IssueAlert Emerging Technologies ~ September, 2003

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Customer Care's Best Kept Secret
By Jon T. Brock, Chief Operating Officer, UtiliPoint

I recently had the benefit of spending a week in Salt Lake City working with utility CIS and customer care vendor AMX International. I like to refer to AMX as the “best kept secret” in the utility CIS and customer care world due to the fact that they serve a significant number utility customers, are self-funded, cash flowing, and recently “emerged” at the CIS Conference in Nashville earlier this summer. During the visit, I had some time to speak with Darin Stoddard, Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Alliances for AMX. Stoddard's responsibilities include partnership development, product marketing and consultative selling to new and existing clients. Mr. Stoddard has more than 20 years of experience delivering enterprise software solutions to cross vertical markets in the private and public sector. Prior to joining AMX International, he held leadership positions in marketing, sales, development and information technology (IT) Management with leading technology firms including EDS, Andersen Consulting and J.D. Edwards and Company. Mr. Stoddard earned his BBA degree (Cum Laude) from the University of Michigan Business School.

History of AMX
AMX International has a 14 year history as a software and systems integration company that specializes in delivering complete enterprise solutions that fit the needs of large and mid-market customers, including over 200 local government and utility organizations.

Initially, AMX chose to partner with J.D. Edwards & Company, a leading ERP software provider with a flexible architecture, to deliver their software and implementation solutions. Each organization shared a common vision and targeted complementary industries. AMX quickly became known for their ability to successfully develop, implement and integrate core and complementary solutions on-time and on-budget.

J.D. Edwards had an AS/400 based utility billing solution serving customers in the electric, gas and water segments. In early 2000 J.D. Edwards offered to sell their utility billing system to AMX, largely due to their expertise with the system in development and implementation of the existing customers. AMX purchased the application and took over development and support of the existing customers. Immediately the application was named Utiligy™, with existing customers running on an early version (1.0).

As an upgrade solution to version 1.0, Utiligy 2.0 was designed, developed and released for general availability in 2002. Version 2.0 provides a solution that supports leading databases and platform environments and has the ability to operate on multiple hardware platforms, client platforms, operating systems or database, including Oracle, SQL and DB2. Currently, new customers are running or are in the process of implementing the latest version (2.8). Version 3.0 is scheduled for general release by mid year 2004 which includes numerous enhancements and additional components to what AMX calls its SMART Architecture framework.

AMX Utiligy™ today bills itself as a leading provider of advanced CIS, utility billing, and customer care software solutions for public and private utilities world-wide. Since 1988, the company's customers have utilized various services of AMX, including its SMART Architecture™, systems integration, business process improvement, and its ability to execute. The company is headquartered in Idaho Falls, Idaho, has a major development center in Salt Lake City, employs in excess of 130, and has a presence in the U.S., Canada, Qatar, Guam, and Mexico.

Existing Offering
According to the AMX Utiligy™ web-site, the application's integrated and modular suites are at the core of customer and commodity management for utility and retail energy companies. The 2.8 version of the software is integrated to leading ERP systems including J.D. Edwards, SAP and Lawson. It was designed to run on multi-platforms such as Oracle and Microsoft's SQL-Server as opposed to the original RPG and the AS400.

Unlike legacy systems and some CIS solutions, Utiligy utilizes what it calls the SMART Architecture to support continually changing market requirements and allowing utilities to respond quickly and cost-effectively to evolving regulatory requirements and market opportunities. The SMART Architecture has allowed AMX to “front-end” or “plug into” various legacy applications thereby extending their lives while different modular business processes can be added one at a time as they are required by the utility.

The SMART Architecture framework also provides components that allow utilities to take advantage of various solutions, all-at-once, or in manageable, cost effective modules—which means the utility can leverage its current CIS solution and maximize the value of its existing technology investments. I was most impressed with what AMX calls the Customer Care Interface, which actually took major business processes that a customer service representative (CSR) would normally interact with and put all pertinent information on one screen.

Utility business processes provided by AMX include:

• The Executive Dashboard
• Customer Information System (CIS)
• Customer Care Interface (CCI)
• Billing
• Customer Marketing Management
• Customer Internet Self Service & ebill/epay
• Business Intelligence, Performance Management & Reporting
• Complete Enterprise Systems Integration (CIS, ERP, GIS, AMR, IVR)
• Service Order & Work Management
• Meter Management
• Route Management
• Customers

Now for one of the “best-kept-secret” parts of my week at AMX - the customers. AMX currently serves 14 utilities worldwide and they include:

• Orange County Water District, CA
• City of Fontana, CA
• City of Huntington Beach, CA
• Easton Utilities, MA
• KAHRAMAA Water & Electric, Qatar
• Guam Power Authority
• Rigas Udens, Latvia
• City of Battle Creek, MI
• Newfoundland & Labrador Hydro
• City of Hattiesburg, MS
• Connecticut Water
• Vista Irrigation District, CA
• New Jersey Natural Gas
• City of Santa Fe, NM

Of these customers, City of Fontana, CA, Easton Utilities Commission, MA, Guam Power Authority, Orange County Water District, CA, KAHRAMAA Water and Electric Corporation, Qatar have been closed in the last eighteen months, quite an undertaking in today's challenging CIS market.

Utility Drivers
I asked Stoddard what the drivers were that makes a utility decide to replace their CIS system in today's marketplace. “Replacing or extending the life of legacy systems continues to be a big driver.” said Stoddard. “Additionally, more than ever, CIS decision makers are using a risk/reward equation to filter and prioritize their IT related investment decisions. For many utilities that we are speaking to this translates to adding solution components incrementally vs. in mass. Our approach and response to this market need is to first work with each customer to identify and understand their specific value and risk points within the context of a CIS enhancement roadmap. As a result, some customers have decided to completely replace their CIS system with Utiligy™ while others have opted to start with adding specific Utiligy™ solution components such as the Utiligy™ Customer Care Interface.”

“Another big driver is a push by utility executives to gain better performance visibility and analysis. We believe this is due to the high-pressure of accountability today on taxes, fees, and the corporate accountability being placed on companies in North America as a whole. Affirming this driver is the high level of demand we're seeing for Utiligy IQ™, our business intelligence offering,” added Stoddard.

“Lastly, we are seeing a lot of international CIS replacement activity, much of which is a result of foreign investments and financial aid directed toward infrastructure building. Here again we are seeing a lot of interest in our SMART Architecture approach given the complexity and timing of the CIS enhancement projects underway.”

It should be noted here that recent M&A activity in the ERP space, primarily the merger of PeopleSoft/J.D. Edwards and now suitor Oracle, will certainly have an impact on future integrated ERP and CIS investments. In retrospect, AMX's SMART Architecture framework and integration capabilities now broadens the opportunities available to them. In fact, Utiligy can now run standalone or integrate to a number of other product offerings that exist in the utility. Should the company continue to make strides to satisfy an ever-changing market, the future outlook looks good for this “best kept secret” in utility CIS and customer care.