IDC Launches New WU Smart Customer Operations Advisory Service

IDC Energy Insights on Monday announced the launch of a new advisory service, Worldwide Utilities Smart Customer Operations, designed to help utilities and energy retailers servicing electricity, gas, and water customers in competitive and regulated markets around the world.

The new service will offer exclusive research and direct access to industry experts who can provide guidance on an IT investment strategy and tactics to meet corporate objectives of customer satisfaction, reduction of cost to serve, and innovation.

In a press statement, the Corporation said that, with decades of experience in the utility industry, the Energy Insights team leverages a broad spectrum of expertise and intellectual property from both IDC and IDC Energy Insights to provide unique analysis and comprehensive data on topical issues such as: business model and technology-enabled innovation; emerging technologies such as smart metering, plug-in electric vehicles, and other energy efficiency tools; evolution in major applications adopted by utilities and energy retailers, including customer care and billing, meter data management, HEM, and customer portals; critical business and regulatory drivers impacting customer operations; and emerging IT trends including cloud, Big Data, mobility, and social business and their impact on customer operations.

"We are very excited to contribute to this new global advisory service," said Gaia Gallotti, Research Manager at IDC Energy Insights. "Sharing best practices will enable utilities to leverage experiences from their peers operating in the most competitive utility markets."

The new service will address a wide range of critical issues, including: What are the key market trends and challenges facing utilities' customer operations and strategies in the years ahead?

What are the opportunities and threats with business models changing, and what are the technology requirements?

“What is the impact of information technology investments on the performance of customer operations?

“How do emerging technologies such as Big Data and analytics, cloud, mobility, and social business apply to utility customer operations?

“"Reducing the cost to serve while improving the overall customer experience is a common challenge for utilities and energy retailers worldwide, both in competitive and regulated markets," said Roberta Bigliani, Associate Vice President at IDC Energy Insights.

"Investments in cloud, analytics, mobility, and social business need to be considered to gain business agility and to innovate customer operations in increasingly demanding environments."