Global Industry Director, Energy, Utilities & Resources
Colin is the Global Industry Director for Energy, Utilities & Resources within IFS where he has worked for nearly 15 years. Colin has been involved in implementing and project managing IFS software into many Project and Asset Intensive organisations in Europe and worldwide. These cover many industries including Energy, Utilities, Pulp & Paper, Aviation and Defence. He is therefore ideally placed to understand the real challenges faced by organisations working in the Service and Asset Intensive Industries. He is a key member of the IFS product directions board and plays an instrumental role in the decisions regarding IFS product strategy. Prior to this Colin worked as a Management Consultant specialising in maintenance continuous improvement philosophies such as TPM and RCM. He completed a Mechanical Engineering apprenticeship many years ago and spent over 15 years working in Automotive manufacture including time as a Maintenance and Facilities Manager.
In these turbulent times who can really tell if the oil price recovery can be sustained, with sanctions, on-going trade wars, natural disasters and confusion around government policy concerning the off-shore industry’s long-term viability? What we do know is that companies operating in this sector today need to be ever more efficient and aware of…
Energy events have given us the opportunity to present the IFS story a number of times already this year, with European Utility Week in Vienna, November 6–8, rounding off the tour. Leading up to that event I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight both what has gone before as well as what we will…
To deliver in the new energy paradigm, suppliers need to focus on two key areas – technology and service provision. The energy market is being disrupted and transformed around the world. According to a recent foreword in the Global Innovation Index Report “Innovation lies at the core of any solution to the challenges facing our…
Three of the many challenges facing organizations that helping to deliver smart meter programs around the globe. In many parts of the world, smart meter installations have been around for some time, and in some countries, second or third generation devices are now being fitted. According to Metering and Smart Energy International, over the next…
Renewables, smart homes, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) will have a massive impact on how energy companies need to address the market in 2018, predicts Colin Beaney, IFS’s Global Industry Director for Energy & Utilities. Trend #1 Renewables hot up—global capacity will double over the next 10 years Every year we’re…
A recap of the European Utility Week 2017 (EUW 2017) event and more. It’s now been just over a few weeks since we took a stand at the European Utility Week event in Amsterdam. The theme of our booth was aligned with our global Industry Experts campaign and was a look back at the original founders…
Partnering, collaboration and a rapid implementation – what more could a utility organization want from enterprise software? Clearly, the answer to that is lots of things. However, the point I am trying to make here is that if you procure either an enterprise business application or a point solution for a specific business need, you…
Research shows that the fundamentals of asset management and maintenance excellence will remain integral to the optimal performance. Organizations in asset-intensive industries must ensure that their adherence to EAM excellence goes beyond the surface. Enterprise asset management (EAM) excellence can be defined in many ways, but essentially, it is about optimizing the operation of assets…
In the UK, our government has told energy suppliers that they must install smart gas and electricity meters in every home and small business by 2020. The issue here, which is the same for any major project undertaking, is the question of whether this an achievable target and what can be done to mitigate delays,…
Changes in consumer demand and new opportunities in renewable energy production are leading energy companies to invest in alternative sources, modernize their infrastructure and seek new revenue streams. This will continue as energy and utility companies come to grips with building smarter infrastructures and integrating powerful new technologies and analytics platforms. Colin Beaney, Global Industry…
