Service providers are finding it hard to face industry-disrupting challenges with their legacy systems. To make matters worse, these systems are getting increasingly difficult to support as the people who know how they work are retiring and the systems themselves are approaching obsoletion. The new generation of CIS solutions provides companies with the autonomy and flexibility to execute innovative business strategies while reducing dependency on support staff.
Service providers are starting to understand the double risk of legacy systems: their inability to support digital transformation and the absence of experts to support them. In the first case, companies restrict their capacity to react as these outdated solutions are unable to keep up with the disruptive changes reshaping the industry. As for the second, they are experiencing a shortage of support experts due to the retirement of internal staff and the lack of third-party service providers. Considering these drawbacks, it is no wonder why only 15% of utility companies are still using legacy systems according to a 2018 survey by TMG Consulting1. The companies that are still running with a legacy CIS are quickly realizing that keeping these antiquated and obsolete systems leaves them unable to adapt to present and future needs.
To take action on this matter, service providers are looking for modern alternatives that help reduce their dependence on support experts and customization services. In fact, 54% of utilities are looking to replace their CIS solution within the next four years2. Technological solution vendors are responding to this demand by providing flexible and configurable solutions which allow companies to focus on seizing business opportunities and introducing innovative commercial offers instead of wasting their efforts maintaining antiquated technologies. These comprehensive solutions, enhanced with tools that enable utilities to autonomously extend their functional scope, can help companies successfully overcome the rigidity and high support costs of legacy systems.
Smartflex is a holistic CIS solution that allows utilities to seize new revenue streams and adapt to the changing world with less support staff than their existing systems. Thanks to its multi-layered architecture and the wide set of sophisticated tools included natively in the solution, Smartflex grants independence and agility by providing companies with the autonomy to configure and expand its functional scope. With this agile solution, utilities are empowered to transform into digital businesses, autonomously tailoring it to their exact needs with a minimal amount of support services.
(1) TMG Consulting. (2018). Utility Industry Disruption: 5 Profound Trends Impacting IT Modernization Projects. http://www.csforms.org/Conference42/Workshop%20pdfs/TMG.pdf
(2) TMG Consulting. (2018). Utility Industry Disruption: 5 Profound Trends Impacting IT Modernization Projects. http://www.csforms.org/Conference42/Workshop%20pdfs/TMG.pdf
