On July 14th, Innovyze and Smart Water Magazine organised a webinar with the title “How the City of Scottsdale leveraged sensor data to streamline the analysis of the water distribution system thanks to Innovyze's new cloud platform”. Cristina Novo, technical editor of Smart Water Magazine and moderator of the event, introduced the webinar and Innovyze, a global leader in water infrastructure software based in Portland, Oregon, which has been building innovative software for the water industry for 35 years. It was acquired by Autodesk earlier this year, a move that creates a clearer path to a more sustainable and digitized water industry.
In the event, utilities and consultants heard how Innovyze’s new cloud platform, Info360, can help bridge the gap between data and operations, and long-term planning and engineering. The webinar was directed towards water utilities personnel working in any division: from operations, to engineering and planning, to management.
The final part of the webinar was a question-and-answer period led by the moderator, where the speakers answered questions sent by the audience. Answering to a question on what a utility needs to have in order to be able to use the service, they pointed out that Info360 uses some type of time-series data, most commonly water network SCADA data, but other functionalities are upcoming, such as to support sewer sensor data. When asked about ideas to justify the investments on such a project, they noted that it can help to report non revenue data, locate breaks, target pump improvements, etc. The transparency of having a dashboard where you can track performance and KPIs over time helps visualise the benefits of the project and justify investments. Other questions dealt with different technical aspects as well as the security of the data.
The speakers wrapped up the questions period with their view of water management 20 years from now. Nathan predicted “a wave of digital transformation among IT groups, where things are becoming more cloud integrated and streamlined”. As hydraulic modelling becomes more cloud integrated, the insights from simulation will help the entire organisation. A bright future, supported by a digital twin rather than a desktop copy of a model, in an integrated environment, so it can be kept up to date. Compared with other industries, John noted the water industry is behind in innovation, right now at the beginning of a long journey of digital transformation, where “everything will become more integrated, more live, a lot more automated, and hopefully a lot more efficient, with the highest level of service possible”, noting that leveraging technology can increase those initiatives.
