Greening the grid by democratizing data

Information Security in a Digital World: Building resilience into a distributed data architecture

Security is a key focus for many grid operators and IT specialists. It has now become a priority for many utilities. There is a growing need to have access to more data across the enterprise, but this also means that more utility data is exposed to potential threats. Secure devices, secure communication links and secure systems are typical tools that utilities employ to thwart would-be attackers. 

In the utilities sector, a data breach can be costly. Last May the Colonial Pipeline was hacked followed shortly by two successful breaches of a United States municipal water supply. This had a massive impact for the utilities and their clients. We discuss the topic with William White in today's episode. William White (Dub) has recently joined Greenbird as Corporate Information Security Officer and has extensive experience in information and cybersecurity solutions for companies.  

In this podcast you will learn: 

• Types and examples of security breaches 
• How organizations can protect against a breach 
• The difference between information and cybersecurity 
• The importance of focusing on resilience and recovery 
• The cost of a security breach 
• Useful steps to follow in information security management 

Acknowledgements:
Song: www.Bensound.com
Music Info: Corporate Ambient - AShamaluevMusic.
Music Link: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com/corporate-music

Accelerating the energy revolution

In this Datatopia episode, Areti Ntaradimou, Content Director at Enlit Europe, spoke with Thorsten Heller, CEO, Greenbird Integration Technology on accelerating the energy revolution as well as the essence of the cognitive utility.

"The energy sector isundergoing a revolution.And it’s a revolutionpowered by data."
Thorsten Heller, CEO and Co-founder, Greenbird Integration Technology.

This Podcast was originally broadcast as a Datatopia Webinar 

Drivers of Digital in the Danish Energy System

Denmark is a country well known as one of the world leaders in the field of renewable energy (RE) development. With more than 40% of its energy coming from wind power and the recent announcement that it will create the world's first energy island in the North Sea, there is much to learn from these innovative examples.

Many utilities are all too familiar with the mantra of going digital and the benefits this will bring to help new service innovation and accelerate the energy transition. But too often, insufficient thought goes into the technologies and people that are critical to making it happen. This is a fast paced and very diverse environment, and unless they have the right mindset and a strong IT foundation, most utilities struggle to relate to it to begin with or to keep up with it over time.

Modern IT is like playing game of TETRIS

In this podcast with Jens Cornelius, Senior Business Director at KMD we discuss how modern IT feels a bit like playing TETRIS — the game from the 80s. There are very few new utilities that start with a green field to make their first move. Most utilities have a legacy to take into consideration. What’s more, new things are always coming at you, and you need to deal with them. Over time they discover two things: some shapes seem familiar, and the game seems to get faster. But just like every house, utility IT environments need a solid foundation. Only then can you start building/adapting/expanding/growing. Managed well, everything fits together, but those that do not manage their technical debt can expect their Tetris tiles to pile up and will end up losing the room to maneuver or shape their future business.

In this podcast you will learn:

• Current trends in the Danish energy system and the evolving role of utilities
• Balancing the impact of sustainability on the energy grid
• Impact of M&A, regulatory changes and market requirements on business and IT architecture
• OT/IT convergence in Danish utilities
• How to create new value and capabilities in a digital era
• Fundamentals and skills requirements for future data-driven value generation and services
• How Enterprise Architecture is like playing a game of TETRIS

Acknowledgements:
Song: www.Bensound.com
Music Info: Corporate Ambient - AShamaluevMusic.
Music Link: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com/corporate-music

Siemens Advanta on Composable Systems and Data in the Energy Sector

Digital transformation is spurring innovation and new business models across virtually all areas of the energy and utility sectors. As the pace of change speeds up, utilities rely on the expertise of technology leaders to make key system and architecture decisions that deliver future data insights and services.

 In this podcast Bram Murawski, a senior solution manager within Siemens Advanta and Chris Potter, a Siemens Solutions Architect speak openly about the trends driving digital transformation today.

You will learn:

• Current status of technology adoption in the energy sector
• Drivers influencing the adoption of data hubs and data lakes in Europe
• Demystifying the differences between data hubs, data lakes and data warehouses
• Data-driven use cases
• Challenges, opportunities and tips implementing data hubs and data lakes

 Related reading:

“You should not have to worry about where it is and how to access it,” Gartner analyst Donald Feinberg said of composable data. It is not a single tool but rather the set of tools put together into a solution. 

https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3980938/data-hubs-data-lakes-and-data-warehouses-how-they-are-di

 https://venturebeat.com/2021/05/07/gartner-says-composable-data-and-analytics-key-to-digital-transformation/

Composable data and analytics initiatives might uncover new ways of packaging data as part of a service or product. These could be built using low-code and no-code tools like those found in the Utilihive Platform.

Utilihive offers the foundation for composable data and analytics allowing for easy access and sharing across distributed data environments. https://www.greenbird.com/utilihive

Acknowledgements:
Song: www.Bensound.com
Music Info: Corporate Ambient - AShamaluevMusic.
Music Link: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com/corporate-music

Digital Darwinism: How Disruptive Technology Is Changing Utilities

Digital transformation, distributed energy, democratization of energy and prosumer influences, decarbonization, Internet of Things, real-time data — these are just some of the trends and technologies that are disrupting the energy sector.

This is a time of Digital Darwinism — a time where technology and society are evolving faster than utilities have traditionally adapted to change. This sets the stage for a new era of leadership at utilities, a new generation of business models, charging behind a mantra of “Jump forward or fall behind.”

When two entrepreneurs and thought leaders come together the conversation flows. In this comprehensive podcast with enersis’ Thomas Koller you will hear an open discussion and dialog ranging from the experiences and learnings gained working with utilities around the globe to the trends and technologies driving the next wave of innovation and transformations in the sector.

You will learn:

• Tips from a startup perspective
• Recent changes in the sector and future trends
• How utilities are investing in technology, expertise and new skills
• How the distributed energy system will impact centralized IT
• Two tier approach to enterprise architecture; digital core and cognitive utility
• New business models driving utilities and retailers contributing to the energy transition and sustainable growth

Thomas Koller is CEO and founder of enersis AG. Born in Schwabe, he studied computer science in Böblingen and supported consulting and sales positions in start-ups and Fortune 500 companies before founding enersis. Next to scuba-diving, Thomas is passionate about the possibility of combining modern information technology with the requirements of the energy transition in a practical way.

Acknowledgements:
Song: www.Bensound.com
Music Info: Corporate Ambient - AShamaluevMusic.
Music Link: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com/corporate-music