FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Customer Information System (CIS)?
Customer Information System (CIS) is a system that manages billing, account receivables, and rates for a utility company. It is the central repository for all customer information. A CIS manages customer profiles and integration of data to provide a holistic view of the customer and should enable expected customer capabilities. Smartflex Holistic CIS natively manages utilitiesβ critical business processes, including sales, customer service, rate design, metering, billing, payments, collections, and administrative order management, enabling a seamless business synchronization and highly effective operations.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is Meter Data Management (MDM)?
Meter Data Management is a system in charge of cleansing, calculating, and providing data persistency. It disseminates data and event consumption gathered from installed smart meters. Smartflex meets advanced meter data requirements outside of the traditional meter-to-cash process, regardless of what meter is installed. The solution supports the storage and management of interval consumption, Validation, Editing, and Estimation (VEE), events management, and usage aggregation, and other features required for large-scale deployment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and the associated vast amount of data.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?
Customer Relationship Management software lays out a complete picture of customersβ experience. This allows businesses to make informed decisions about how to improve overall CX. Smartflexβs CRM empowers utilities with the capabilities required to create outstanding experiences for customers to meet their expectations and fulfill their needs while improving key satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy indicators.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is Mobile Workforce Management (MWM)?
Mobile Workforce Management is a software used to manage employees working outside the company premises. Smartflexβs MWM allows utilitiesβ field technicians to carry out daily tasks in a timely manner while boosting productivity and improving customer satisfaction by prioritizing pending works and selecting the most suitable workforce, helping companies achieve key industry indicators.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is an Operation Support System (OSS)?
An Operational Support System is an IT system used by communications service providers that monitor, control, analyze, and manages a computer or telephone network system. Β Smartflexβs OSS empowers utilities to diversify their portfolio towards telecom services, including broadband, VoIP, mobile, cable, and content platforms.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is a Digitalization Strategy?
It refers to the modernization of a companyβs processes through the implementation of modern systems. Digital channels, seamless processes, and smooth journeys are prescribed as the bulletproof recipe to overcome every shortfall. However, without a sound strategy, the task can prove to be easier said than done.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is Digital Transformation?
It is the replacement of non-digital or manual processes with digital technology that enables business or service transformation. The age of Digital Transformation has driven telecommunication companies to implement business strategies that allow them to compete against OTT service providers such as Netflix, WhatsApp, and Skype.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is Integration Mathematics?
Integration Mathematics refers to the number of integrations between systems that must be done in a software implementation process, the more systems a company has, the greater number of integrations it must perform. Service providers are constantly faced with the problem of optimizing their points of integration between enterprise applications.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is e-Mobility?
E-mobility or Electromobility moves away from existing carbon-emitting fossil fuels to using energy from electrical power sources through external charging capability. Utilities are looking into the electric vehicle trend and are creating an extended service portfolio around e-Mobility that will help counteract the death spiral caused by the democratization of the energy sector.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is Smart Grid?
Smart Grid is the modernization of electric power networks with the aim of reducing environmental impact, increasing service reliability, and transforming the energy market through the promotion of more active consumer participation.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is Complex Billing?
Complex Billing enables utilities to manage dynamic rates schemes that respond to customer needs.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is Broadband?
A high-capacity transmission technique using a wide range of frequencies, which enables a large number of messages to be communicated simultaneously. Broadband has become a key enabler for businesses, promoting economic, educational, and cultural growth in the U.S, while consolidating the global technological leadership of the country.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?
Also known as IoT, the Internet of Things is a network of interconnected physical objects with technology that allows them to interact with their environment, this includes other devices or people, generating data that is later analyzed, turned into information, and then utilized as leverage to make decisions that have great impact over the service providerβs business objects.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is the multi-company model?
The concept of Multi-company refers to the integration of different companies that seek to form business groups. In this model, one company has control over the others, determining the configuration and execution of processes for each of the subsidiaries.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is Augmented Reality (AR)?
Augmented Reality (AR) is a new technology that, through a series of sensors and devices, superimposes three-dimensional or two-dimensional images on the real world to enhance objects and provide important information to the end-user.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is a Virtual Personal Assistant (VPA)?
A conversational, computer-generated character that simulates a conversation to deliver voice- or text-based information to a user. VPA incorporates natural-language processing, and dialogue control according to the content and context of the conversation.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud Computing is a technology that allows access to a shared set of physical resources, applications, and services ready to operate managed over the Internet.Β Learn moreβ¦
What is Smart Metering?
Smart Metering contributes to the fulfillment of key objectives such as the reduction of unbilled consumption, the diversification of the service portfolio, and the optimization of the network use. Likewise, it supports dynamic pricing for different market segments.Β Learn moreβ¦