We’re excited to share that the 2023 AT&T Cybersecurity Insights Report: Focus on Energy and Utilities is now available. This report delves into the edge ecosystem by surveying IT leaders in the energy and utilities sector worldwide, offering benchmarks to evaluate your edge computing plans. This is the 12th edition of our unbiased and forward-thinking report. Last year’s report focused on energy and utilities, showcasing how we secure data, applications, and endpoints reliant on edge computing (access the 2022 report).
Download your complimentary copy of the 2023 report.
This extensive quantitative field survey involved 1,418 security, IT, application development, and business professionals globally. Qualitative research tapped into subject matter experts across the cybersecurity industry, with 203 respondents from the energy and utilities sector.
As we embarked on our research, we outlined the following hypotheses:
· The momentum of edge computing in the market.
· Approaches to connecting and securing the edge ecosystem, including the role of trusted advisors in achieving edge objectives.
· Perceived risk and benefit of the common use cases in the industries surveyed.
The findings focus on prevalent edge use cases across seven vertical industries – healthcare, retail, finance, manufacturing, energy and utilities, transportation, and U.S. SLED – providing practical insights for securing and connecting an edge ecosystem, with the assistance of external trusted advisors. The report also delves into cybersecurity and the broader edge ecosystem encompassing networking, service providers, and primary use cases.
The evolving role of IT involves engaging stakeholders in the development ideation phase.
Edge computing is a transformative technology that aligns stakeholders to drive integrated business outcomes. The shift in IT’s role from sole leadership to collaborative partnership in delivering innovative edge computing solutions is evident. Energy and utilities leaders are also adapting their budgeting strategies for edge use cases. These trends, alongside an expanded approach to securing edge computing, were highlighted in the 2023 AT&T Cybersecurity Insights Report: Edge Ecosystem.
One of the promising aspects of edge computing is its capacity to leverage near-real-time data for enhanced operational efficiency, particularly in variable operations like inventory and supply chain management. While adding new endpoints is crucial for data collection, their connection poses a vulnerability to cyber threats. Effective cybersecurity measures are essential to avoid service disruptions due to successful cyberattacks.
Edge computing brings data closer to decision-making points.
With edge computing, the data required for decision-making, the networks for data capture, and the management of use cases are distributed, ensuring faster operations and delivering a near-real-time experience without central processing center backhauling. The report explores emerging trends in energy and utilities as they explore edge computing use cases, including expense allocation, revealing surprising insights. The research delves into investments across overall strategy and planning, network, application, and security for anticipated use cases in the next three years.
Preparing to secure your energy and utilities edge ecosystem.
Develop your edge computing profile to break down barriers between internal teams, fostering collaboration in technology decisions. Understanding existing business and technology capabilities and limitations aids in identifying gaps in project plans. Involving expertise from the broader energy and utilities edge ecosystem enhances performance alignment with organizational goals.
Develop an investment strategy for energy and utilities edge use cases to determine the optimal investment locations and amounts. Integrating security from the project’s inception helps account for security as part of the overall cost of goods (COG). No universal solution offers complete protection for edge computing aspects. A multi-layered approach is recommended to address unique security challenges per use case.
Enhance compliance capabilities by staying abreast of energy and utilities regulations, avoiding a checkbox approach or annual reviews. Keeping up with technology-related mandates demands ongoing effort and specialized expertise. Seeking external help from compliance professionals is advised to ensure regulatory compliance.
Align resources with emerging priorities by engaging external experts for guidance, strategic insight, and cost-effective resource allocation. Collaborating with a wider pool of edge computing experts can enhance decision-making, expedite deployment, and optimize use case implementation.
Build resilience by anticipating potential challenges and developing contingency plans. A layered approach to edge computing enables organizations to navigate various scenarios effectively, ensuring business-as-usual operations despite disruptions.
Successful edge computing implementations in the energy and utilities sector necessitate a comprehensive approach involving collaboration, compliance, resilience, and adaptability. Proactive engagement with available expertise unlocks the potential of edge computing, boosting operational efficiency and fostering innovation in the industry.
