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ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · Cloud, mobile and smart technology

Marlow Utilities installs smart meters in 400,000 homes. The meters send usage data every 15 minutes, letting Marlow vary tariffs by time of day and predict demand. Which is the most significant strategic implication of this IoT investment for Marlow?

The key implication is that smart meters turn into a source of granular customer data supporting new pricing and service strategies, such as time-of-day tariffs and demand prediction, while also increasing privacy, security and compliance obligations because the data reveals household behaviour. It does not guarantee advantage or remove risk.

  1. AIt removes the need for any data protection controls because the data is machine generated
  2. BIt converts the meters into a source of granular customer data that can support new pricing and service strategies, while raising privacy and security obligationsCorrect
  3. CIt guarantees a cost leadership position because competitors cannot copy smart meters
  4. DIt reduces Marlow's exposure to risk because all operational processes become fully automated

Explanation

Frequent usage readings give detailed data about households, enabling dynamic pricing and demand forecasting, which is a strategic opportunity. The same data is personal data, so privacy and security duties increase. Machine-generated data is not exempt from protection, and meters are easily copied, so no guaranteed advantage arises.

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