Driving Digital Transformation: Insights from UK Stakeholder Workshops

Why Digital Transformation Matters
The industry faces mounting challenges: aging infrastructure, climate resilience, and stricter performance targets. Digital solutions including use of smart sensors, predictive analytics, and automated control, promise improved efficiency, reduced leakage, and enhanced customer experience. Yet, technology alone cannot deliver transformation. Alignment across IT, OT, and business functions is essential to unlock value.

Insights from Stakeholder Workshops
SUEZ Digital Solutions questioned over forty industry professionals who are active in delivering digital projects, to identify barriers and enablers of digital adoption. Analysis of feedback drawn from participants’ own case studies highlighted four dominant success factors:
• Change and Engagement: Change is hard; adaptive change management and early involvement of operators and
          ‘business as usual’ teams are critical. • Understanding and Clarity: A shared vision and clear methodology underpin success. Realistic timescales, defined
           success criteria, and transparent communication were repeatedly emphasised. • Trust and Evidence: Confidence in solutions grows through robust KPIs, risk analysis, and proof of value via pilots
            that scale effectively.   • Focus and Agility: Maintaining momentum requires balancing structured governance with agile delivery. “Move
           fast, fail fast—but don’t fail twice” was a recurring sentiment.

Common Challenges
We asked the question “what does bad look like?” The participants were able to identify some key failings that have led to less than satisfactory digital project outcomes.
• Cultural Resistance: Fixed mindsets and competing priorities slow adoption.
• Data Quality: Legacy OT systems and imperfect datasets complicate integration.
• Funding and Governance: Unlocking finance and aligning priorities across departments remained hurdles.
• Skills Gap: Technical and leadership capabilities need reinforcement through training and knowledge sharing.

AMP8 Regulatory Drivers and Digital Alignment
AMP8 (Asset Management Period 8), running from 2025 to 2030, represents the most ambitious regulatory cycle yet, with £104 billion in planned investment—77% higher than AMP7. Overseen by Ofwat, AMP8 set out priorities that demand smarter, data-driven delivery:
• Environmental Protection: Reduce storm overflow spills by 45% and improve river and coastal water quality.
• Leakage Reduction: Cut leakage by 13%, requiring advanced monitoring and predictive maintenance.
• Climate Resilience: Build drought and flood resilience through real-time network visibility.
• Net-Zero Targets: Lower carbon emissions across operations, supported by energy-efficient automation.
• Customer Experience: Meet stricter C-MeX and D-MeX performance metrics, emphasizing transparency and digital engagement.

Digital transformation is central to achieving these goals. Smart water networks, IoT-enabled sensors, SCADA integration, and predictive analytics enable utilities to monitor performance, optimise assets, and respond proactively. AMP8 also encourages innovation through funding programs, making digital readiness a compliance and reputational imperative. However, the technical solution should not be the only scope. As discussed at our event, there needs to be much more focus on the ‘human-enablers’. A technical solution with a well written benefits case may achieve stakeholder buy-in and funding, but it does not address how such solutions can be delivered. 

Recommendations for a Smoother Journey
So here are some key takeaways for creating the human-enablement.
• Invest in People: Treat change management as a people process, not just a project role.
• Create a Digital Point of Truth: A central repository of knowledge with utility-wide transparency.
• Design for Imperfection: Solutions must accommodate legacy systems and imperfect data.
• Embed Repeatability: Standardised methodologies to scale beyond proof-of-concept.
• Measure and Communicate Value: Use KPIs and ROI evidence to build trust and secure buy-in.

Conclusion
Digital transformation in the UK water sector is not a technology project. It is a cultural and operational evolution. Success depends on clarity, collaboration, and adaptability. By focusing on people as much as platforms, utilities can unlock the full potential of real-time data and automation to deliver sustainable, customer-centric outcomes.