Exploring SAP’s Industry Cloud Portfolio for Utilities: Transform with Next Practices

In today’s rapidly evolving world, the utilities industry faces challenges, such as the need for efficient asset management, optimising energy production, redefining customer experience, and embracing sustainable practices.

In my previous blog post, I’ve explored how SAP’s Industry Cloud solutions can support Utilities to innovate and improve their business while navigating the transformation process that the industry is facing.

In this blog post, I’ll deep-dive into SAP’s diverse portfolio and the potential of its solutions in improving the utilities sector.

SAP’s INDUSTRY CLOUD PORTFOLIO FOR UTILITIES

Up to today, SAP Utilities Industry Cloud Portfolio contains over 60 Utilities relevant solutions, with a combination of SAP-built and partner-built solutions. These solutions are tailored to mitigate the challenges that the utilities industry is facing. All partner solutions either run on the SAP Business Technology Platform or are integrated via SAP Business Technology Platform. As a result, fostering a better collaboration between SAP and the partner ecosystem.

It’s an agile and flexible platform to enable quick innovation and extend SAP’s existing end-to-end business processes. From Asset Management to Customer Experience, the portfolio contains a wide range of solutions with distinct capabilities, and I’ll briefly introduce you to a few solutions from each of the vertical:

Asset Management

The Industry Cloud is especially relevant in Asset Management. There are many solutions available, that support various aspects of the asset lifecycle. For more details on this topic, you can read the blog Asset Management in Utilities – part 4: Extending the SAP Solution Landscape with Partner Solutions.

Metering and Markets

The convergence of advanced metering technologies and evolving market dynamics is creating new opportunities. These include for operational efficiency, customer engagement, and revenue optimisation. Industry Cloud solutions tailored for utilities’ metering and markets have emerged as powerful solutions in the areas of advanced metering technologies, analytics, and market intelligence.

From SAP, we have built utilities-specific Industry Cloud solutions to fulfil a part of this requirement:

• SAP Cloud for Energy for supporting the entire meter data management.
• SAP Market Communications for Utilities to manage communication process in the German energy market.
• SAP Cloud for Utilities Foundation to run an integrative landscape for utilities on a cloud-based foundation.

From our Partners, few solutions are:

• eOS for SAP for Utilities by Energy OS enable utilities to leverage customers and data to deliver digital services that respond to energy transition.
• Efficient inspection of backflow devices, compliant to regulations with Utegration solution.

Customers

Utilities today are focusing on delivering better customer experiences. SAP’s Industry Cloud solutions provide utilities with customer engagement and experience tools that enable personalised interactions, self-service capabilities, and seamless communication channels. Utilities can leverage smart billing systems, customer portals, and real-time data to improve customer satisfaction, transparency, and foster long-term relationships:

• SAP Self-Service Accelerator for Utilities by SEW (Smart Energy and Water) provides self-service capabilities to utility customers online or through a mobile devices.
• Customer Intelligence & Engagement Service by NET2Grid brings transparency and empower utilities customers with energy consumption insights from smart meter data.
• Manage and optimize energy use across multiple sites/plants with Flexinergy by Evolution Energy.
• Live Contract by SYNCPILOT is an integrative CX platform for customer-centric consulting and digital sales.
• ML driven customer insights for enhancing customer value with Infosys solution.
• Power Product Management Tool by Reply helps utilities to efficiently design and manage product prices as an energy supplier.
• Cognitive Customer Service (CCS) by Wipro allows to reduce cost to serve and enhance customer retention.
• Reduce non-technical losses and prevent/lower bad debt levels using Artificial Intelligence technologies with Revenue intelligence by Choice.

Field Service

The utilities industry relies heavily on efficient field service operations to ensure the reliable delivery of essential services. By leveraging real-time data, mobile enablement, and advanced analytics, utilities can optimize workforce utilization, enhance asset maintenance, and deliver exceptional customer experiences:

• SAP Service and Asset Manager is our already proven mobile app to support field workers in maintenance and service activities.
• TeamViewer Frontline Augmented Reality for remote support and hands free work for field technicians with AR capabilities.
• SAP Time and Attendance Management by WorkForce Software to gain visibility into workforce costs, reduce administrative effort and improve employee engagement.
• SightCall Remote Visual Support for SAP Field Service Management deliver remote assistance and scale workforce knowledge with AR & Artificial Intelligence.

Sustainability

The utilities industry plays an important role in driving the energy transition. Industry Cloud solutions are enabling sustainable practices and optimising renewable energy integration.

• SAP E-Mobility is a solution that helps companies to operate electric vehicles (EV) charging infrastructures at scale to drive the transition to sustainable and convenient electric mobility.
• Energy Community by Exnaton and bpc facilitates local marketplaces for renewable energy among households (also called “energy communities”). Compute and visualize energy flows and calculate billable items for each point of delivery.

A full list of our Utilities Industry Cloud solutions can be found in the SAP Store and the SAP Road Map Explorer.

What role the partner ecosystem play in the Industry Cloud strategy?

Currently, our portfolio consists of a broad set of relevant solutions, out of which around 70 percent are partner-built solutions, and new solutions are introduced continually.

The partner ecosystem plays a critical role in delivering new value-driven innovation use cases that address customer needs and improving the value we jointly bring to the market.

The SPRINT1 Energy & Utilities initiative is an opportunity for a partner to convert their innovative ideas or even already existing solutions into SAP Industry Cloud apps with an extensive support of SAP.

Conclusion

SAP Industry Cloud portfolio is a continuous evolving marketplace that offers a comprehensive range of solutions to address unique challenges faced by the industry.

SAP is committed to pursuing innovation and industry-specific utilities solution for a transformative future, enabling them to navigate the evolving landscape with confidence and agility.

For more information on Industry Cloud for Utilities, visit the Industry Cloud Community Page and and SAP Store for Utilities.

For more information about Industry Cloud “Espresso Sessions”, visit the website.