Electricity Distribution Network Operators face challenges brought by radical industry transformation and are therefore beginning of a journey from a relatively static asset management operation, to a more dynamic and flexible business. To deliver the change needed, electricity networks will rely heavily on their large scale information systems. But enterprise information systems across all sectors are also being transformed, by the wave of digital disruption spreading across the economy. Enterprise IT has historically been a ‘System of Record’, designed to provide a single source of the truth so that managers and staff have the information they need to run and operate their organisations. But current trends are leading businesses to deploy a different breed of tools based on communications and collaboration capabilities. In short, Enterprise IT is becoming a System of Engagement. This new breed of systems enable organisations to become more effective, more flexible and more customer-focused.

As the Network Operator is a geographic business with a widespread asset base serving customers and stakeholders over a distributed area, spatial information has a critical role to play. Read our “Making the Connection” eBook to find more and to discover real examples of how geospatial technology is enabling the transformation of electricity distribution and transmission, through better stakeholder engagement, complementing its more traditional role of records management.