Mergers and Acquisitions?
With the many changes that have recently occurred in the energy industry, many utilities companies are forced to make--in some cases--dramatic changes of their own. For some, that means merging and acquiring new business.
While that can be the best growth strategy for business, it can sometimes be complex and overwhelming on the backend, especially if dealing with legacy CIS systems.
Merging and acquiring new business presents a perfect opportunity for utilities to identify and reduce redundancies and achieve economies of scale by either modernizing or consolidating redundant CIS systems.
So how do you merge your CIS without disrupting business, losing revenue or receiving customer backlash?
Merging customer data, billing systems, self-serve portals (and the list goes on) can be complex. But it’s something we’ve helped companies successfully manage through strategic planning, clear alignment, and industry expertise.
Here are a few things to consider to ensure a successful project execution.
- Internal alignment within each department. A project of this magnitude requires business strategy to align with the information system design vision. It’s not always easy to achieve alignment among marketing, operations, sales, IT, etc. We are highly experienced in helping achieve this by getting the right people in the room to set the right plan of action.
- Get commitment to change from stakeholders and end users. Your CIS touches nearly every aspect of your business. Understanding how customers, suppliers, and business processes will benefit from modernizing or consolidating your CIS will help each stakeholder commit to finding and implementing an appropriate solution.
- Agree on scope and timeline of project. This project will require a clearly outlined scope with clear timelines and milestones agreed upon. Aligning on this will help determine if this project can be done in house or if additional resources will be required to complete it within the desired timeframe.
Many energy companies will agree that the complex nature of a CIS initiative such as modernizing or consolidating has resulted in many failed or underperforming CIS implementation projects. To avoid such an outcome, we offer technology consulting services backed by years of experience within the energy industry using platforms such as SAP, Oracle, Cayenta, and others.
With any change, customer experience should still be the number one priority.
Whatever change may happen on the backend, giving your customers a seamless experience is critical for retention.
A large retail energy company who had acquired multiple brands came to us when they needed to upgrade the UI, architecture, and technology stack for their existing residential energy mobile application. This project required an incredible amount of backend integration with their CIS platform to create a seamless integration on the front end.
We offered business and technology consulting to help identify the functional and technical requirements, and developed a successful app with enterprise-grade mobile technologies that enhanced automation and introduced an easier way for customers to interact with their business.
What’s the key to a successful project?
Part of our process includes a critical step (mentioned above) that is often overlooked: getting the right people involved in the beginning and asking the right questions to ensure that the technology solves the needs of the business, and each stakeholder is aligned and committed to the outcome.
If you’re looking to modernize or consolidate your CIS, let’s talk. We’d love to understand what you need and see how we can help.
