Utilities operations transformed
With billions of dollars in global network modernization funding already approved, utilities have the opportunity to align asset renewal, digital transformation, and organizational change into a modernization strategy that maximizes returns on investment while accelerating resilience and innovation.
New research from the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBM IBV) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) reinforces why operational technology (OT) digital maturity and OT/IT integration have become imperatives. As surveyed utilities concentrate on their top operational priorities—modernizing network infrastructure for electricity networks, integrating renewables and distributed energy resources (DERs), and improving forecasting and load planning—traditional operating models are reaching their limits.
More advanced utilities have implemented digital capabilities in their operational workforce
What is the impact of unified ecosystems for operational platforms?
More advanced utilities show what’s possible: unified ecosystems of operational platforms deliver 18% higher operational responsiveness and enable faster, more coordinated decision-making across utilities networks.
More advanced utilities realize 24% greater access to operational data for decision-making and a 16% increase in energy efficiency.
Why is operational intelligence the next frontier?
By integrating digital OT and shifting from reactive to predictive operations, utilities see measurable gains: 17% faster outage recovery, 14% greater forecasting accuracy, and 12% higher asset utilization.
How do people serve as catalysts for sustainable progress?
More advanced utilities have made deliberate investments in talent. 96% have cross-functional OT/IT integration teams and most have formalized governance models. These foundations enable deployment of digital capabilities more broadly across operational workforces in areas such as industrial IoT, OT, cybersecurity, and AI/ML applications.
Utilities that report measurable progress toward OT/IT integration over the past two years reduced operational costs 13% and decreased capital expenditures by 10%.
What’s the payoff for utilities investing in interoperable systems, mature data hubs, and predictive tools?
Digitally advanced utilities achieve far stronger situational awareness. They can monitor and manage network conditions in real time, integrate DERs faster, and respond to events with greater precision. Utilities that have made OT transformation investments over the past two years report 20% faster DER integration and 14% better customer engagement.
What are some of the biggest barriers to OT/IT integration and transformation?
More than three-quarters of executives cite legacy infrastructure and the absence of unified data platforms as the biggest technical barriers. Many OT environments rely on assets over 15 years old with proprietary systems that impede interoperability. Nearly four in five report cybersecurity concerns are a major reason why legacy OT systems remain in place longer than technically necessary.
Where do utilities stand on workforce readiness for digital transformation in operations?
Almost half of executives (46%) say their workforce is mostly ready, with employees engaged and generally skilled, with some gaps remaining. A further 10% say their workforce is fully capable, highly skilled, adaptive, and actively driving initiatives. At these levels, utilities still need to build workforce depth to sustain transformation at scale.
How does moving from modernization to predictive optimization unlock value from digital OT?
Transformation accelerates when utilities embed intelligence into operations. With AI, digital twins, advanced sensors, and real-time analytics, utilities are shifting from upgrading equipment to enabling a network that learns and adapts. These actions unlock the intelligence required to anticipate network conditions, automate responses, and drive continuous operational improvement.
What are critical enablers of predictive operations for utilities?
Data quality and consistency are essential. More advanced utilities report reliable digital data across most operational sites and 86% use middleware or edge platforms to wrap legacy or proprietary systems, ensuring interoperability across diverse assets. Meanwhile, less advanced peers face gaps and inconsistencies that limit their ability to scale analytics and AI.
What steps can utilities executives take now to sustain digital and operational transformation?
Start with building a connected network operations backbone and deploying digital OT to enable predictive, autonomous operations. By empowering the workforce to run a modern, data-driven network, utilities can continuously optimize network performance and scale what works.
Download the report to learn more about the singular opportunity utilities have now to modernize their systems and reinvent business models around digital operations.
