The Power of Data: Unlocking the Potential of Neta’s Data-Driven Approach in Utilities

Discover how Neta helps Utilities unlock the value of core and non-core data, transforming it into insights, new data-driven services, and business opportunities.

The Utilities sector is undergoing a radical transformation. Increasing regulatory complexity, the pressure of ESG and SDG goals, growing customer demand for digital services, and the need to reduce operating costs are making the data-driven approach no longer an option, but a key enabler of competitiveness.

Every day, companies in the sector generate and manage a huge volume of data: consumption measurements, billing cycles, contracts, payments, and customer service tickets. Alongside these are “non-core” data – climate, environmental, socio-economic and cadastral data – which, when integrated, can generate valuable insights and create new sources of value for customers. The challenge is not only to collect and store this data, but to extract intelligence from it, integrate it and transform it into tangible services for customers, regulators and markets adjacent to the sectors from which the data itself is generated.

Core and non-core data: the value of integration

A modern IT system for Utilities must be deep, capable of managing core processes across the entire Meter-to-Cash cycle, and broad, meaning able to connect information from external and non-traditional sources to the company’s data fabric.

Core data: meter readings, load curves, invoices, contracts, customer master data, payments, complaints.
Non-core data: weather and local temperatures, socio-economic and demographic data, cadastral and real estate data, environmental and territorial information.

The real step change occurs when these datasets are connected with one another through data mesh-up approaches and the adoption of AI/Machine Learning algorithms, enabling predictive analytics, territorial benchmarking and service personalization.

Data monetization: from data to new business

It is not only about improving internal efficiency, but also about opening the way to a data monetization model. According to McKinsey (Fueling growth through data monetization), companies that successfully extract and commercialize insights from their data can generate up to 3–5% additional annual revenue growth. In the Utilities sector, this means:

Selling aggregated and anonymized data to third parties (universities, research centers, clean-tech startups).
Offering predictive models as a service to ESCo companies, network operators and municipalities.
Creating vertical data marketplaces where local stakeholders can access energy, environmental and socio-economic insights.
Building value-added vertical services: for example, combining weather data and water consumption data to optimize irrigation plans, or combining electricity load data and weather data for demand-response models.

The Neta platform: from M2C processes to new scenarios

Thanks to its modular and data-driven architecture, the Neta platform goes beyond managing core Meter-to-Cash processes (contracts, billing, payments, CRM) and also acts as an enabler of new data monetization services.

By integrating core data (meter readings, consumption, billing) with non-core data (weather, socio-economic, environmental, cadastral data, …), Neta makes it possible to transform information flows into marketable insights for different market sectors, generating potential new revenue streams and strengthening the role of Utilities as hubs of digital innovation.

Some examples of applications across Utilities market segments.

Water

What data	Who can benefit from it
Predictive datasets on consumption and network losses, integrated with weather and environmental data	Municipalities, agricultural consortia and territorial planning organizations that need tools to prevent drought and optimize water resources
Datasets on service continuity and quality (pressure, outages, complaints, resolution times) combined with cadastral and contractual data	Real estate companies, investment funds and insurance companies assessing the risk and value of real estate and territorial assets

Electricity and Gas Retail

What data	Who can benefit from it
Anonymous energy consumption benchmarks for homogeneous customer clusters, enriched with socio-economic data	ESCo companies, smart building operators and clean-tech startups developing energy-efficiency applications
Predictive models for local energy demand (load curves enriched with weather data)	Network operators, aggregators and Energy Communities that need reliable forecasts for balancing and flexibility

District Heating

What data	Who can benefit from it
Thermal consumption datasets combined with climate and urban-planning variables to optimize heat distribution	Local authorities, urban planners and real estate operators interested in reducing emissions and improving building sustainability
Energy and environmental performance indicators for neighborhoods and urban districts	Public authorities developing decarbonization plans, as well as engineering and design companies participating in tenders and PNRR-funded projects

Waste & Circular Economy

What data	Who can benefit from it
Aggregated data on waste collection, treatment and recycling combined with socio-demographic information	Packaging, logistics and large-scale retail companies seeking to reduce costs and optimize recycling supply chains
ESG reports and circular economy KPIs supporting environmental reporting	Multinational companies and certified organizations that need to demonstrate transparency regarding environmental impacts and circular business models

Conclusion

The future of Utilities increasingly depends on the ability to transform data into strategic assets. An IT platform capable of managing large volumes of information, federating heterogeneous sources and generating actionable insights is at the heart of this transformation.

Beyond efficiency and compliance, there is also the opportunity to build new data monetization services, opening up new markets and creating shared value for companies, customers, territories and stakeholders.

In this scenario, data is no longer a by-product of business processes, but a true driver of corporate competitiveness.

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