IDC Energy Insights: Europe, Middle East and Africa Utilities IT and Operational Technologies Strategies

The IDC Energy Insights: Europe, Middle East and Africa Utilities IT and Operational Technologies Strategies service is designed to help IT, operations, and business management in utilities to navigate the changes impacting the electricity, gas, and water businesses. The service provides exclusive research and direct access to subject matter experts on the impacts of digital technologies on IT and energy and water business processes across value chain segments. Guidance is provided on the right IT and operational technology (OT) investments needed to meet the corporate objectives of sustainability, reliability, operational efficiency, business performance, and customer and employee experience.

This service develops unique analyses and comprehensive data through IDC Energy Insights' proprietary research projects, along with ongoing communications with industry experts, utility management, ICT vendors, and service providers. With decades of experience in the utility industry, our analysts leverage a broad spectrum of expertise and intellectual property from both IDC and IDC Energy Insights. Research reports elucidate business strategy, best practices, technology selection, and vendor assessment, along with short perspectives on topical issues. To ensure relevance, our analysts work with subscribers to identify and prioritize specific topics to be covered in research reports.

Throughout the year, the IDC Energy Insights: Europe, Middle East and Africa Utilities IT and Operational Technologies Strategies service will address the following topics:

• IT and OT investment and strategy to support the changing needs of the utility industry, including demand for electrification, the decarbonization of operations, and the environmental, financial, and societal sustainability of the business
• EMEA utilities' adoption of digital technologies, such as big data and analytics, AI, IoT, mobility, and cloud, and the impacts of those technologies on business performance, operations, and customer and employee experience
• The evolution of OT in the EMEA utility market, as well as IT-OT integration and governance
• Trends related to utilities' main IT applications areas (e.g., enterprise asset management, energy trading and risk management, field service and mobile workforce management, meter data management, customer care and billing, customer experience management, and customer engagement)
• Best practices and case studies related to business process and technology alignment
• Utilities' IT priorities and IT performance: business-related IT strategy, budget, data management, and governance
• IDC MarketScape evaluations of technologies servicing the European utility marketplace

Our research addresses the following issues that are critical to your success:

1. How are digital technologies impacting the business and operating models of utilities across EMEA?
2. What are the key market trends and challenges facing the utility business in the years ahead, and what are their implications for IT, OT, and line-of-business executives?
3. What opportunities and threats are associated with business model change, and what are the technology requirements?
4. How can technology be used to generate new revenue streams, increase efficiencies, reduce costs, gain competitive advantage, and ensure regulatory compliance?
5. How do technologies such as big data and analytics, AI, IoT, mobility, and cloud apply to the utility industry?
6. What is the viability of emerging technologies, and how can their potential benefits be reaped?
7. What are the IT investment and spending priorities within and across the industry?
8. How can IT align with the business, achieve greater efficiencies, and deploy infrastructure that can support future advances?
9. Who are the suppliers, and what solutions are available in the EMEA utility market?

The IDC Energy Insights: Europe, Middle East and Africa Utilities IT and Operational Technologies Strategies service is ideally suited to support the needs of utility business managers and IT executives and managers responsible for supporting major applications for generation, transmission, distribution, and customer operations in the electricity, gas, and water businesses. Suppliers to the utility market will also benefit from this service — from a better understanding of key market trends and challenges.