IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Utilities 2020 Predictions

This IDC FutureScape provides the outlook of IDC Energy Insights' analyst team for the worldwide utility industry for 2020, as well as the planning horizon for the next five years. "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," said Roberta Bigliani, vice president, IDC Industry Insights.

IDC FutureScape Figure

Executive Summary

IDC FutureScape Predictions

• Summary of External Drivers
• Predictions: Impact on Technology Buyers
  • Prediction 1: While developing new business models, in 2020, utilities will put 80% of their execution efforts into modernizing the core, with emphasis on applying AI to customer, asset or enterprise operations
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 2: By 2021, only 20% of electric utilities will have developed an end-to-end emobility ecosystem - from equipment to customer applications - unlocking business worth of up to 10% of their gross margins
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 3: By 2024, 70% of utilities operating in countries not yet at 100% electrification rate will invest in microgrids to achieve their clean energy goals and grant energy access to the entire population
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 4: By 2022, 70% of water companies will have deployed advanced analytics and AI on telemetry and operational systems data, reducing leakages, power usage, and chemical usage by 10%, 15%, and 30%, respectively
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 5: By 2022, half of utilities and energy retailers will have reorganized their operations along the customer journey, leveraging agile to speed up processes and outcomes while increasing CSAT by 30%
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 6: By 2020, over 30% of utilities will still have segregated IT-OT governance models with less efficient operations and maintenance processes compared with utilities with highly integrated IT-OT models
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 7: By 2023, over 50% of utilities will use digital twins for T&D assets, reducing simulation model creation time for T&D systems by nearly 90% and providing significant savings in maintenance costs
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 8: By 2025, 70% of utility-owned solar and wind capacity will be managed through APM platforms, improving capacity factors by an additional 5% in solar and 10% in wind
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 9: By 2023, 50% of electricity, gas, and water companies will have deployed AR, wearables, AI, or robots to augment field technicians' capabilities, improving safety and reducing maintenance costs by 25%
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance
  • Prediction 10: In 2021, one out of five electric, gas, or water utilities will appoint a new CISO capable of holistically managing digital trust and reducing corporate risk
    • Associated Drivers
    • IT Impact
    • Guidance

Advice for Technology Buyers

External Drivers: Detail

• The Age of Innovation - Driving the Future Enterprise
  • Description
  • Context
• Accelerated Disruption - Navigating Business Challenges as Volatility Intensifies
  • Description
  • Context
• Sense, Compute, Act - Maximizing Data Value
  • Description
  • Context
• Crisis of Digital Trust - Escalating Threats Mandate Strategic Responses
  • Description
  • Context
• Intelligence Everywhere - AI's Opportunity and Implications
  • Description
  • Context
• Rising Customer Expectations - More Convenience, Customization, and Control
  • Description
  • Context
• Economies of Intelligence - AI, Human, and Organizational "Learning" Fuels Asymmetrical Advantage
  • Description
  • Context

Learn More

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