The largest utility company in the UK is to standardise its
business intelligence systems on Business Objects.
National Grid Transco (NGT) said the move would improve efficiency
and give its 3,000 staff a clear view of performance. The company
expects to see a return on investment in two years.
A key driver in NGT's decision to standardise on Business Objects
was the massive reorganisation the company underwent last year when
it brought together its electricity delivery business National Grid
with gas transportation business Transco, following the merger of
its National Grid and Lattice groups in 2002.
The amalgamation left the company with a diverse range of business
intelligence tools.
"In the tightly cost-regulated utilities sector, the advantages of
standardising on one integrated business intelligence platform are
compelling and meet our high ROI threshold," said Derek Murphy,
technology manager at NGT.
NGT will see the most gains from using business intelligence in its
Quarterback mobile field force project, where it monitors business
performance to identify areas of cost savings and improved
efficiencies.
The company will use Business Objects and Webintelligence software,
which has tools for data querying, reporting and analysis. The
combination of the two will allow it to analyse the activities of
several thousand field staff across every region the company
operates to ensure they are deployed as efficiently as possible.
NGT will also use business intelligence to monitor and manage the
operational running of its gas network. It will be able to report
on the condition of the network, the flow of gas and performance
against service level agreements, to ensure it complies with
regulatory requirements.
Richard Neale, product marketing manager at Business Objects, which
has worked with NGT for four years, said, "NGT is a regulated
industry and cannot increase its prices. The only thing it can do
is reduce costs and increase efficiencies. By standardising on
business intelligence, it can streamline the cost of ownership."