ABB Survey: Combining operations, information technologies is vital

April 6, 2016
The survey was conduced by ABB, Microsoft and Zpryme.

A new, worldwide survey of more than 200 executives at gas, electricity and water utilities finds that 80% believe integrating operations technology (OT) and information technology (IT) is a valuable or extremely valuable component of any effective asset management program.

The survey was conduced by ABB, Microsoft and Zpryme.

"More assets, more sensors, more data and more analysis are bringing asset-intensive industries into a new era of asset management, unprecedented connection and information, but how can utility companies take advantage of these new opportunities? How can they best integrate their asset management efforts, while building stronger visibility across the enterprise?" states the report, "Bridging IT and OT for the Connected Asset Lifecycle Management Era," which is available to download here.

"Now more than ever, utilities must bring together disparate technologies and systems to better understand their increasingly complex asset base. They must also share insights from their assets across the organization. A key component of addressing these needs is to build stronger connections between IT and OT at both the technology and organizational levels."

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Some key findings of the survey include the following:

    • Nearly every respondent reported that asset management was a priority, and 55% reported that the importance of asset management had increased over the past 12 months;
    • Approximately 35% of respondents said IT-OT integration for asset management is valuable, and 45% revealed it to be very to be extremely valuable;
    • More than 25% of respondents indicated their IT-OT technology integration is not going well, and another 41% noted it was only going fairly well;
    • About 38% of respondents felt their technology and business groups work together fairly well together; and
    • Slightly more than 50% of respondents added that the Internet of Things, Services and People (IoTSP) would be influential on asset management, but only 22% currently have a strategy in place.