In exclusive research by Utility Week and OpenText, utility stakeholders were asked to identify the biggest barriers to digital transformation – and whether radical change is imminent.
The UK utilities industry is experiencing an intense period of disruptive change. Macro-economic and political trends are impacting heavily on both asset-heavy monopoly utilities and their competitive counterparts in retail markets, influencing regulatory regimes and perceptions of legitimacy and changing expectations regarding utility roles and responsibilities as well as acceptable levels of profitability.
But alongside these strategically critical market dynamics, utilities are also grappling with the implications of myriad and interlinking technological innovations for their businesses.
The results of Utility Week’s digital transformation survey, conducted in association with OpenText, reflect a UK utilities sector torn between a desire to be ambitious in the pursuit of digitally-enabled opportunities and the realities of a tough business environment in which investment is hard-won and key policy and regulatory frameworks are in flux.