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• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): With operational data becoming readily available, organizations will be able to analyze, create, and keep track in near-real-time KPIs that were previously not available. The KPIs can be operational but also compliance- or management- related, such as a water-quality violation or cross-plant variability where the utility owns and operates several treatment plants. • Partnership and Collaboration: As a result of data becom- ing more ubiquitous across the enterprise, utilities will have the opportunity to revisit their communication and outreach strategy with upstream or downstream utilities, as well as environmental and public advocacy groups. As a result, new business and partnering opportunities will surface where organizations can act in tandem and make decisions that benefit not just one community, but groups of communities. Benefits: Due to the lack of historical data, most studies identifying the long-term benefits to utilities and operators following the implementation of such solutions are strictly speculative. However, based on past implementations of early-stage technologies, the general consensus identifies savings of up to 30 percent across all operating expenses. According to Swan Analytical, a U.K.-based smart water net- work group, the overall potential savings could exceed $70 billion worldwide. The following table identifies some of the areas where utilities can see substantial benefit. Service-Oriented Approach: In this evolution, there will be a new market for consultants and engineering companies that specialize in technology-related services. Until now, many utilities have housed IT departments in-house and have made procurements in software and hardware. With the maturing of cloud-based solutions, the utility will be an attractive alternative to outsource significant IT operations. SaaS and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) are two areas where utilities can decrease their footprint in software and hardware, respectively. This also reduces the capital expen- diture for the utility and will be considered an operational expense. While these distinctions are important, the process by which utilities should evaluate the service offering has not changed. A few key concepts to keep in mind are: • Is the application configurable by the user? • Are customizations required as part of the implementation? • Are there significant costs to onboarding and off- boarding? • Is a phased rollout possible? • How do applications interact with other vendor systems? • Are systems available 24/7 (99.9 percent availability is considered a good benchmark)? • Are there disaster-recovery options in place? Conclusion The operational data management evolution is bringing to operators and utility managers new means of tracking monitoring and managing their systems in near-real time. In the coming years, utilities will be increasingly leverag- ing these tools, driving change across the industry. The three key factors driving this change are (1) the use of the cloud to store data, (2) the use of mobile devices to push and access this data, and (3) the adoption of easy-to-use and easy-to-implement operational data management platforms. Of these three categories, the latter is the most difficult to choose. In selecting a platform, the utility is in reality selecting a partner. In other words: • Spend time with the technology and implementation team. • Understand the genesis of the technology and the company's vision. • Ask for a pilot as part of your valuation process. • Don't be dazzled by fancy and slick presentations. Data Management wateronline.com ■ Water Online The Magazine 36 Dr. Bruno Levine (bruno.levine@flowatch.com) has more than 20 years of water, wastewater, and water reuse experience in research, operational engineering, and business development, working for utilities in the U.S. and Europe. Levine is currently president and cofounder of FLOWatch. He holds a doctorate in environmental science and engineering from UCLA and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Categories Benefits Physical Asset Extend service life • Improve performance • Reduce life cycle cost of the asset Staff Increase productivity (output) • Decrease labor hours Customer Improve service level • Enhance communication opportunities Information Technology Improve data accessibility • Increase performance • Favor system interoperability • Enable business process improvement • Improve compliance Knowledge Enhance business intelligence analysis • Increase knowledge transfer and knowledge reuse Financial Lower implementation cost • Delay specific investments While meter companies have undergone tremendous changes in the last few years by combining drive-by and fixed network solutions, the most groundbreaking innovation is yet to come. 3 2 _ V E R T _ 0 2 1 4 E Z i n e _ F L O W a t c h _ D G . i n d d 4 32_VERT_0214 EZine_FLOWatch_DG.indd 4 1 / 3 1 / 2 0 1 4 1 : 1 8 : 5 7 P M 1/31/2014 1:18:57 PM