SWAN DaaS Themed Call Led by Meena Sankaran Founder & CEO - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

SWAN – DaaS Themed Call Led by Meena Sankaran Founder & CEO – KETOS October 14, 2020 1

Agenda • Introductions (5 mins) • Open Discussion (35 mins) • Amir DaaS PhD Update (10 mins) • Next Steps (10 mins) 2

Open Discussion • What does DaaS mean to you? o It’s important to address different definitions and perceptions of how people look at it across Utilities, Technology Vendors, Industry operators and Influencers. o How do we debunk the myths of what it's not? • Which vertical have you seen it resonate? Which sub-verticals have you seen it resonate? • What are the areas of resistance in adopting the model? o What are common concerns from utilities and industry operators vs. lack of adequate education from technology vendors? • What are other DaaS issues you would like to raise? 3

Exploring the Impact of the Data-as-a-Service Model on Water & Wastewater Operations Amir Cahn PhD Update

Problem Statement What is the biggest barrier to big data utilisation within water/wastewater utilities? Survey of 23 global water utilities about their Big Data management practices as part of a Water Research Foundation (WRF) 2017 study

What is Data-as-a-Service? Maintenance Leasing model Software As-a-Service Infrastructure Remote Sensing Subscription model ➢ A model in which a Technology Supplier is outsourced to operate and maintain certain hardware equipment (e.g. water quality sensor, flow sensor, level sensor) to measure, collect, store, and transmit data and the utility only pays for the delivered results.

Methodology Wastewater and Water Utility Surveys • 45 wastewater and 56 water responses from 22 countries • 87% wastewater utility use online sensors ( 13 use DaaS) • 93% water utilities use online sensors ( 17 use DaaS) Key Stakeholder Interviews • 14 global utilities • 16 technology providers • 1 regulator Next Steps • Statistical analysis (T-tests, ANOVA) • Case study approach/comparison of DaaS in different sectors • Examining the role of regulators to incentivise technology/DaaS adoption

Research Questions Is DaaS only suitable for How do utility DaaS What are the main utility utilities that do not have practices compare across motivations/barriers to the capacity to install, different wastewater and implement DaaS? operate, and maintain water applications? their own network? Do DaaS utilities prefer Does DaaS improve the to just acquire data, What makes a utility a efficiency of utility report summaries, or good fit for DaaS? O&M? also predictive insights?

DaaS Challenges (Interviews) • Need to shift utility mindset • Professional pride • Slow RFP process • Labor unions • Data ownership/cybersecurity concerns • Fear of being “held hostage” and sharing sensitive info • Vendor perspective • Wastewater is “operational hell” • False positives/negatives • Liability for poor results (e.g. CSO, water quality incident)

DaaS Utility Benefits (Interviews) “We don’t have the expertise” “I only care about the end output” “Just give me the data” • Prefer DaaS since offers CAPEX investment • Shifting risk to vendors (O&M/data transmission/data quality) • Guarantees “in - between process” (interoperability, data integration) • Don’t need to keep up with rapidly advancing technology • Easier than hiring full-time employees • “Extensible” and “flexible” for different applications

Wastewater Water

Wastewater Water

Wastewater

Water

Wastewater Water

Discoveries (So far) Survey • Water and wastewater data are not the same • Wastewater data is more complex, difficult to understand • There are several hybrid DaaS models (e.g. who’s responsible for hardware installation, ownership, data verification, as well as what are the desired results) • DaaS barriers (data ownership/cybersecurity) are less real-life challenges Interviews • Common theme of utilities being open to be technology test beds • DaaS contract needs to be fixed for minimum years and clearly defined • DaaS leads to a utility-vendor partnership based on mutual trust • Unlike models built with projections/safety nets, DaaS provides real-time data

Next Steps 17

Next Steps • Should we have another call? If so.... – Timing? – Frequency? – Open it up (allow any SWAN Member) or keep private (invite-only)? • What would you like to get out of this group? • What future topics should we focus on? 18