Scottish Water has awarded two strategic digital services contracts to Accenture and BT, worth up to £230 million combined, as part of a push to strengthen the utility’s technology foundations and support more resilient, secure and efficient services.
Under the new arrangements, Accenture takes on Applications Management Services, focused on improving the performance, stability and ongoing development of Scottish Water’s enterprise applications, aiming for greater business agility and better customer experiences. BT, meanwhile, has been awarded the Networks and Security Services contract, tasked with providing resilient connectivity and stronger cyber security to protect critical infrastructure and support day to day operations.
Both contracts begin on 1 September 2026, with initial four year terms and options to extend up to a maximum of eight years. The BT deal is worth up to £130 million, while the Accenture contract is valued at up to £100 million, both figures pending due diligence.
Scottish Water framed the appointments as the next stage of its digital strategy, building on efforts already made to strengthen digital capabilities, improve operational performance and build a more agile and resilient technology environment
According to Accenture, the firm will manage Scottish Water’s core business systems, business critical applications and enterprise data platform, working through a Scotland based team headquartered in Glasgow. Accenture also plans to explore how AI can strengthen the utility’s digital foundation, with the stated aim of helping Scottish Water anticipate risk more effectively, get more out of its existing assets, and build long term resilience into essential services. The company frames its role around four goals: running a locally led service through a dedicated Glasgow service desk, cutting disruption by working toward zero preventable incidents, giving staff faster access to data for decision making, and supporting lower carbon operations through digital tools and green software practices.
BT Business describes a different piece of the puzzle: taking end to end responsibility for Scottish Water’s connectivity and security estate, across both IT and operational technology. That includes managing roughly 7,000 network connections spanning broadband, MPLS, satellite and internet services, alongside the operational technology network that keeps water services running day to day. BT’s approach centres on bringing network monitoring and cyber defence into a single operational hub, which the company says should speed up fault detection and incident response while tightening protection for the systems behind daily water supply.
Chris Toop, Scottish Water’s Director of Digital and Innovation, said: “These strategic relationships are an important step in our digital journey. By working with Accenture and BT, we are strengthening the technology foundations that support every part of our business. Together, we’ll deliver more resilient, secure and efficient digital services that enable us to better serve our customers, support our colleagues and meet the challenges of the future.”
Gordon McKirdy, Utilities Lead for Accenture UK and Ireland, said: “This collaboration is about applying technology not just to improve how systems run, but to help safeguard services that communities across Scotland depend on every day.”
Ishbell MacPhail, Head of BT Business for Scotland, said: “By bringing together BT’s nationwide network, security expertise and local Scottish teams, we’ll help make the services people rely on every day be more resilient, responsive and ready for the future. It’s about using technology to support better, more dependable services for homes, businesses and communities across Scotland.”
