Description
Business Intelligence for Utilities 5 Planning Strategies
Business Intelligence for Utilities:
5 Planning Strategies
Business Intelligence is not a new concept to utilities, as the analysis of data is as entrenched in every
utility as the concept of providing safe, reliable and afordable power. However, the unique challenge
facing utilities today is that there is exponentially more data, from more advanced sources, and dispersed
to many more functional areas of the organization. This extreme shift from being an energy focused
industry to a data driven industry often causes misalignment between departments and a wide variance in
approach to data management and analytics.
One could argue that this shift has created an environment where utilities must start examining Business
Intelligence and Analytics as a core competency. Business Intelligence is also recognized as being a critical
component of how utilities will need to operate in the new Smart Grid era. In order to make the most
meaning of the new volumes of data, careful planning and strategies need to be put in place to ensure
data quality, manage and support system integrations, and ultimately determine the level of engagement
of the customer.
Given Cognera’s experience in the utilities industry, the company has researched the Business Intelligence
needs of this sector for years. Transformation of data into usable information is one of our core value
propositions to utilities and energy retailers across North America.
After conducting research in this area and surveying Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs), co-operatives, and
municipally owned and operated utilities, Cognera recently found interesting facts summarized in the
following key fndings:
Key Findings:
• Almost 70% of respondents with AMI installations planned to use the data for
purposes other than billing and specifcally for a Business Intelligence application.
• The most preferred single source for Business Intelligence software was within the
actual provider of the AMI system themselves (50%), followed by a desire to see
Meter Data Management Systems (25%) and Customer Information Systems (15%)
provide the Business Intelligence function.
• 70% of respondents said that they are currently unsure or would be using a
combination of systems to provide the analytics and reporting required.
A breakdown of the fndings is illustrated in Figure 1.
These key fndings highlight two major risks and opportunities for a Utility to consider:
1. Utilities are still working through the concept of Business Intelligence and have not planned for this
increasingly important need.
2. For Business Intelligence to work within the utility there is a need for integration amongst various
operating software and systems in order to deliver the desired analytics.
Preferred Source of Business Intelligence Software
AMI Provider
Percentage
of Respondents
MDMS CIS Unsure or Combination
Source
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Figure 1
Where does your Utility stand?
If you are part of the 70 percent who are “Unsure” about Business Intelligence, Cognera recommends
considering the following high-level strategies as you begin the planning process.
5 Strategies for Business Intelligence planning:
1. Set specifc goals and name your champion
Start with the basics. Set high level goals as to what you want Business Intelligence to provide your
organization, and clearly state who will be spearheading these initiatives.
a. Defne what the end result looks like – what does “success” mean as it relates to Business
Intelligence?
1. Is it tied to better operational performance?
2. Cost reduction?
3. Improved customer satisfaction?
4. Better optimization of transmission and distribution systems?
5. Reduced outages?
b. Make sure to include a measurement of user acceptance or day-to-day use in your goals
i. Undergoing a company-wide Business Intelligence project is useless unless the employees
and decision makers actually use the information on an on-going basis.
c. Be sure to name a specifc ‘owner/champion’ of the Business Intelligence project who has
decision making authority, infuence with all functional areas and who can spearhead the
project. It is also important to consider who will be responsible for on-going support and
changes once your Business Intelligence tool/portal is up and running.
value in the Business Intelligence analytics and document and share these successes.
b. Make adjustments to the process and the deliverable for the pilot group before rolling out to
others.
3. Gather feedback early
It is important to gather feedback from users early in the process, in order to drive user acceptance
and adoption later.
a. Consider how Business Intelligence and reporting could be used to enhance a user’s job duties.
b. Get feedback from employees on how diferent types of information might make their jobs
easier, better, more productive.
c. Make the information relevant and meaningful to the individuals who will be using it.
d. Have the capability to customize or download data sets at the individual level for meaningful
analysis.
e. Incorporate user feedback early in your process in order to positively infuence development
down the road.
4. Keep it clean!
This seems like a no-brainer, but data integrity is a critical component in the usefulness and
efectiveness of Business Intelligence. No one is going to buy into the concept, or use the resulting
tools, if they can’t rely on the data.
a. Re-evaluate current quality assurance checks for data integrity
i. What are the risks and where can you make improvements?
b. Consider archiving requirements and how they will change now with new volumes of data.
i. Do you have the proper hardware and software solutions in place to store data and make sure
it’s secure?
c. Remember that garbage in will equal garbage out and will seriously impact the integrity of the
Business Intelligence project.
2. Start Small
Creating a Business Intelligence plan that starts out by
engaging the entire organization and every possible data
source is sure to be a project that has as much chance of
failure as success. This task can be overwhelming, and if
the end-users are not engaged, any Business Intelligence
solution will not be accepted and used.
a. Start with one functional area and develop a pilot
program. For example, survey, evaluate, create and
design Business Intelligence reports for the most
engaged functional area frst. Get people to see the
5. Expand into broader areas
Once you’ve implemented a pilot project within one area of the business, grow the project organically
to include the remaining functional areas.
a. Set timelines and processes for the whole organization to be on board and utilizing Business
Intelligence in their day to day duties.
Every utility that is collecting data has the ability to make Business Intelligence a part of their ongoing
analytics. The function of Business Intelligence can efectively move out of the engineering or IT
departments as silos and start to include the organization as a whole; it just has to be approached in a
feasible and sustainable way.
As you consider Cognera’s Five Strategies for Business Intelligence Planning, stay tuned for our next piece
on Building a Business Intelligence System That Works (the Five Key layers of Business Intelligence within
the Utility) – coming in early 2012!
doc_138918339.pdf
Business Intelligence for Utilities 5 Planning Strategies
Business Intelligence for Utilities:
5 Planning Strategies
Business Intelligence is not a new concept to utilities, as the analysis of data is as entrenched in every
utility as the concept of providing safe, reliable and afordable power. However, the unique challenge
facing utilities today is that there is exponentially more data, from more advanced sources, and dispersed
to many more functional areas of the organization. This extreme shift from being an energy focused
industry to a data driven industry often causes misalignment between departments and a wide variance in
approach to data management and analytics.
One could argue that this shift has created an environment where utilities must start examining Business
Intelligence and Analytics as a core competency. Business Intelligence is also recognized as being a critical
component of how utilities will need to operate in the new Smart Grid era. In order to make the most
meaning of the new volumes of data, careful planning and strategies need to be put in place to ensure
data quality, manage and support system integrations, and ultimately determine the level of engagement
of the customer.
Given Cognera’s experience in the utilities industry, the company has researched the Business Intelligence
needs of this sector for years. Transformation of data into usable information is one of our core value
propositions to utilities and energy retailers across North America.
After conducting research in this area and surveying Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs), co-operatives, and
municipally owned and operated utilities, Cognera recently found interesting facts summarized in the
following key fndings:
Key Findings:
• Almost 70% of respondents with AMI installations planned to use the data for
purposes other than billing and specifcally for a Business Intelligence application.
• The most preferred single source for Business Intelligence software was within the
actual provider of the AMI system themselves (50%), followed by a desire to see
Meter Data Management Systems (25%) and Customer Information Systems (15%)
provide the Business Intelligence function.
• 70% of respondents said that they are currently unsure or would be using a
combination of systems to provide the analytics and reporting required.
A breakdown of the fndings is illustrated in Figure 1.
These key fndings highlight two major risks and opportunities for a Utility to consider:
1. Utilities are still working through the concept of Business Intelligence and have not planned for this
increasingly important need.
2. For Business Intelligence to work within the utility there is a need for integration amongst various
operating software and systems in order to deliver the desired analytics.
Preferred Source of Business Intelligence Software
AMI Provider
Percentage
of Respondents
MDMS CIS Unsure or Combination
Source
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Figure 1
Where does your Utility stand?
If you are part of the 70 percent who are “Unsure” about Business Intelligence, Cognera recommends
considering the following high-level strategies as you begin the planning process.
5 Strategies for Business Intelligence planning:
1. Set specifc goals and name your champion
Start with the basics. Set high level goals as to what you want Business Intelligence to provide your
organization, and clearly state who will be spearheading these initiatives.
a. Defne what the end result looks like – what does “success” mean as it relates to Business
Intelligence?
1. Is it tied to better operational performance?
2. Cost reduction?
3. Improved customer satisfaction?
4. Better optimization of transmission and distribution systems?
5. Reduced outages?
b. Make sure to include a measurement of user acceptance or day-to-day use in your goals
i. Undergoing a company-wide Business Intelligence project is useless unless the employees
and decision makers actually use the information on an on-going basis.
c. Be sure to name a specifc ‘owner/champion’ of the Business Intelligence project who has
decision making authority, infuence with all functional areas and who can spearhead the
project. It is also important to consider who will be responsible for on-going support and
changes once your Business Intelligence tool/portal is up and running.
value in the Business Intelligence analytics and document and share these successes.
b. Make adjustments to the process and the deliverable for the pilot group before rolling out to
others.
3. Gather feedback early
It is important to gather feedback from users early in the process, in order to drive user acceptance
and adoption later.
a. Consider how Business Intelligence and reporting could be used to enhance a user’s job duties.
b. Get feedback from employees on how diferent types of information might make their jobs
easier, better, more productive.
c. Make the information relevant and meaningful to the individuals who will be using it.
d. Have the capability to customize or download data sets at the individual level for meaningful
analysis.
e. Incorporate user feedback early in your process in order to positively infuence development
down the road.
4. Keep it clean!
This seems like a no-brainer, but data integrity is a critical component in the usefulness and
efectiveness of Business Intelligence. No one is going to buy into the concept, or use the resulting
tools, if they can’t rely on the data.
a. Re-evaluate current quality assurance checks for data integrity
i. What are the risks and where can you make improvements?
b. Consider archiving requirements and how they will change now with new volumes of data.
i. Do you have the proper hardware and software solutions in place to store data and make sure
it’s secure?
c. Remember that garbage in will equal garbage out and will seriously impact the integrity of the
Business Intelligence project.
2. Start Small
Creating a Business Intelligence plan that starts out by
engaging the entire organization and every possible data
source is sure to be a project that has as much chance of
failure as success. This task can be overwhelming, and if
the end-users are not engaged, any Business Intelligence
solution will not be accepted and used.
a. Start with one functional area and develop a pilot
program. For example, survey, evaluate, create and
design Business Intelligence reports for the most
engaged functional area frst. Get people to see the
5. Expand into broader areas
Once you’ve implemented a pilot project within one area of the business, grow the project organically
to include the remaining functional areas.
a. Set timelines and processes for the whole organization to be on board and utilizing Business
Intelligence in their day to day duties.
Every utility that is collecting data has the ability to make Business Intelligence a part of their ongoing
analytics. The function of Business Intelligence can efectively move out of the engineering or IT
departments as silos and start to include the organization as a whole; it just has to be approached in a
feasible and sustainable way.
As you consider Cognera’s Five Strategies for Business Intelligence Planning, stay tuned for our next piece
on Building a Business Intelligence System That Works (the Five Key layers of Business Intelligence within
the Utility) – coming in early 2012!
doc_138918339.pdf