In order for process improvements to be made on the business side of a utility, users require insights from data that help them meet high-priority objectives. As data flows have increased for utility companies, it’s fallen to IT to deliver services that help business users harness the value of the information that can be extracted from all that data.
Business users at electric utilities have worked for years without access to comprehensive data and analytics enjoyed by lines of business in other industries. Unfortunately, however, many utility business users view data warehousing as a reporting system rather than a critical business tool. This may require IT to educate business users on the value of data beyond standard reporting.
When IT can pull integrated data that’s previously been stored in distinct silos in response to queries, the quality of the data that can be showcased in business-side dashboards improves dramatically. Dashboards are a critical tool for helping business users stay abreast of near-real time consumption and activity that can help them improve business processes and customer services. Integrated data allows the presentation of a horizontal view that can be used to inform efficiencies in business-side processes from inception through to consumption by end users.
What Business Users Need from Analytics Dashboards:
When providing analytics dashboards to business users, IT needs to facilitate their understanding of the value by helping them to ask and answer questions from integrated data that enables them to capitalize on business value.
Some basic questions that help business users find value may include variations on questions, such as:
- How can I better manage collections?
- How do I know that all of our meters being billed accurately?
- How can we reduce costs of serving customers?
- Is there a better way to identify and respond to customer needs?
- Who is participating in conservation programs?
- Is peak usage declining in a specific geographic area?
- Which service offerings are most successful with customers and cost efficient for the utility?
- Which customers were impacted by an outage during "this” period?
- What are the common characteristics for customers with delinquent bills?
The answers to these questions won’t be complete if data from only one system is being used. IT needs to help business users understand why integration is important for tighter management of business and the value that can be delivered when the questions asked can elicit more comprehensive answers and insights.
The value in an analytics dashboard is dependent upon the ability of the business side to use the information it delivers to make better decisions about services, business processes and responsiveness. IT is in the perfect position to help them define how they ask the right questions to gain the most value from the analytics provided via a dashboard view.