Thinking of...Building a smart utility? Ask the Smart Questions

The energy and utilities industry, traditionally a conservative sector, is undergoing massive change. A new type of utility is arising, and it can no longer be supported by old monolithic technologies. These smart utilities exceed their customer's expectations while lowering cost to serve. Enabling the smart utility requires powerful, agile and smart business applications for meter data management and customer information systems. MECOMS(TM) on Microsoft Dynamics AX fills this void by offering a smart and integrated solution for energy and utilities. This book deliberately does not provide generic answers. Instead, it teaches you Smart Questions to consider when developing, defining or updating the implementation or application landscape. This book shows the way for any utility that wants to harness the power of being smart. "This book endeavours to dig deeper into the mechanics of utilities. It all sounds so simple. And yet, with millions of customers involved, it's incredibly complex." JON ARNOLD, WORLDWIDE DIRECTOR POWER AND UTILITIES AT MICROSOFT "In covering the broad spectrum of processes that are now required to ensure an effective and profitable relationship between a utility and its customers, this book is both timely and hugely useful." NIGEL SPOONER, DIRECTOR, GLOBAL UTILITIES, CGI "This book suggests a valuable approach: regardless your company's role, business or IT, take a holistic view and start asking yourself why, what and how." ROBERTA BIGLIANI, HEAD OF EUROPE MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA, IDC ENERGY INSIGHTS "Many energy providers are facing continuing pressures to maintain or reduce costs while also enhancing the customer experience - doing more with less." GREG GUTHRIDGE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ACCENTURE ENERGY CONSUMER SERVICES.

Jon Arnold, Worldwide Director Power and Utilities at Microsoft

This book is must reading because it provides insight into the robust design and architecture that we are engaged in with Ferranti. As a blueprint for smart grid and smart energy delivery and billing operations utilities can view the competitive advantages they gain from this partnership and the resulting MECOMS™ solution.

The value of this book, “Thinking of... Building a smart utility?” is that it offers a detailed, informed, and organized vision as to how utilities can leverage the huge investments that Microsoft has made in its Dynamics™ AX, SQL Server, SharePoint communication and collaboration technologies, in partnership with the investments Ferranti has made in its MECOMS™ platform, providing problem-solving technologies for these current market and technology trends.