SAP for Utilities Industry Research Webcast Summary

This was an ASUG webcast from last week.

Figure 1: Source: ASUG

The great  Marc Rosson was a co-speaker along with ASUG Research.

69 responses were received for this survey

Figure 2: Source: ASUG

It’s a challenging time for utilities

Incorporating automation, AI, smart metering

Customers falling behind on payments, no recourse

Remote work

Marc feels the trends are here to stay

Many of utilities have turned off dunning; then turning it back on in the future will be a challenge

Figure 3: Source: ASUG

Critical factors that impact daily work

Require quality data and the right tools

Data management and analytics rose to top as critical to jobs

Other factors:

Cybersecurity – 91% important

Optimizing field operations – 76% identified this as important

Enterprise GIS: – 76% importance

Predictive maintenance – 72% important

Figure 4: Source: ASUG

More detailed – impact of business challenges

Data analytics and dashboards are top impact for utilities

Marc: why – information based decision making

The cloud continues be the way to handle dynamic amounts of data

IoT – about getting information from our customers

AI – will come with more data and embedded with SAP solutions

Figure 5: Source: ASUG

Lower budgets, limited resources, more options in technology

Threats of data breaches are a concern

How upskills utilities?  Marc uses MS DevOps to manage projects

Figure 6: Source: ASUG

Where SAP utility customers run their SAP instances –  only 25% on premise – lower across the board

Marc: RISE with SAP – sees value in combining services in one agreement; sees as a way to manage costs over time

Figure 7: Source: ASUG

Progressing this year compared to last year

62% plan to move in next 2 years

Marc: has a group of 68 utilities in North America – 18 of are live on S/4HANA, of those 18, 10 are ISU shops, an additional 8 are in the process of moving to S/4HANA

Predicts 25 utilities are live on S/4HANA

Utilities “rush to second”

Figure 8: Source: ASUG

73% respondents have a cloud strategy in place; up 3% from last year

Now need to consider cloud integration architecture

Figure 9: Source: ASUG

Where customers need the most help

14% need help training in SAP products

Marc: need people skills; can train skill sets, but it’s about people; get involved in the mission of the utility

Figure 10: Source: ASUG

Electricity, gas and water were the highest participants

Figure 11: Source: ASUG

COVID has required SAP utilities to adjust to remote workforce with limited resources

Looking to newer technologies to help

Need data more accessible and secure

Marc: don’t go alone, reach out, talk to a peer, build relationships.  As people retire, start to lose contacts; easy to collaborate (we’re not in competition with each other); we’re “better together”

If you work at a utility, does the survey resonate with you?