Jane Edwards
A new International Data Corp. survey has found that utilities companies in Western Europe will prioritize spending on cybersecurity efforts, such as cloud and mobile security and data loss prevention, over the next 12 months.
IDC Energy Insights said Monday it predicts the Western European utilities sector’s spending on software platforms to hit approximately $3.2 billion, particularly in the areas of enterprise resource management and customer care and billing.
The company conducted 120 interviews with executives from utilities firms in the region from July 2015 through October 2015.
According to the survey, utilities will likely invest in the next 12 months in line-of-business information technology platforms such as meter data management, plant maintenance and engineering and design in order to manage asset operations.
“With smart meter deployments picking up again in countries such as France and the U.K., Western European utilities will focus their IT solution investment potential on adopting new MDM solutions and, to a lesser extent, on enhancing/upgrading their existing MDM solutions in the next 12 months,” said Gaia Gallotti, research manager at IDC Energy Insights.
