• Scottish Water has awarded BT a network and security contract worth up to £130 million, pending due diligence
• A converged IT and OT operations model could reduce incident handover times across multiple suppliers
The fact
Scottish Water has awarded BT a network and security contract worth up to £130 million, subject to due diligence, with services scheduled to begin on 1 September 2026. The initial term is four years, with extension options that could take the agreement to eight years. BT will manage about 7,000 connections across broadband, MPLS, satellite and internet services. The contract covers Scottish Water’s corporate IT environment and its operational technology network, which supports systems used to run water services across Scotland.
BT also plans to establish a converged model for network and security operations, combining network monitoring and cyber security. Scottish Water’s procurement documents say the scope also includes wide-area and local networks, cloud firewalls, remote access and support for a move to software-defined wide-area network.
The assessment
Once services begin, BT will take over day-to-day coordination of Scottish Water’s network and security operations from several suppliers. Under the current model, an incident may involve several providers before the cause is identified and responsibility for the response is clear. During the handover, BT will need to align monitoring, escalation and support procedures across IT and operational technology.
Giving BT that coordinating role could reduce the time spent transferring incidents between providers, but the benefit has not yet been demonstrated. The public documents do not describe the handover plan, performance baselines, response targets or continuity arrangements. Scottish Water will also depend more heavily on BT, so it will need clear rules for incident ownership, service continuity and performance reporting.
For BTW readers, the contract gives BT a wider operational role inside a national utility. Scottish Water will need to complete the handover without losing visibility over service performance, especially when an incident affects both IT and operational technology.
What to watch
Watch for completion of due diligence and confirmation of the transition plan before services begin on 1 September 2026. After launch, key milestones include the start of the converged network and security operations model, progress on software-defined networking and any published figures on availability, incident response and recovery times.