Flick a switch and the light turns on. Twist a tap and water flows out of the faucet. In this regard, power consumption has not really changed in decades. But many other aspects of the utilities industry – from meter reading to interacting with customers – are evolving to meet new needs and trends. Think smart grids, in-memory analytics, online services, and the growth of sustainable practices.

Enhancements to SAP Business Suite 7 already extended the solution portfolio for utilities to cover many of these areas in December 2010. These innovations are in the ramp-up phase and will soon be generally available, but more innovations are already in development for 2011 and even more are being planned for the future.

In its utilities roadmap, SAP names six key areas of transformation in the industry:

• smart grids
• SAP In-Memory Appliance (SAP HANA)and smart grid analytics
• utilities companies as retailers
• customer online services
• power production
• sustainability

SAP is currently focusing on smart grids and analytics as the main areas of investment for the utilities industry. On the following pages, we’ll give you an overview of the enhancements planned for all six areas of transformation.

Write a comment

cforms contact form by delicious:days