the world we live in with social, political and economic consequences. In recent
years we have witnessed the rise of social media, powerful smartphone proliferation
and new e-commerce businesses/e-services. The negative mirror image has included
disappearance of traditional businesses, tech giant monopolies, unfettered data
harvesting and fake news. Digitalization poses potential disruption to work and
workers but if new technologies and new data are integrated successfully by
reimagining business processes, great opportunities. These new technologies have
the potential to deliver significant outcomes in the water sector. In a 2017 report,
the World Economic Forum identified a $100 trillion opportunity by 2025 for
both industry and society through the adoption of these technologies [23].
Digital water is about setting the foundation for utilities to begin applying
data science and related technologies (such as IoT, AI, blockchain and augmented
reality) to amplify the power of data to optimise real-world decision-making
across water networks. Digitalization has the potential to take water utilities into
the twenty-first century where almost everything can be measured. Digital twin
solutions involve the creation of a virtual model of the real world and can be used
to help understand the impact of incidents and prioritise the appropriate response
actions. Gartner predicts that by 2021, half of the large industrial companies will
use digital twins, resulting in a 10% improvement in effectiveness. Digital twins
drive the business impact of IoT by providing a powerful way to monitor and
control assets and processes. These virtual representations of water systems will
enable situational awareness and/or near real-time hydraulic and quality monitoring,
which has great potential to solve many of the business challenges faced by the
industry such as improving efficiency, resilience, predictive maintenance and/or
driven down operational costs. Figure 4 illustrates how water sits within a larger
digital landscape. It is important that there is a communication strategy in place to
bring together all ‘digital’ stakeholders, including consumers, utility employees,
regulators, environmentalists, etc., in the digital transformation. Most stakeholders
and the communities they serve can understand the benefits of digitization. Water
users are already profoundly connected with digital technologies permeating
our daily lives in ways that were unimaginable several years ago. Digitisation
has accelerated the collection and dissemination of actionable information to
all stakeholder groups including customers. Early engagement by bringing these
stakeholders into the discussions as early as possible encourages more collaboration
and joint consideration around the ultimate vision. Customer’s expectations around
sustainability are driving behavioural changes in traditional utility practices.
Some consumers already participate in water conservation, and they will be able
to do that more and more as utilities digitise, making smarter decisions about how
they use and reuse their water using new sources of information such as smart
meters. Smart-sensing technology, social media, utility web-monitoring portals
and apps (quantified-self/digital customer), gamification and AI chatbots allow
water consumers greater access to information and improved rates of engagement.
At the same time, consumers are also coming up with innovations and hence driving
the change rather than acting as a recipient only.
Data Science Trends and Opportunities for Smart Water Utilities
13
years we have witnessed the rise of social media, powerful smartphone proliferation
and new e-commerce businesses/e-services. The negative mirror image has included
disappearance of traditional businesses, tech giant monopolies, unfettered data
harvesting and fake news. Digitalization poses potential disruption to work and
workers but if new technologies and new data are integrated successfully by
reimagining business processes, great opportunities. These new technologies have
the potential to deliver significant outcomes in the water sector. In a 2017 report,
the World Economic Forum identified a $100 trillion opportunity by 2025 for
both industry and society through the adoption of these technologies [23].
Digital water is about setting the foundation for utilities to begin applying
data science and related technologies (such as IoT, AI, blockchain and augmented
reality) to amplify the power of data to optimise real-world decision-making
across water networks. Digitalization has the potential to take water utilities into
the twenty-first century where almost everything can be measured. Digital twin
solutions involve the creation of a virtual model of the real world and can be used
to help understand the impact of incidents and prioritise the appropriate response
actions. Gartner predicts that by 2021, half of the large industrial companies will
use digital twins, resulting in a 10% improvement in effectiveness. Digital twins
drive the business impact of IoT by providing a powerful way to monitor and
control assets and processes. These virtual representations of water systems will
enable situational awareness and/or near real-time hydraulic and quality monitoring,
which has great potential to solve many of the business challenges faced by the
industry such as improving efficiency, resilience, predictive maintenance and/or
driven down operational costs. Figure 4 illustrates how water sits within a larger
digital landscape. It is important that there is a communication strategy in place to
bring together all ‘digital’ stakeholders, including consumers, utility employees,
regulators, environmentalists, etc., in the digital transformation. Most stakeholders
and the communities they serve can understand the benefits of digitization. Water
users are already profoundly connected with digital technologies permeating
our daily lives in ways that were unimaginable several years ago. Digitisation
has accelerated the collection and dissemination of actionable information to
all stakeholder groups including customers. Early engagement by bringing these
stakeholders into the discussions as early as possible encourages more collaboration
and joint consideration around the ultimate vision. Customer’s expectations around
sustainability are driving behavioural changes in traditional utility practices.
Some consumers already participate in water conservation, and they will be able
to do that more and more as utilities digitise, making smarter decisions about how
they use and reuse their water using new sources of information such as smart
meters. Smart-sensing technology, social media, utility web-monitoring portals
and apps (quantified-self/digital customer), gamification and AI chatbots allow
water consumers greater access to information and improved rates of engagement.
At the same time, consumers are also coming up with innovations and hence driving
the change rather than acting as a recipient only.
Data Science Trends and Opportunities for Smart Water Utilities
13