With global investment in energy infrastructure climbing—set to exceed $3 trillion in 2024, per the International Energy Agency (IEA)—the utilities industry faces intense pressure to optimize operations amid rising costs, regulatory scrutiny and reliability demands. For VPs and Directors of Operations and Engineering, as well as Field Technicians, the mission is clear: maximize asset performance from inception to retirement. The answer lies in utility asset lifecycle management, powered by asset information management to drive digital transformation in energy. And an AI content assistant is the linchpin.
Centralized asset information for project efficiency
Keeping capital projects on track is a top concern. Delays in grid upgrades or substation builds can disrupt service and budgets. An intelligent AI content assistant changes the game by consolidating asset content data—engineering drawings, SOPs, risk assessments, regulatory compliance reports, etc. - into one accessible platform. This drives project excellence, ensuring teams collaborate seamlessly and leaders maintain oversight, delivering projects on schedule and within budget despite surging investment demands.
Reduced downtime with a proactive AI content assistant
Reducing asset downtime is a non-negotiable for operational excellence. Unexpected failures in transformers or power lines threaten reliability and increases costs. Field Technicians and Engineers, equipped with digital tools and an AI content assistant, gain instant access to critical asset details—work orders, SOPs, engineering drawings and much more. This empowers proactive fixes, keeping utility assets humming and customers satisfied while containing operational overhead.
Reimaged knowledge across the utility asset lifecycle
Knowledge management is vital to sustaining utility success. Elevating knowledge across the utility asset lifecycle prevents expertise from vanishing with retiring workers or siloed departments. Imagine a Field Technician diagnosing a fault with a digital assistant that retrieves decades of asset history in moments. Or a Director of Engineering leveraging that data for smarter capital planning. Asset information management, enhanced by intelligent tools, bridges these gaps, creating a connected knowledge ecosystem from field ops to executive strategy.
Compliant operations with the help of an AI content assistant
Safety and compliance are bedrock priorities for utilities. Accelerating the journey to zero HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) incidents hinges on rigorous tracking of regulations and asset conditions. An AI content assistant simplifies this by maintaining clear, auditable records and highlighting compliance risks, easing audit burdens and minimizing operational costs. For Operations leaders, this frees up resources for core priorities while reinforcing regulatory trust.
AI-powered digital transformation
The data underscores the urgency. Accenture finds 94% of executives see AI agent ecosystems as a major opportunity in the next three years, with the same percentage anticipating a shift in how data is handled. Digital transformation in energy, paired with an AI content assistant, delivers on this promise. AI can analyze vast utility datasets to predict equipment failures, refine maintenance schedules and empower Field Technicians with real-time insights—turning raw information into actionable results.
Picture a VP of Projects managing a multi-billion-dollar grid expansion. With utility asset lifecycle management and an intelligent content assistant, engineers designing upgrades and technicians installing gear share a unified, dynamic data pool. This cuts missteps, aligns efforts and boosts efficiency at every lifecycle stage. The payoff? A more reliable, cost-effective utility poised for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s growth.
OpenText is leading this charge, providing utilities with solutions that fuse asset information management with AI-driven tools. These capabilities keep capital projects on track, reduce downtime, elevate knowledge, accelerate safety goals and simplify audits—all while slashing costs. As investment rises and expectations mount, utilities must act decisively. Adopt utility asset lifecycle management with an intelligent content assistant to transform complexity into strength—unlocking efficiency across the asset lifecycle and redefining utility performance.
Are you ready to achieve operational excellence? Power asset information management with AI.
Author and Bio
Phil Schwarz, OpenText Sr. Industry Strategist for Energy and Resources
Phil Schwarz is the Industry Strategist for Energy and Resources at OpenText, the global leader in information management software technology. With over two and half decades of energy industry experience, Phil has become a trusted SME, having supported operators, EPCs, service providers and OEMs across the entire value chain. Phil is an engineer by education and has an MBA, MS in Economics and MS in Finance. He resides in the Anchorage, Alaska area and loves to hike and enjoy the outdoors.
