Utilities and councils are leading the charge towards a reliable, sustainable future. Digitisation offers the path to take us there, but shared knowledge and genuine collaboration are what will propel us forward.
The digital transformation is happening now. Whether it’s electricity, water, gas or telecommunications, the way Australians interact with essential services is changing forever.
There’s promise of a bright future ahead, but utilities must first navigate a sea of challenges, from water scarcity to population growth and the ever-evolving question of grid security.
Smart meters, IoT, AI, data and operational technology (OT) are the tools that are going to empower utilities to solve these challenges. But without a guide, struggling through a digital transformation is a challenge of its own.
For Nucleus 3 General Manager – Digital Enablement, Alana Chong, it’s not about purchasing the latest technology, it’s about finding a solution that empowers outcomes now but also has the ability to scale.
“There isn’t necessarily bad devices and good devices or bad software and good software – it’s just about [matching them to] the problem they’re trying to solve,” she said.
“At the end of the day, you want to get outcomes. You shouldn’t go out to market to decide on a device or decide on a system. You need to decide on what outcome you’re looking for, what problem you need to solve, and then that’s how it comes together.”
Three’s company
Nucleus 3 is one of the best-kept secrets in digital utility space. This team manages clients with around 400,000 devices, but they won’t tell you that they’re part of the second-largest digital metering company in Australia – instead they’ll tell you how much they love what they do.
On 26 June 2025, Nucleus 3 brought its people and partners together for a gala event to celebrate a year of growth and the people that made that journey possible. After hearing the news that the company had recently appointed a new leadership team, Utility tagged along to get the scoop.
More than 120 team members, partners and clients attended the event, but even for such a diverse group of professionals there was very real sense that everyone was aligned on the same goal. That shared vision can be traced back to Nucleus3 Founder and CEO, Louis Limnios, who’s values and genuine passion for the industry have shaped every part of the business. And those values are simple: Nucleus3 is about the people, it’s about loving what they do, and it’s about winning the right way.
“I thought it just was really important to bring everybody together and say thank you – it means a lot,” Mr Limnios said at the event.
“To our partners, thank you for trusting us and representing your brand, your offerings, and that means a lot to us – our business is better because of you.
“And to all our customers in the room – we wouldn’t be here without you. Your trust in us to deliver real outcomes is what drives our success.”
For Ms Chong, who had joined the team a few months earlier, the event was a meaningful affirmation of what had already drawn her to the company: a genuine focus on purpose, customers and people. The alignment of values on display was a reminder of why the work matters.
Before Ms Chong came on board, Mr Limnios led a strategic restructure to realign the business around clearly defined service areas. With that came the opportunity to shape a new leadership model, and he invited her to join the business as the GM of Digital Enablement.
“I’ve always been someone who’s deeply customer-focused, and in the water sector especially, that mindset is shared across the industry,” Ms Chong said.
“What really stands out to me about Nucleus3 is their genuine commitment to not just our clients, but to the communities those clients serve. We understand that delivering value to our customers means delivering outcomes for their end users too.
“We don’t compete with our partners, we complement them. We sit within the ecosystem, helping to connect the dots and make things work better for everyone. That’s what I love about being part of this team.”
Nucleus 3 has a team of more than 100 consultants across three business units, with a wealth of knowledge they can’t help but share.
“At first, I found myself pushing back a little, Louis has this incredibly generous nature, he’ll give away every insight he’s ever learned because he genuinely wants to help everyone,” Ms Chong said.
“But over time, I came to really appreciate that mindset. Digital transformation, especially in utilities, is incredibly complex, and that can be overwhelming for customers. What I’ve learned is that it’s not about holding onto knowledge, it’s about making things feel simple. I want our customers to feel confident and say, ‘don’t worry about the complexity, we’ve got it handled’.”
Across its four business units – N3Z, N3Evolve, N3Edge and InteliEON – Nucleus3 empowers utilities in all aspects of the digital journey, including ICT and engineering strategy and operations, consulting and advisory services, business analysis, service improvement, data centre and cloud software, as well as operation technology consultancy, managed services, security, IOT/analytics and software delivery.
And when these different parts of the business work together, there’s little the team can’t do.
“N3Z is led by Jinene Clark, she’s bringing all of what we do here to New Zealand,” she said.
N3Evolve is a dedicated provider of business strategy and execution solutions, which Ms Chong described as a team of skilled, like-minded professionals that operates with the depth and capability of a large consulting firm, but with the agility and focus of a close-knit team.
“N3Evolve is run by Neil Dickson, and he’s got some amazing leadership sidekicks in there, Melainie Reddy and Geoff Tranah. And then there’s 125-plus consultants that all get deployed out to all over the country,” she said.
Ms Chong heads up N3Edge and InteliEON, and her team take care of the research and development (R&D).
“The business units I take care of are highly complementary. N3Edge is focused on deep R&D, developing industry-specific IoT solutions and working closely with partners like Itron to integrate metering products and software in innovative ways,” she said.
“Alongside that, we also deliver our end-to-end digital water metering services predominantly under our InteliEON business, which take those innovations and apply them practically in the field, supporting utilities and councils with real, measurable outcomes.
“What I value is that our work isn’t about technology for technology’s sake. It’s about building meaningful solutions, backed by use cases, that genuinely help our customers and the communities they serve.”
Ms Chong said her team has developed some truly market-leading technology, but what they’ve learned is that customers aren’t just looking for impressive tech. “They’re looking for clear use cases and real outcomes. So that’s what we focus on delivering,” she said.
“When we meet with a council, for example, they might say, ‘We want to detect leaks.’ They’re not necessarily interested in what sits under the device cover, even though we can show them, what matters is that the solution addresses their need. It’s all about the use case.
“To make that happen, we fill gaps between different systems with our own IP [the Water Bureau], bringing everything together into a cohesive, orchestrated solution. It becomes about enabling the ecosystem, stitching together partners, platforms and technologies to deliver real value in the market.”
“What I really love is that the reason our solutions are market-leading and genuinely solve problems is because our team truly cares, about people, about outcomes and about making a difference. They listen, they ask the right questions, and they build with empathy and purpose.”
For Nucleus 3, people are the key enablers of change, growth and innovation.”
For more information, visit nucleus3.com.au
