Cutting Through the Hype: What Utility Leaders Should Do Next
Video summary
With AI initiatives multiplying across the industry, utility leaders are being asked to determine which investments will create value, and which will simply add complexity.
In practice, it isn’t always clear where AI genuinely improves operations and where it’s being applied simply because the technology is available rather than because it solves a real problem.
In this session, Rimini Street’s James Harvey (CTO, EMEA) joins Karen Wilson (UKI Utilities Lead) to share what they’re seeing across real utility organisations – where AI is delivering measurable results, where it isn’t, and how to avoid investing in the wrong areas.
This is a focused discussion based on real customer experience.
You’ll come away with a clear view of:
- Where AI is already reducing cost, downtime, or manual effort in utility operations
- Where organisations are overspending – and how to avoid it
- How to apply AI without replacing core ERP and enterprise systems
- What a realistic starting point looks like, without adding unnecessary risk or complexity
If you’re being asked to develop an AI strategy or justify AI investments, this session will help you identify where to focus, where to proceed cautiously and which opportunities may be best left alone — for now.
Following the session, attendees will have the opportunity to book a 1:1 discussion with James Harvey to explore their own unique challenges and AI priorities.
Speakers
James Harvey
Mr. Harvey is Theater CTO for EMEA, advising clients on strategic innovation aligned with long-term business and technology goals across enterprise applications and architecture. He partners with the Global CTO to deliver IT, security, and ERP roadmap services and works cross-functionally with services, product, and technology teams.
With 25 years of experience across industries including financial services, energy, retail, and technology, his expertise spans strategy, operations, AI/ML, security, DevOps, SRE, and enterprise systems.
Prior to Rimini Street, he was Executive CTO, EMEA– Observability at Cisco, leading executive engagement and regional product strategy. Earlier, he held senior IT leadership roles at organisations including RBS, ABN AMRO, New Look, and BP.
Karen Wilson
Karen Wilson is UKI Utilities Lead at Rimini Street and has spent more than 20 years working with organisations across the utilities, energy and telecommunications sectors. Having held roles with leading enterprise software providers including SAP and ServiceNow, she brings practical insight into how organisations can maximise the value of existing technology investments while balancing innovation, cost and operational resilience. Working closely with business and IT leaders, she helps organisations navigate the challenges of modernising enterprise systems and evaluating new technologies, including AI.
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