IT Support for Energy Companies: What Should Your IT Provider Offer?
The UK’s energy sector is undergoing a significant transformation, with a renewed focus on affordable energy sources, as well as renewable energy.
Like many other businesses, energy businesses rely on technology to keep operations running. In the energy industry, employees can often be spread across different offices, sites, warehouses, offshore locations and even multiple countries.
There is an essential need here for IT services such as connectivity, communications, devices and cyber security to all work together. IT issues often develop quickly and are unexpected. The knock-on impact can move from department to department and site to site, and an IT issue can quickly become an operational issue, affecting productivity, communication and potentially business continuity.
This makes choosing the right IT provider particularly important for energy companies.
We know from working with UK energy companies long-term that these environments can often be complex and have specific operational requirements. They require a provider that understands their business and the operational environment rather than just one that can deal with IT problems as and when they arise – often in these situations, the same or similar problems will continue to come up.
The million-dollar question here is: What should an energy company actually expect from their IT provider?
We’ll use this article to explain what you should look for and the red flags to be aware of, (hopefully) helping you come to an informed decision. We’ll draw from our own experience.
What Makes IT Support for Energy Companies Different?
We support businesses across various sectors within the UK. It goes without saying that an energy business’s operations are completely different from a typical office-based SME.
Factors such as:
· Multiple locations
· Remote and offshore operations – check out our work with Offshore Energies UK here.
· Different connectivity requirements
· Employees working from different locations / environments
· Legacy technology alongside newer cloud platforms
· Sensitive business information
· Strict customer or industry requirements
· Need for reliable communication
· Potential operational impact when systems fail
All come into play when working with an energy business.
Good IT support feels like an extension of the business – not an external helpdesk that only becomes involved when something breaks.
Our belief is that by being proactive we can prevent issues from occurring further down the line, whilst strengthening our relationship and learning more about your business at the same time – it’s a win-win!
Proactive IT Support for Energy Companies
A core service of many, if not all, IT providers will be their fully managed IT service [insert hyperlink]. Energy companies should look for support on a range of IT objectives. This can include the provider having a responsive service desk, troubleshooting hardware and software issues, Microsoft 365 support (this one is becoming particularly more prevalent due to Copilot and the way businesses are incorporating AI in their work).
Other cover should include:
· User / device management
· Network support
· Cloud support
· Monitoring
· Maintenance
· Proactive identification of issues
As we touched on earlier, reactive IT looks like:
Something breaks, an employee reports it, someone investigates, disruption occurs.
Proactive IT would look something like:
Systems are monitored regularly (we provide 24/7 monitoring), issues are identified, and problems are then addressed before they become major disruptions. Often, the client will be unaware of this as our team can fix these issues behind the scenes. Of course, we’ll keep the client informed of any updates.
Outsourced IT support is a way for energy companies to access IT expertise without needing to build a large internal IT team – which comes with additional costs such as holidays and pension contributions.
Why Communication Matters in IT Support
How frustrating is it when you’re passed between different technicians, nobody knows the history of the issue, you have to repeatedly explain your setup, you don’t know who is responsible and / or communication only happens when something goes wrong.
Unfortunately, we have encountered many businesses who have experienced this before working with us.
Picture this:
· You encounter an urgent IT issue
· You phone your IT provider
· Your IT provider answers but they don’t know who you are and don’t know who to transfer you to
· The downtime increases (as do stress levels!)
· The issue may get resolved eventually but overall, it takes much longer
This isn’t a scenario any business owner wants.
When you have an IT issue, you want it sorted as soon as possible. Realistically, this may not be possible with the more complex issues, but we always aim to sort issues as soon as we can.
We believe relationship building should be a continuous effort throughout the year. This means regular check-ins (on-site where / when possible). Your IT provider should provide regular updates and develop a clear ownership of issues.
The person you deal with should have someone who understands your business and IT environment – with a clear understanding of your business needs and requirements.
IT support isn’t just about fixing the problem, it’s about keeping the customer informed throughout the whole process.
Our relationship-led approach has worked well for us and it is something we are proud of. You can read more about this approach here.
Cyber Security for Energy Companies
Energy companies can hold valuable information and rely heavily on connected systems, making cyber security an important part of their overall IT strategy.
Hackers are aware of this and this is why energy companies are amongst the most attacked. In fact, according to data from the World Economic Forum, energy companies are among the top five most attacked sectors.
The most common form of attack is phishing. 84% of businesses in the UK have experienced a phishing attack. Typically, this involves cyber criminals sending an email that looks like it comes from a colleague. However, if you click on the sender’s name it will often reveal an email address which does not match the email address of your colleague. If in doubt, do not click any links.
Ransomware and malware can disrupt systems, and compromised endpoints can provide a route into wider networks. Human error and unauthorised access can also leave businesses exposed.
For energy companies, the impact of a cyber incident can extend beyond a single user or device. An attack could disrupt access to systems, affect communication between teams, interrupt day-to-day operations or expose sensitive business information.
This is why cyber security shouldn’t be treated as a separate add-on to IT support. It needs to form part of the wider IT strategy, with security considered across the devices, users, networks, cloud platforms and systems that a business relies on every day.
There is no single solution that can protect a business from every cyber threat. A strong approach should involve multiple layers of protection, combining employee awareness, preventative measures, threat detection and an appropriate response when something does go wrong.
This brings us nicely onto solution one of three.
Protecting Your Human Element with usecure
Employees are, naturally, an important part of any organisation’s cyber security. Even with strong technical controls in place, a single successful phishing email or compromised password can create an opportunity for a cyber criminal to gain access to business systems.
This is where regular security awareness training can help. Rather than expecting employees to know how to identify every potential threat, businesses can provide them with the knowledge and confidence to recognise suspicious emails, links, attachments and other common attack methods.
At KubeNet, we use usecure to help businesses strengthen this human layer of their cyber security. The platform provides security awareness training and simulated phishing exercises, helping businesses identify where additional training may be needed.
We are currently offering a free four-week trial with usecure, which you can claim here.
Detecting and Responding to Threats with Huntress
Solution two of three focuses on detecting and responding to threats with Huntress. As employees are central to any organisation, their awareness is an important part of your cyber security posture. However, businesses also need protection when a threat makes it past the initial layers of defence.
This is where threat detection and response become important. Monitoring endpoints and identifying suspicious activity can help businesses investigate potential threats before they develop into more serious incidents.
KubeNet uses Huntress as part of its approach to managed cyber security, helping to identify and investigate suspicious activity across customer environments.
We are also offering a free four-week trial with Huntress, which you can activate here.
24/7 Security Monitoring and Incident Response
Our third solution is for businesses that require additional protection and oversight. Having access to security expertise around the clock can provide another important layer of defence.
KubeNet works with CyberGuard to provide access to 24/7 security monitoring and incident response capabilities. This includes the ability to investigate, contain and remediate threats, helping businesses respond when a security incident occurs.
The important point is that these services work alongside IT support rather than separately from it. Your IT provider should understand your technology environment, the people using it and the security risks associated with it.
Good cyber security isn’t simply about preventing an attack. It’s about preparing your business to detect, respond to and recover from threats when they occur.
Our IT experts are available to chat you through all our cyber security solutions and have experience dealing specifically with cyber security in the energy sector.
Reliable IT Connectivity for Energy Companies
For an energy business, connectivity isn’t simply about having access to the internet. When employees, offices and operational sites are spread across different locations, then reliable connectivity becomes an essential part of your business operations.
Teams may need to access cloud applications, communicate with colleagues and connect to business systems, such as Microsoft Teams [insert hyperlink], from different locations. If connectivity fails, then the impact extends throughout the business, onto operations and then clients and working partners too.
Hybrid working is becoming more and more common, again highlighting the need for reliable connectivity. It is important that your IT provider recognises the requirements for each site and how they fit into the wider IT environment.
This includes factors such as reliability, resilience, bandwidth, remote access and how different locations connect to central systems and cloud services.
A good IT provider should also be able to identify potential weaknesses, and adopt a proactive approach by recommending improvements before connectivity becomes a business-critical situation.
Our connectivity forms part of our wider managed IT offering, allowing us to consider connectivity alongside the rest of a customer’s IT environment. For a foundation that allows people, systems and sites to work together, click here.
Cloud and Microsoft 365 Support for Energy Companies
We touched on it earlier, but many businesses, with around 320,000,000 daily users across the world, use Microsoft Teams each day. Platforms like Microsoft Teams have changed the way energy businesses work. Employees can access applications, files and business systems from different locations, making it particularly valuable for organisations with different sites.
However, moving services to the cloud doesn’t remove the need for IT support. Microsoft 365, Azure and other cloud platforms still need to be configured, maintained and managed.
User management, permissions and device management are all areas your IT provider should be able to support. In the ever-increasing tech-focused business environment, it’s important for your business to make the most of the technology on offer.
AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot should be welcomed into working environments. As part of your wider IT strategy, you should cover: an understanding of how these tools are configured and what information they can access.
Below are a few links that will take you to some free and useful Microsoft Copilot resources:
What Happens When IT Goes Down?
Naturally, IT issues will occur at some stage in your business journey and they aren’t always predictable.
For an energy business operating across multiple locations, the potential impact can be even greater. An issue affecting one system can have a knock-on effect across teams and sites.
Your provider should help you understand what would happen if a critical system became unavailable and have an appropriate response plan in place if this were to occur.
The goal isn’t just to fix an issue after it occurs. The goal is to provide a long-term solution to the issue that occurs and put in steps to ensure that the issue won’t happen again.
Your business growing should be an exciting part of your life. It shouldn’t be getting bogged down by frustrating IT issues.
Energy is one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK in 2026, with an average five-year growth rate of 12.5%.
Growing businesses means more new users, additional sites, and an increased need for a strong cyber security posture.
As part of our proactive promise to customers, our IT strategy provides businesses with security and confidence for years to come. Our approach directly aligns with your business plans.
If you’ve got growth ambitions of 20% over the next three years, we’ll make sure that our IT approach will be suitable to match that.
We’ve covered a lot of information in this blog. We’ll recap the important points here.
IT support for energy companies is about much more than fixing problems when they occur. Key things that you should expect from your IT provider are a proactive approach, regular communication, a strong cyber security offering and reliable connectivity.
Your IT provider should understand your wider business and operational environment as well as your business goals, so that they can provide an IT strategy that matches your aims.
By outsourcing your IT, you are getting access to cost-effective expert IT support, without the need to build a team internally (and the associated costs that come with this).
KubeNet’s joined-up approach across managed IT, cyber, connectivity, cloud, voice and consultancy provides a nice balance for UK energy businesses. You can read about our work in the energy sector here.
To find out more about our work in the energy sector, download our free IT brochure here.
The right IT provider should feel like an extension of your team, not just another supplier to manage.
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