Oracle Announces Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing Release 2.2

Enhancements Help Utilities Boost Employee Productivity, Improve Ability to Manage Conservation Programs and Enhance Customer Experience.

* Today, Oracle announced the availability of Oracle(r) Utilities Customer Care and Billing 2.2, which includes significant enhancements that help utilities boost employee productivity, improve ability to manage conservation programs and enhance customer service.
* The new release continues to build on Oracle’s commitment to providing utilities with industry-specific applications that are pre-integrated with other Oracle product offerings and allow customers to fully leverage Oracle Database and Oracle Fusion Middleware technology to improve application performance and reliability.
* Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing helps customers manage all aspects of the utility customer lifecycle including service connection, management of meter reads (index and interval), complex billing, payment processing and debt collection. In addition, the product also supports associated functions like field service, meter management, sales and marketing and provides a very flexible rating engine and efficient contact center management application.

Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing Release 2.2 Details

* Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing 2.2 helps utilities:
* Improve Conservation Program Management - Utilities today are focused on driving environmental initiatives by offering green products and services, developing demand response programs and improving grid efficiency. Many utilities encourage customers to participate in conservation and energy efficiency programs by issuing rebates upon proof of purchase. In order to efficiently run these programs, utilities require systems that help them to market to their customer base, automate processing and track/analyze campaign progress. Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing 2.2 enables utilities to manage conservation programs within the customer information system (CIS) itself, ensuring a single data repository and a single view of the customer. The new module provides management-level program oversight, increased automation and governance capabilities, as well as support of analytical requirements.
* Enhance Customer Service - Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing 2.2 offers utilities new tools that empower employees to improve customer service. The new application version provides enhanced cashiering functionalities that help streamline processes and improve the efficiency of walk-in payment centers, which can lead to shorter customer lines. The application also enables utilities to track customer preferences, ensuring the utility contacts customers through the channel the customer requests, which may include e-mail, phone, fax or postal mail.
* Boost Productivity - The application includes Task Optimization tools that allow utilities to reduce the number of steps and associated "clicks" in their most common processes - improving efficiency and ensuring consistency in task execution. The Task Optimization tools allow utilities to model their business processes, including configuring their own user interfaces, to suit their unique work processes and needs, while ensuring all data entered is properly validated for accuracy. This enables the system to be even more intuitive and user friendly, helping to reduce required training and improve productivity and efficiency.
* Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing 2.2 leverages Oracle’s application infrastructure - including Oracle Database 11g , Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Enterprise Linux, a feature of the Oracle Unbreakable Linux support program - to provide a unified application and technology operating environment. The new release also operates with Oracle Real Application Clusters to provide even higher system-availability for the most critical utilities systems and integrates with Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher to meet utilities’ unique reporting requirements.

Supporting Quote

* "Oracle provides the flexibility and reliability we need to run our business. The enhanced customer care and billing system will support the cashiers in our walk-in payment centers by providing streamlined cashiering processes and a comprehensive view of the customer, allowing us to reduce the number of IT systems that we need to maintain -- and ultimately providing the best possible customer care" said Alisa Mann, customer services manager, Las Vegas Valley Water District.

Supporting Resources

* Oracle Utilities
* Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing

Source: www.oracle.com

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Hellenic Telecommunications implements Oracle's application suite

Oracle has announced that Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, a communications service provider, has implemented an end-to-end application suite from Oracle to support its IT transformation initiative.

Oracle said that Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) has implemented a comprehensive customer relationship management, operations support system (OSS) and enterprise resource planning solution from Oracle.

The OSS components included Oracle Communications Order and Service Management, Oracle Communications Service Activation and Oracle's inventory management system to enable automated fulfillment of asymmetric digital subscriber line broadband services.

OTE has also recently implemented the Oracle E-Business Suite to improve visibility into business data across the enterprise and enhance operational efficiency in its financial, corporate customer services, supply chain and human resource functions.

David Sharpley, vice president of product marketing and channels for Oracle Communications, said: "OTE's selection and implementation of Oracle applications will provide the necessary foundation to help the company to create a sustainable competitive advantage and excel in customer service."

Source: www.cbronline.com

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W. Jordan wins Oracle plant

Data-storage center will employ 100 people at high wages. Business software giant Oracle Corp. on Monday said it will build a data-storage center in West Jordan that will employ around 100 people when the center opens in two years.
Oracle said it would go ahead with the $285 million data center after Utah economic development officials agreed Friday to offer the Redwood City, Calif.-based company up to $15 million in tax-rebate incentives.
In addition, West Jordan has promised Oracle a $10 million incentive - to be funded by the new property taxes that the data center is expected to generate.
Several local governments will also provide about $10 million to Oracle. Representatives of the governments will meet in July to determine how the incentive will be structured, West Jordan community development director Tom Burdett said.
The company plans to break ground this summer on the 200,000-square-foot data center in the Bingham Business Park at 6200 West and 9600 South.
"It's a big coup for the state. These are very high-paying jobs, even in Salt Lake City, in an industry we are trying to grow," said Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
Oracle said it will pay wages averaging $64,000, for a total payroll of $7.3 million. Wages will be approximately 200 percent of the Salt Lake County average wage, GOED spokesman Michael Sullivan said.
Oracle said the data center is expected to open by early 2010 for its global information technology operations.
The data center will support Oracle's on-demand division, which stores and retrieves data for business customers.
It will also assist ''our research-and-development and customer-service requirements,'' Oracle President Safra Catz said in a statement.
"An opportunity like this doesn't come along every day," said West Jordan City Manager Gary Luebbers. "But when it did, we engaged every available resource to convince Oracle to locate in West Jordan. We anticipate Oracle will be a strong partner with the city for decades to come."
Oracle chose Utah for the data center after considering locations in several states. Last month, the company appeared to have settled on property in Meridian, Idaho, but changed its mind when a property owner raised the price of the site at the last moment, according to the Idaho Business Review in Boise.
Oracle already employs 150 people in Utah at a software sales and support office in Sandy.

Author: Paul Beebe @ www.sltrib.com

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