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

This service develops unique analysis 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: European Utility IT and Operational Technologies Strategies service will address the following topics:

• IT and OT investment and strategy to support the changing needs of the utilities industry, including the electrification of demand, decarbonization of operations and, in general, the environmental, financial, and societal sustainability of the business
• European utilities' adoption of digital technologies like big data and analytics, AI, IoT, mobility, and cloud and their impact on business performance, operations, and customer and employee experience
• Evolution of OT in the European utility market, as well as IT-OT integration and governance
• Trends related to the 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 model of European utilities?
2. What are the key market trends and challenges facing the utilities business in the years ahead and their implication for IT, OT, and line-of-business executives?
3. What are the opportunities and threats 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 do IT investment and spending priorities look like across the industry?
8. How can IT align with the business, achieve greater efficiencies, and deploy an infrastructure that can support future advances?
9. What are the suppliers and the solutions available on the European utilities market?

The IDC Energy Insights: European Utility 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 electricity, gas, and water businesses. Suppliers to the utilities market will also benefit from this service with a better understanding of key market trends and challenges.