Tools aren’t the bottleneck anymore… trust is.
2 clear shifts are evident in my conversations with Utility tech leaders. It's not just about evaluating platforms anymore.
I'm noticing 2 clear shifts in my conversations recently.
ONE: It’s becoming less about:
“What tools should we adopt?”
And more about:
“Can we trust the data those tools produce for real decisions?”
TWO: It’s no longer enough to simply integrate platforms.
The integrated data has to survive operational scrutiny.
Just acquiring LV/MV network data isn’t sufficient.
Engineering context is non-negotiable.
So what are tech leaders really asking?
Here are 3 questions I keep hearing:
- “Does this integrated data (AMI/DER/SCADA) actually hold up under operational scrutiny?”
- “Can our planners and ops engineers trust it for decision-making, not just reporting?”
- “Are upstream flows designed with context and governance in mind?”
If those are the questions, here are 3 practical checks to start with:
- Can you trace a critical value from source → transformation → consumer?
- Is ownership of transformations explicit (not assumed)?
- Are exceptions visible early (not discovered downstream)?
Curious–where does trust break most for you — upstream flows, transformations, or ownership/governance?
–Pradeep