European governments have sought to blunt the impact of unprecedented energy inflation, while utilities have stepped up to invest in upgrading their infrastructure to help the continent achieve energy independence, according to a new research report published by Information Services Group (ISG) a leading global technology research and advisory firm.
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“Power and utilities companies in Europe are navigating through regulated and deregulated markets”
The 2023 ISG Provider Lens Power and Utilities – Services and Solutions report for Europe finds key investments in the region’s energy grid are focused on self-reliance. According to the report, building a competitive and sustainable power and utilities industry in Europe requires an emphasis on digital transformation, improving cybersecurity practices, digitally enabling the industry’s work force and continuously investing in strengthening technical and channel partnerships.
“Utilities are under constant pressure to reduce operating costs and improve customer service,” said Ola Chowning, ISG partner, North Europe. “That is why many of them are turning to providers that offer digitally managed intelligent solutions.”
Historically, when it comes to maintaining a diversified energy mix, Europe has led the way, the ISG report says. The continent has long offered a good combination of nuclear, conventional and renewable power generation and the options for customers to choose among utilities. While the regional supply of electricity has been sufficient to address local demand, Europe’s dependency on gas imports from Russia has posed a major challenge in the current geopolitical environment, ISG says.
The growing shift toward clean energy is fundamentally changing the dynamics of the European power and utilities sector, ISG says. In addition to pursuing self-reliance, the goals of achieving net-zero and decarbonization are now driving investments in the sector. Companies are hopeful that their digital transformation will help achieve these ends, the ISG report says. According to the report, digital transformation can enable resilience, making it easier to move toward sustainable sources of energy, increase asset performance and improve customer experience while also meeting regulatory requirements.
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“Power and utilities companies in Europe are navigating through regulated and deregulated markets,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “They need their assets to be resilient so they can remain competitive.”
The report also examines how so-called brown industries have begun investing in clean technologies as a way forward to becoming green industries.
The 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ Power and Utilities – Services and Solutions report for Europe evaluates the capabilities of 29 providers across five quadrants: Intelligent Business Process Management Services (iBPMS), Next-Gen IT Services, Grid Modernization, Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and Customer Information System (CIS) and Customer Experience (CX).
The report names Accenture, IBM, Infosys and TCS as Leaders in all five quadrants, while Cognizant and Wipro are named as Leaders in four quadrants each. Capgemini and Eviden (Atos) are named as Leaders in three quadrants each, while Teleperformance and WNS are named as Leaders in two quadrants each. DXC Technology, HCLTech, Hitachi Vantara, Tech Mahindra and Tietoevry are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.
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