Daring to share – Utility Week roundtable
The potential of interoperable data in the protection of Priority Service Users
IOTICS co-hosted a roundtable with Utility Week to discuss the potential of interoperable data around Priority Service Users. Themes in recent reports by the National Preparedness Commission and Utility Week including data sharing to protect vulnerable customers and achieve net zero were discussed.
Senior industry figures as well as data and innovation leaders attended the roundtable to debate these themes. The discussion had the ‘for’ and ‘against’ a digital spine running throughout. Some thought a selective sharing model was crucial for a more cooperative balance that allows trust between partners to evolve. Others expressed concern that at least some standardisation was necessary to minimise risks.
The roundtable panel discussed many points around the potential of interoperable data in the Utility sector, in the context of enforcement, privacy and building digital ecosystems. Business Development Manager Dan Thomas expressed his enthusiasm for the conversations had at the roundtable,
“The roundtable event generated some extremely interesting and sometimes contentious discussions around what’s required to ignite the data sharing landscape,” he said.
“It’s clear that some organisations want more input and guidance from regulatory bodies, whilst others have decided the time has come to start pushing the boundaries of innovation and commencing work on their cross boundary data ecosystems, such as the work being undertaken by Thames Water, UK Power Networks and Emergency Services to support Vulnerable Customers”
The report was based on in-depth interviews with innovation and digital leaders across utilities and highlighted a common appetite to collaborate with peers and other industries on data sharing as well as communicating the value of digitalisation within their own businesses.
The report suggested that in many cases barriers to sharing data were self-imposed and that organisations across multiple sectors need to adopt philosophy of “dare to share”.
Read the full round table write up here
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