Worldwide IT spending is projected to reach $4.5 trillion in 2022, an increase of 5.1% from 2021, according to Gartner, Inc.  A wave of new technologies (cloud, IoT, containers, AR/VR, and AI and machine learning) provide utilities with the opportunity to rewrite cumbersome, inefficient manual processes with new digital interactions. Another factor is the pandemic’s ripple effects, which continue to be felt. Energy companies were forced to develop new business processes during these turbulent times and have been turning to technology to overcome the new hurdles.