REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Nov. 6,
2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A large majority (71 percent) of
utilities now use cloud software, up from just 45 percent three
years ago according to a new Oracle survey. Improving customer
experience was noted as the key driver for increased cloud
investment. But while progress has been made, 85 percent of
respondents still cite security as a top concern and noted that
regulatory acceptance remains a barrier to cloud adoption.
"Just a few years ago, utilities looked at cloud computing with
skepticism at best. Today, many realize it's essential to their
survival," said Brian Bradford, vice
president, industry solutions, Oracle. "Utilities are increasingly
seeing cloud as a fundamental asset in meeting ever-evolving
expectations, mitigating security concerns, and turning data into
an opportunity to modernize and evolve their operations to better
serve constituents and customers."
The report, conducted by research firm Zpryme, surveyed more
than 150 global utility leaders to better understand the pace and
breadth of cloud computing adoption. Respondents spanned
investor-owned, municipal, cooperative and district/federal
utilities representing electric, gas, water, and renewables. To
download the full report, visit:
https://etsinsights.com/reports/the-acceleration-of-cloud-computing-for-utilities/
Changing Customer Expectations
Customers are
increasingly looking for more information regarding their overall
utility usage and bill and how to lessen the impact of both. And
they expect this with the high level of service and personalization
that they are enjoying in other sectors, such as retail and
banking. Utilities see cloud technologies as a means to provide the
speed and control to meet these customer expectations. So, it was
no surprise to see continued investment in customer experience and
engagement (31 percent) and customer information (29 percent) cloud
systems in the top five investment priorities for utilities in the
coming years.
Drowning in Data
Sixty-four percent of utilities noted
that cloud computing is critical to my company's future success. A
key driver is the need to better manage an ever-growing pool of
data coming from smart meters, IoT sensors, customers' home energy
devices, and more. Utilities realize that it is becoming too great
a task and risk to manage this influx without a significant
investment in tools that can capture and analyze grid edge, supply
chain, and customer data quickly. Utilities hope to use the
technological flexibility provided by cloud computing to innovate
by using data to solve business problems from grid optimization to
managing distributed energy resources (DERs).
"Utilities are seeing the impact that digital transformation is
having on their business model," said Jason
Rodriguez, CEO of Zpryme. "The challenge is so much greater
than simply capturing millions of disparate data points. Utilities
need IT tools to manage and drive better business decisions and
cloud computing provides the agility to more effectively integrate
data predictively use it."
Security Concerns Remain
Utilities remain concerned
about security (85 percent) and privacy (81 percent) and also rated
these as the biggest barriers they face when it comes to using or
expanding cloud computing. Concerns, however, were not around the
vulnerability of cloud computing technology itself, but rather a
growing barrage of increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity
threats. Whether it is IoT devices, field area networks, or 5G
networks, utilities are operating in a hyper-connected digital
ecosystem that can provide new and varied opportunities for
nefarious actors to expose their networks. Utilities recognize that
they need to stay vigilant and that will require help from both
regulators and vendors.
Regulatory Right-Sizing
While improving, many
regulators globally still don't allow for utilities to earn a rate
of return on their cloud investments, which impedes upgrading
legacy IT systems. While utilities recognize the role that
regulators play in approving their prudent expenditures, 26 percent
cited regulatory acceptance as a continued barrier to cloud
adoption. The majority of utility respondents (75 percent),
however, also note that regulators can play a strong role in
helping protect customer privacy and security.
Clouds Ahead
Many utilities dipped their toe in the
cloud waters with enterprise applications, such as enterprise
resource management (ERP) or human capital management (HCM) and 74
percent plan to spend more on cloud in the next 3-5 years. While a
move to better serve and engage customers is driving this next
phase of cloud adoption, operational system investments are not far
behind. Forty-three percent of utilities have increased their
operational spending by at least 25 percent over 2015 levels.
To learn more about Oracle's utility solutions, please visit:
www.oracle.com/utilities
About Oracle
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application suites for ERP, HCM and CX, plus best-in-class database
Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
from data centers throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information about Oracle
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SOURCE Oracle