| | June 20208IN MY OPINIONJanet Glazer, Portfolio Manager, Managing Director of Research and Equity Analyst, Fidelity investmentByTechnology disruption is happening rapidly and that is particularly evident within the water sector. The market continues to evolve due to a number of favorable regulatory and long-term macroeconomic changes. The need for greater energy efficiency, weather and environmental factors, urbanization, a growing middle class in emerging markets, aging infrastructure and water scarcity have all contributed to this evolution. Now more than ever, utility companies must embrace new technology or risk obsolescence to disruptive companies with emerging technologies.Connected devices and artificial intelligence will require utilities to be more agile and forward thinking to solve customer and business needs Secular factors are driving an imperative and important shift in how go about addressing water needs. And this is amplified by the fact that utilities are faced with being at the crux of water and energy needs with a rapid tectonic shift in how information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) is converging. This also includes utilizing artificial intelligence in applications like diagnosing and improving systems and processes. The water sector is not alone in the adoption of connected and smart devices to help provide greater transparency through realtime and on-demand data, analytics, remote monitoring as well as preventative maintenance. Industries such as industrial manufacturing, aerospace and automotive are all faced with adopting greater software and networked systems to help drive greater value for customers as well as How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming the Utilities SectorJanet Glazer
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