resilience, manage critical infrastructure, and make better and more sustainable decisions.

5.      Build a sustainable culture as part of your sustainability strategy

How can we best embed sustainability goals and values into the organisation? By making it part of the culture. To do this, you need to take a top-down approach. We’ve seen organisations bring Chief Sustainability Officers on to take part in key board meetings. Others have strong programmes that focus on sustainability champions to educate internally.

Talking about education, a key factor in leveraging technology that improves your sustainability is to ensure your employees have the skills and ability to do their best work. A strong digital skills programme will democratise skills across the whole organisation. Tools that make working remotely secure and productive can help reduce on-premises energy strain. For example, Centrica use Windows Virtual Desktop to be more agile, and only use the computing power they need, when they need it.

Build your sustainability strategy with authenticity and integrity

Culturally the mindset to be sustainable is there. And the technology to do it is there. From what we’ve seen in the last year businesses can quickly pivot and learn how to use new technology to help them stay connected and productive. When you look internally at your sustainability strategy and outwardly commit to these goals, you can show your customers your commitment authentically. And by using digital technology, you can meet and exceed these, while innovating, improving processes and meeting evolving customer expectations.

Find out more

Get the Sustainability Executive Playbook

Watch the webinar to learn how to be net zero by 2030

Read more on Microsoft’s work

About the authors

Danielle is experienced in enabling Energy organisations to use digital technologies to achieve industry focussed outcomes. It is such a pivotal time for the industry to transform, with renewable energy, sustainability and decarbonisation being at the heart of many of her customer conversations. She’s excited and fortunate that her role at Microsoft allows her to bring together our digital solutions and net-zero aspirations to help create the future of sustainable energy.

Luke helps companies to understand and realise the value that digital services can bring in improving their customers’ experience, reducing costs within their business, and simplifying the lives of their customers and employees.

Mando is a digital agency and Microsoft Gold Partner based in Liverpool. They work with ambitious leaders who need big ideas to create change in a digital world, whilst simultaneously taking care of people and the planet. With a specific focus on getting customers doing more online, they use Microsoft’s .NET, Azure and Cognitive Services platforms to deliver seamless customer experiences. This helps their clients to increase their agility and digital maturity and build value in their business using digital technology.

The post 5 ways to build a sustainability strategy to improve customer experience appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Rising unemployment, changing income levels, remote work, and other elements of a COVID-19 world are impacting consumer spending and forging new customer behaviours. To ensure that utility companies emerge from this crisis on top, new data and new approaches must be implemented.

Our partner SparkBeyond highlights a number of ways data and analytics can provide tangible and practical business outcomes as we transition towards the ‘new normal’.

For deeper insight on these use cases, visit the webinar recording where we and the SparkBeyond team discuss in more detail.

Data and analytics are driving impact in a big way

Traditionally, data models are manually created by internal data science teams and embedded in solutions bought by a business. While relied upon for decades, they have become rigid and lack real time applications. By leveraging AI, utilities can benefit from more flexible models that automate pattern recognition as new data appears. These adaptive models are the key to identifying trends in real time as the economy evolves and pricing changes. This will help businesses meet consumer demand.

There’s a real opportunity to innovate now and shape what that ‘new normal’ will look like and not wait for it to happen. Using data as an asset, taking advantage of best practice partnerships is really the key to accelerate that journey.

Here are four ways that data science and AI can help utility organisations drive impact and achieve successful outcomes:

1. Combine resources

Conventional work processes have undergone a fundamental shift. Remote work, once considered a perk of office culture, has become the norm. Therefore, the ability to access and utilise resources from wherever you or your employees are is a must.

Utilities can combine productivity applications, cloud technology services, and security systems together. Teams in multiple locations can cross-train one another, collaborate on inter-departmental projects, and work together harmoniously.

Transform the way you work from wherever your people are.

2. Forecast changes with AI

The ability to discover where delays may occur in the supply chain or the particular elements that are likely to drive up costs is simply invaluable.

Your internal teams such as engineering and asset and customer care and marketing, can leverage data science platforms. They can discover a range of explainable insights, identify at-risk areas of business and prevent problems before they happen. They can also forecast demand by identifying hidden patterns buried deep in data, understanding key drivers of new customer behaviours.

For example, one utility company sought to predict levels of water pollution build-up to ensure operations continued uninterrupted. They were unable to leverage external data sets such as geo-spatial data (SHAPE files). This was because of the technical difficulties involved with integration and alignment. This meant the company was not able to consider external factors which were impacting the company’s operations, such as restaurants and farms in the immediate vicinity of water pumping stations. Previous consultancies had armed them with just one actionable insight after three months.

Using external data sets such as census, weather reports, demographical data, OpenStreetMap, and others with Azure Data and AI stack, SparkBeyond discovered hundreds of new drivers of water pollution. This included the effects of the weather, all the way through to uncovering geo-spatial insights such as the impact of farms and restaurants. To help the company mitigate additional risk, these insights were used to create a unique risk scoring method for each pumping station. Glassbox explainability meant that everyone, from engineers through to the CEO, could interpret the insights and the model’s predictions as well as take confidence to their accuracy.

3. Personalise the customer experience

Take the economic impact of COVID-19 for example. This has caused lower incomes and higher unemployment rates. Making the likelihood of payment defaults driven by unaffordability higher than ever.

What if we could uncover new drivers of at-risk utility customers?

Using a combination of historical payment information, demographical data, marketing reports, and customer interactions, utilities can detect early trend signals and predict which customers are more likely to default. This creates new opportunities to prioritise certain services to the most at-risk customers. You can help them avoid payment default while optimising customer retention efforts.

4. Reduce customer churn

The most effective way to lower churn is to understand why customers leave. Data scientists and existing solutions can predict which customers will churn, but not why. In turn customer service and marketing teams can struggle to implement effective customer retention efforts.

Did you know that the day a customer is called can impact the likelihood of churning? Or that low team performance can be attributed to sales reps’ outdated call scripts?

AI can spot weaknesses in the supply chain, leading to the discovery of unique, explainable insights that were previously unexplored. Rapidly searching connections in both internal and external datasets and automatically combining features can uncover micro segments and create new ones.

For the utilities sector, these connections explain why – and when – customers churn. Feature discovery helps business leaders create new ways of customer engagement such as virtual assists and remote digital services.

To lower customer churn and create effective engagement, utility companies must accelerate digital transformation programmes. They can engage customers in new ways and help engage them for a powerful and positive impact.

Using data and analytics to find the unknowns

Data science teams and solutions only find the insights the human data scientist thinks to test and code for manually. This means companies will only find the insights they expect.

But with AI you can discover deeper insights quicker, as there are no long manual processes. With SparkBeyond on Azure, for example, you can combine internal data with a rich source of external datasets, such as geospatial, weather, economic, and demographic data. But it’s about more than in-depth analytics. It’s about asking the right questions to solve problems unique to the Utility sector.

The SparkBeyond platform eliminates the need for internal data science teams to manually search for patterns and correlations. Human limitation causes analysts to find connections only where they think to look. But SparkBeyond on Azure removes the limitations of human intelligence, time and bias. It can – even without large data sets – search for small, subtle patterns that generate maximum impact. The platform leverages all possible data sources. This removes the need for complex data to find the unknowns and the unexplored, revealing key drivers of change.

Utilities can emerge from this crisis on top by implementing AI-powered, data science-backed solutions now.

The power of data analytics and AI can be realised today – it is not just a thing for the future.

“Just as the widespread adoption of computerised spreadsheets in the 1990s unlocked new ways to understand and manipulate data, so too does the current explosion in new data tools and analytical techniques promise to elevate utilities’ understanding about their operations and customers. The first important step in unlocking that value is for utility executives to realise the current potential of analytics and experiment with the tools they already have.”

Bain and Company

Embracing data and analytics

Quick wins are required to prove the value of data and analytics. However, utilities are already seeing the operational and financial benefits today. The overall journey to a consistent business-focussed data platform may take some time, but the millions of pounds in value will not be possible without embracing advanced analytics and AI.

Keep an eye out for the next exciting addition to the back to work series, when we hear practical customer examples of how technology has enabled and transformed the workforce experience.

Find out more

Create intelligent apps with Azure AI

About the authors

Rik is responsible for establishing and driving Microsoft’s strategy and position in manufacturing, energy, and resources in the UK.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Rik worked at Cisco for 13 years, with global roles in digital transformation, IoT/IIoT, and security in energy and process industries, specialising in new and emerging technology adoption. He created a number of global solutions, validated designs, training and collateral for industrial environments, with a focus on the OT/operational domain.

Rik has worked in various standards bodies/consortia including Open Process Automation, IEC61850, IEC62351, and been UK Cigre SCD2 Lead.

He has written for industry publications and journals, authored multiple technical and business white papers, and is a published author with a book on advanced security for IoT/IIoT.

Rik holds a Bachelor’s Degree, and an MBA focused on international leadership.

George has over 10 years’ experience helping companies in the energy sector navigate rapid change. Formerly Asia Pacific Commercial Director at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, George looks after SparkBeyond’s energy, utilities, and power customer practice, and helps them supercharge their AI ambitions. George has also written several blogs on the subject of energy and AI.

SparkBeyond is a Top 15 global data and AI Microsoft partner used across many Global Fortune 2000 names. SparkBeyond is also McKinsey’s global AI platform.

The post 4 ways data and analytics can help the utilities sector in the new normal appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Firstly, it will have an impact on how an organisation is able to operate and respond throughout this period. Safety, physical distancing, moving to remote working where possible, and potential staff shortages will all affect an organisation. Secondly, it will likely change how utilities look to operate in the future.

The future of utilities: driving digital

For some of our customers, we’ve found the focus for them has purely been supporting core business activities and keeping the grid reliable. However, for others it has presented an opportunity to accelerate their digital optimisation and transformation strategy.

The industry is already transforming. To succeed in the future of the utilities industry, the right balance between reinventing, growing its core business, and expanding into new business models and revenue streams must be maintained. The IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Utilities 2020 Predictions Report highlights a few statistics:

The journey to an agile organisation

Digital technology is clearly not new for utilities, but for many, COVID-19 has rapidly accelerated adoption. Utility organisations have reacted quickly and in some cases, have started to actively explore how their business will operate in the future. The future of the utilities industry will focus on digital dexterity. We’re already seeing a less technology risk-averse customer appear.

To help with this process we are supporting in three key ways:

1. Navigate the now: Supporting our customers’ most pressing needs to maintain business continuity despite the disruptions and restrictions of the moment.
2. Plan the comeback: Helping our customers prepare to rebound their business as restrictions ease in a time of continued uncertainty and upheaval.
3. Shape the new normal: Helping to reimagine our customers’ business models to leverage insights, streamline operations, and realise business efficiencies to succeed in an environment that will likely be permanently altered from pre-pandemic times.

Many are still very much focussed on the first two phases. This includes; employee safety, business continuity, expanding remote operations, and finding new ways to engage with customers.

There is also a desire to accelerate back to a ‘new normal’, or at least a new way of operating. Utility businesses are well prepared. However, there are a number of ways to enhance the response to potential issues that arise in the short-term. This can even be done while allowing new ways of working in the future.

We’ll take a look at how the utilities sector can leverage technology to gain these capabilities in order to operate as effectively as possible.

Impact on industry and rising trends

The delivery of power services will continue as normal as utilities focus on core operational business activities. However, construction, renewables, and new business projects are likely to be impacted due to logistical and supply chain issues.

We’ve seen shifting consumption patterns and drop in demand as well as customer churn and bill revenue losses. This will make the future more difficult to forecast. UK energy companies will find themselves re-prioritising IT tasks and managing customer expectations differently.

However, the International Renewable Energy Agency doesn’t believe COVID-19 will impact the transition to net-zero C02 emissions. Now is a great opportunity to assess and address sustainability opportunities ready for a ‘greener’ new normal.

How digital technology opens key opportunities for utilities

Businesses are responding and planning their comeback. We’re focussing on working closely with utility businesses to maximise the impact of their digital technology investment.

Our customers are exploring opportunities to work differently, and this will have the maximum business impact. This includes increasing remote monitoring and automation to reduce onsite presence and streamline operations.

By increasing digital engagement, utilities will leverage new channels and technologies to deliver more personalised customer experiences. The use of analytics to drive personalised customer experiences, including proactively contacting at-risk customers, is a new area to adopt.

Most utility organisations had to implement various forms of social distancing, including quickly enabling a remote workforce. Moving to remote collaboration tools and cloud-based platforms not only empowers a remote workforce, but keeps firstline workers onsite connected.

Use forward-looking strategies for agility now and tomorrow

The utilities sector must ensure that it has forward-looking strategies in place to address various scenarios that may arise during the three phases. Business continuity will remain of paramount importance. This is to ensure the grid stays reliable and workers and customers stay safe and healthy.

There is a real opportunity to consider future investments in a greener and sustainable power system. The UK government is formulating policies to stimulate the economy. Energy infrastructure that will help meet future carbon reduction targets is a strong area for investment. Utilities have an opportunity to increase their investment and focus on efficient and carbon-reducing energy infrastructure that is sustainable, technologically advanced, and future-focussed.

To be successful in the future of the utilities industry, organisations must continue a journey of digital agility. Look at technology and processes aligned to optimisation and innovation. You must also learn to follow a ‘business innovation sprint’ mindset: think big, scale fast, and fail fast.

Roberta Bigliani, Vice President of IDC Energy Insights sums this up well:

“It is not easy, but utilities must maintain the right balance between reinventing and growing their core business while expanding into new business models to get new revenue streams. This requires top management to balance investments accordingly, to have the courage to challenge the status quo, and to disrupt the old ways of working — opening companies to the ecosystem to ignite innovation and recruit scarce talent. It also requires a new company culture — less bureaucratic and more agile — with the goal of making companies relevant, resilient, and more flexible toward risk”

In the next blog in this series we will dive deeper into the customer experience and asset optimisation areas, with new insights from our partner SparkBeyond.

Find out more

Learn how to support resilient operations

About the author

Rik is responsible for establishing and driving Microsoft’s strategy and position in energy and resources in the UK.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Rik worked at Cisco for 13 years, with global roles in digital transformation, IoT/IIoT, and security in energy and process industries, specialising in new and emerging technology adoption. He created a number of global solutions, validated designs, training and collateral for industrial environments, with a focus on the OT/operational domain.

Rik has worked in various standards bodies/consortia including Open Process Automation, IEC61850, IEC62351, and been UK Cigre SCD2 Lead.

He has written for industry publications and journals, authored multiple technical and business white papers, and is a published author with a book on advanced security for IoT/IIoT.

Rik holds a Bachelor’s Degree, and an MBA focused on international leadership.

The post Digital agility: the future of the utilities industry appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

This is a period where utilities can focus on digital dexterity – actively engaging new technology to enable and transform business operations. This is to ensure the grid meets the reliability and safety requirements customers and regulators demand.

It’s not just about being innovative and flexible with technology. The trust in digital and the new working patterns it enables must also be addressed through people and culture. A data-driven strategy combining technology, people, and processes in a trusted environment will help employees and customers navigate changes where a timely response is of the essence. This will set energy utilities on a path of future success.

A few ways you can do this is to take a cloud-centric approach and make use of collaboration tools. Data and analytics will help employees maintain effective customers engagements but you may also need to think about new approaches to accurately forecast energy trading and the debt position that will arise as a result of shifting demand patterns.

Here are four ways to help with internal and external digital dexterity.

1.      Workforce transformation

Most utilities have planned for, and already implemented changes to the way they work, from reducing meeting sizes to fully closing-down work locations and preparing contingency field workers.

IT teams are closely working with their colleagues on network and communications infrastructure. They need to ensure continuity of business is maintained while you move to a remote workforce, including keeping data secure. Moving to remote collaboration tools and cloud-based platforms alleviates on-site staffing issues, enables speed of decision-making, and allows for remote expertise to be brought in from any location. Employees will also need the skills to be confident and get the best out of these platforms. Some type of re- or up-skilling may be required to ensure the trust needed.

What it means for businesses

Think of this as an opportunity to assess future workforce patterns. Combine your data and analytics with intelligence on cloud-based platforms like Dynamics 365 to provide better business outcomes and customer experiences. These will also allow your workforce to access the information they need, when they need it, quickly and securely from wherever they are.

What it means for employees

Working remotely doesn’t mean being isolated. Microsoft Teams lets employees chat, meet, or collaborate quickly and securely. There’s app integration for maintenance, job scheduling, job task completion, documentation, remote assistance, and it works on a range of devices for field-based, office-based, or home workers.

By inputting a degree of automation and using platforms that simplify processes, your employees will also have time to invest in up-skilling to match the workplace transformation.

What it means for customers

By moving to cloud-based platforms, you can provide a single view of a customer. This means you’ll be able to provide up to date, contextually relevant information to your customers. Solve problems quicker, and use data to create better experiences.

2.      Customer experience

Call centre staffing and availability will be impacted, this means you can leverage new technologies such as chatbots, apps, and websites to deliver digital customer experiences. The biggest impacts on customers will be an increase to their energy bill as they work from home and potentially also an inability to pay. Use analytics to better engage with customers, predict customer churn, and identify vulnerable customers where you can proactively offer help.

What it means for businesses

Use a platform like Dynamics 365 to give employees a single view of customer information and lean on digital channels to support impacted call centre staff.

Use PowerApps to create easy tools that can quickly inform employees of new information, points of contact, and give them the ability to update their managers on their changing situation.

What it means for employees

Automated chatbots can help answer frequently asked questions. Data and analytics will provide customer-specific information and engagement suggestions as well. These will help give employees more time and knowledge to provide personalised customer support.

What it means for customers

Both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) customers will be impacted. Consider reverting rates to non-time-of-use tariffs, allow customers to modify their energy plans mid-cycle, introduce bill payment holidays, and proactively contact customers to offer advice.

3.      Remote monitoring and automation

Reduce physical onsite presence and streamline operations, with IoT technologies for remote monitoring, remote control, and automation of simple tasks. You can then take advantage of the data collected to create processes and quickly adapt to changing working patterns. Deliver an intelligent, connected field service by moving from a costly break–fix model to proactive, predictive maintenance.

What it means for businesses

By enhancing facilities and assets with technology and equipping field workers with mobility tools, you can use data to predict, detect, and resolve issues before they become a problem, saving you time and money. Timely data analysis will focus operational activities, prioritising work with essential assets and deferring the maintenance schedule of those less critical.

What it means for employees

Your technicians will have the time, tools, and information they need to resolve problems correctly the first time. Use remote assist and augmented reality to allow technicians to collaborate more efficiently by working together from different locations.

What it means for customers

Remote monitoring and automation ensure consistent and dependable operations, meaning less downtime.

4.      Understand and forecast change

Focus on forecasting and prediction for an ongoing drop in demand (US energy consumption was three percent lower in March 2020 than in 2019, a loss of about three years of sales growth), and a shift in energy consumption patterns, not just on your network, but in the context of customer churn and bill revenue losses. Use innovative technologies such as AI and analytics on both forecasting and debt models to ensure forecasts do not swing wildly and drive up costs.

What it means for businesses

Data and analytics can further enhance the complex forecasting models of today. This will add additional resilience in predicting demand, future buying patterns, and shifting debt position. The increase in home energy consumption won’t fill the gap left by the drop from industrial customers. With a moving timeline due to economic unpredictability, accurate forecasting has increased relevance. There is opportunity to focus on renewable energy integration and tying dynamic grid balancing into new business models for real-time prediction.

What it means for employees

Employees will be able to drive change quickly using precise load forecasting to ensure operations aren’t interrupted in the coming months and preventing power outages. AI and data analytics can help reduce stress levels for your employees by taking over certain administrative tasks. They will then be able to focus on more critical work, improving the efficiency of internal processes, leading to reduced cost, and improved service.

What it means for customers

You will be in a better position to provide a reliable service to customers. Also you will ensure costs are not driven up due to fluctuating forecasts. This is especially critical as customers may have an inability to pay bills or seek payment holidays.

Support your customers and employees

By maximising the impact of AI, data, and analytics, you can gain better operational resilience and business digital dexterity. You’ll also be able to provide stable and empathetic customer experiences. With these tools and an environment of trust, your employees will feel supported and empowered.

Find out more

5 tips to keep your remote team engaged and motivated

About the author

Rik is responsible for establishing and driving Microsoft’s strategy and position in energy and resources in the UK.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Rik worked at Cisco for 13 years, with global roles in digital transformation, IoT/IIoT, and security in energy and process industries, specialising in new and emerging technology adoption. He created a number of global solutions, validated designs, training and collateral for industrial environments, with a focus on the OT/operational domain.

Rik has worked in various standards bodies/consortia including Open Process Automation, IEC61850, IEC62351, and been UK Cigre SCD2 Lead.

He has written for industry publications and journals, authored multiple technical and business white papers, and is a published author with a book on advanced security for IoT/IIoT.

Rik holds a Bachelor’s Degree, and an MBA focused on international leadership.

The post Digital dexterity: 4 ways you can support energy customers and employees while staying resilient appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.