New Ways of Thinking Supported by Innovative Technologies and Digital Objectives at Duke Energy

ARC has been tracking the digital transformation initiatives of companies by conducting surveys and analyses for the last 5-7 years. All this information has been collated, and the Top 25 global industrial digital transformation leaders, across multiple industries and geographies, have been identified. ARC’s Industrial Digital Transformation Top 25 report  highlights companies that are successfully integrating digital technology into all areas of business, fundamentally changing the way they operate and deliver value to their customers. Duke Energy ranks in the Top 25 as it embraces innovative technologies and digital objectives to support new ways of thinking.

The tidal wave of digital transformation has restructured global industrial operations. In a pandemic-affected world, digital transformation has moved beyond the “nice to have” boardroom jargon to a “must-have” imperative. Organizations were forced to adapt with agility and flexibility to this new normal and accelerate industrial innovation. Established practices and business models were disrupted and destroyed, but destruction led to reconstruction and new ways to resolve challenges. 

Defining “digital transformation” is complex as it encompasses the gamut from technologies, processes, and collaboration across teams and geographies. ARC Advisory Group defines digital transformation as: “The integration of digital technology into all areas of business, fundamentally changing the way companies operate and deliver value to customers. The organization is typically charged to innovate and improve across multiple dimensions such as digital/disruptive technologies, culture and leadership, operational agility, workforce engagement, customer experience, environmental, social and governance, and competitive performance.”

This is the 23rd in a series of blogs on the leaders in the digital transformation space.

Innovative Technologies, New Ways of Thinking, and Digital Objectives at Duke Energy

Recognizing the need for digital transformation in this new era, Duke Energy proactively launched Lighthouse, an employee-driven digital transformation program in 2018, to unlock and accelerate innovative ideas and solutions across the enterprise. A core component of the initiative was an innovation space that connected IT and business units. The goal was to embrace innovative technologies, new ways of thinking, and to prioritize digital objectives to create smart solutions for the company and its customers. The more recent objective is to deliver cleaner energy systems that are more distributed, intelligent, and mobile.

A sizable portion of transformation involves data including information from artificial intelligence to help drive innovation. For example, drones, sensors, smart meters, and cameras are tools that help generate data leading to better insights for the company, resulting in positive outcomes. There are three main areas of focus for transformative outcomes: assets, operations, and the experience created for the customer. For example, collecting data to undertake predictive maintenance on equipment makes the operations and the process more reliable.

Going Forward

The prevailing philosophy behind digital transformation has been that this transformation naturally translates to success. ARC will continue its research in all areas related to digital transformation to learn more about what is working – and what isn’t – as companies pursue their unique digital transformation activities. The Industrial Digital Transformation Top 25 report will be published annually. With this being the first issue, your feedback is very important to investigate new approaches and measures to adjust our methodology, identify successful digital transformation initiatives, and help the industry as a whole digitally transform. To download the final report, please click here.