Data Drift and the Erosion of Trust in Utility Operations

In my work with utility CIOs and GIS leaders, one theme comes up repeatedly: digital transformation is accelerating, but confidence in enterprise data is not keeping pace. 

GIS has long been foundational to utility operations. What’s changed is its reach. Today, GIS informs asset management, outage response, capital planning, and regulatory reporting—often acting as the spatial backbone for enterprise decisions. 

As this shift has taken hold, many utilities are encountering a growing challenge: data drift. 

Most utilities rely on multiple mission-critical systems—GIS, EAM, CIS, OMS, ERP—each evolving independently. When those systems are not tightly aligned, discrepancies emerge. Asset updates lag. Field changes don’t propagate. Teams make decisions based on different versions of the same data, often without realizing it. Over time, this erodes trust in the information leaders depend on. 

What I see increasingly is CIOs and GIS leaders reframing the conversation. The focus is moving away from integration as a technical task and toward the outcome it must deliver: a One Trusted Operational View. 

A One Trusted Operational View keeps geospatial and enterprise systems continuously aligned, giving leadership and operations a consistent understanding of assets and network conditions. GIS is no longer just consuming data—it provides the spatial context that helps anchor data integrity across the enterprise. 

The payoff is practical. Decisions happen faster. Field teams operate with greater confidence. IT spends less time reconciling data and more time enabling strategic initiatives. Most importantly, executives regain trust in the metrics and insights guiding investment and operational decisions. 

As utilities pursue analytics, AI, and digital twin initiatives, this alignment becomes non-negotiable. Without a trusted operational foundation, even advanced technologies rest on unstable ground. 

From what I’m seeing, modernization is no longer defined by how many systems a utility deploys—but by how well those systems stay aligned over time. 

Trust in operational data has become a shared responsibility for CIOs and GIS leaders.