Alation Case Studies European Energy Company Harnesses the Power of Data to Become Fossil Free

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	European Energy Company Harnesses the Power of Data to Become Fossil Free Alation

European Energy Company Harnesses the Power of Data to Become Fossil Free

Alation

Technology Category	Cybersecurity & Privacy - Security Compliance Sensors - Utility Meters
Applicable Industries	Electrical Grids Utilities
Applicable Functions	Maintenance Quality Assurance
Use Cases	Predictive Maintenance Regulatory Compliance Monitoring
Services	Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
Challenge	Vattenfall, a Swedish power company operating in multiple European countries, is committed to achieving fossil-free living within one generation. This goal requires the company to decarbonize electricity production and collaborate with partners in other industries, such as steel production. However, the company faced challenges due to the complexity of its operations across different energy sectors and countries. For instance, wind energy produced in the Netherlands could be used to produce hydrogen for Swedish steel, requiring constant communication and data sharing. However, siloed data within Vattenfall hampered this level of collaboration. Furthermore, day-to-day operations like equipment performance evaluation and maintenance planning required extensive data insights. Vattenfall also had to comply with regulations in multiple countries and the European Union, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), nuclear regulations, and other government reporting requirements. Failure to comply could result in fines in the millions of Euros. Vattenfall needed to improve its data governance to comply with these regulations and to facilitate enterprise-wide collaboration. Read More
About Customer	Vattenfall is one of Europe’s largest energy producers and retailers. The company is headquartered in Solna, Sweden, and has been providing electricity in Sweden for over 100 years. Today, Vattenfall operates in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the UK. The company has approximately 20,000 employees and serves 6.7 million customers. Vattenfall's stated goal and motto is 'Fossil-free living within one generation.' This goal requires the company to decarbonize electricity production and collaborate with partners in other industries, such as steel production. The company operates in complex industries of power generation, distribution, and sale of electricity, heat, and gas. Read More
Solution	Vattenfall chose the Alation Data Catalog as its platform for data collaboration and governance. The company curated metadata from its many business units into the catalog to facilitate data search and discovery across the organization. A business glossary was used to define standard terminology, ensuring all users had a common understanding of critical business terms. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) could share their expertise through articles in the catalog, speeding up knowledge transfer throughout the company. Vattenfall used Alation to connect to their Microsoft Azure cloud data lake and multiple on-premises databases. They also expanded their use of the Snowflake Data Cloud. With Alation, Vattenfall cataloged their Power BI reports down to the data source, essential for compliance audits and building trust in the data through transparency around its origin. Active data governance features in Alation helped ensure the proper use of data, guiding people to use data compliantly and educating them on the policies relevant to the data they handle. Vattenfall used the catalog to implement policies and controls that prevent the misuse of data, including PII tagging and masking. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Security Compliance

Sensors - Utility Meters

Applicable Industries

Electrical Grids

Utilities

Applicable Functions

Maintenance

Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Predictive Maintenance

Regulatory Compliance Monitoring

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services

Challenge

Vattenfall, a Swedish power company operating in multiple European countries, is committed to achieving fossil-free living within one generation. This goal requires the company to decarbonize electricity production and collaborate with partners in other industries, such as steel production. However, the company faced challenges due to the complexity of its operations across different energy sectors and countries. For instance, wind energy produced in the Netherlands could be used to produce hydrogen for Swedish steel, requiring constant communication and data sharing. However, siloed data within Vattenfall hampered this level of collaboration. Furthermore, day-to-day operations like equipment performance evaluation and maintenance planning required extensive data insights. Vattenfall also had to comply with regulations in multiple countries and the European Union, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), nuclear regulations, and other government reporting requirements. Failure to comply could result in fines in the millions of Euros. Vattenfall needed to improve its data governance to comply with these regulations and to facilitate enterprise-wide collaboration.

About Customer

Vattenfall is one of Europe’s largest energy producers and retailers. The company is headquartered in Solna, Sweden, and has been providing electricity in Sweden for over 100 years. Today, Vattenfall operates in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the UK. The company has approximately 20,000 employees and serves 6.7 million customers. Vattenfall's stated goal and motto is 'Fossil-free living within one generation.' This goal requires the company to decarbonize electricity production and collaborate with partners in other industries, such as steel production. The company operates in complex industries of power generation, distribution, and sale of electricity, heat, and gas.

Solution

Vattenfall chose the Alation Data Catalog as its platform for data collaboration and governance. The company curated metadata from its many business units into the catalog to facilitate data search and discovery across the organization. A business glossary was used to define standard terminology, ensuring all users had a common understanding of critical business terms. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) could share their expertise through articles in the catalog, speeding up knowledge transfer throughout the company. Vattenfall used Alation to connect to their Microsoft Azure cloud data lake and multiple on-premises databases. They also expanded their use of the Snowflake Data Cloud. With Alation, Vattenfall cataloged their Power BI reports down to the data source, essential for compliance audits and building trust in the data through transparency around its origin. Active data governance features in Alation helped ensure the proper use of data, guiding people to use data compliantly and educating them on the policies relevant to the data they handle. Vattenfall used the catalog to implement policies and controls that prevent the misuse of data, including PII tagging and masking.

Impact #1	The implementation of Alation Data Catalog has enabled Vattenfall to democratize data for better collaboration while also implementing robust data governance practices. This has led to increased productivity and efficiency as data is now easy to find, share, and update. The company uses Alation to scale business cases where collaboration is key to success, such as predictive maintenance, regulatory reporting, security audits, and customer service. The active data governance features in Alation empower Vattenfall employees to better manage risk, preventing misuse of customers’ personal information and avoiding potential GDPR fines. Alation helps Vattenfall meet regulatory requirements that call for the use of quality data, making critical data easier to find and trust. As Vattenfall becomes more data-driven, it will need its business units to share and collaborate around data more than ever. Enhanced governance does not impede collaboration at Vattenfall, because it doesn’t keep people away from the data. Rather, it helps them use it responsibly and correctly through clear policies and TrustCheck indicators.

Impact #1

The implementation of Alation Data Catalog has enabled Vattenfall to democratize data for better collaboration while also implementing robust data governance practices. This has led to increased productivity and efficiency as data is now easy to find, share, and update. The company uses Alation to scale business cases where collaboration is key to success, such as predictive maintenance, regulatory reporting, security audits, and customer service. The active data governance features in Alation empower Vattenfall employees to better manage risk, preventing misuse of customers’ personal information and avoiding potential GDPR fines. Alation helps Vattenfall meet regulatory requirements that call for the use of quality data, making critical data easier to find and trust. As Vattenfall becomes more data-driven, it will need its business units to share and collaborate around data more than ever. Enhanced governance does not impede collaboration at Vattenfall, because it doesn’t keep people away from the data. Rather, it helps them use it responsibly and correctly through clear policies and TrustCheck indicators.

Benefit #1	Potential savings of millions of Euros in GDPR fines
Benefit #2	Accelerated POC business value by 81%
Benefit #3	Reduced their proof-of-concept (POC) time-to-value from 3-4 months to 3-4 weeks

Benefit #1

Potential savings of millions of Euros in GDPR fines

Benefit #2

Accelerated POC business value by 81%

Benefit #3

Reduced their proof-of-concept (POC) time-to-value from 3-4 months to 3-4 weeks

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Overview

European Energy Company Harnesses the Power of Data to Become Fossil Free

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit