Five Reasons to Move Your Utility Billing Systems to the Cloud
Technology is changing the way utilities do business. And because of COVID, customers now demand personalized service, not just in your office or on the phone. If your CIS is not keeping pace with your customers' demands and your technology stack needs an upgrade, you may consider moving your utility billing systems to the cloud. But is cloud-based utility billing right for your community?
5 Reasons to Move Your Utility Billing Systems to the Cloud
Costs
Operations
Scalability
Agility
Support
Cost
In the past, if you wanted to upgrade or change your CIS, it often came with purchasing new hardware, licenses, software, and everything your team needed to manage your utility billing and customer information system in-house.
When you move your utility billing software to the cloud, you move the operating expenses from CAPEX to OPEX. Instead of paying out a substantial portion of your capital expenses for servers and software every 3-5 years, you now have an operating cost that is manageable with Software as a Service (SaaS). With cloud-based utility billing software, you have a set, long-term pricing model that allows you to plan your IT spend and allocate resources as needed. And your cost savings are substantially more when you think about not having to hire a database administrator and reallocating your current IT staff to other high-priority tasks.
When you move your CIS to NorthStar's cloud, you get NorthStar's trained staff to manage and monitor your utility billing and customer information software. With our 45+ years in the industry, you know that our skilled experts will keep your team performing at optimal efficiency. And with your CIS in NorthStar's cloud, you'll have the most secure architecture on the market, AWS, working for you.
Operations
Your on-premise CIS/UB system needs a lot of upkeep to maintain security, compliance, support, and updates. And when you want to add integrations, the process takes longer than you want. Adding users adds another headache, and remote work is still more work for your IT staff.
Cloud-based utility billing systems simplify business processes. Having your CIS/UB cloud-based and SaaS-based helps to improve operations because your technology works for you, not against you. When you need a new web portal like SilverBlaze or a mobile workforce management software like mCare, NorthStar's Cloud integrates with these platforms to improve the channels you use to serve your customers. When your community uses these channels to interact with your team, you save time and money and serve customers when and where they want to be served, improving customer experiences and operational efficiencies.
With NorthStar Cloud, NorthStar manages your utility billing system, and AWS manages its architecture. With that shift, your IT staff no longer has the burden of updating, upgrading, and managing your server's and software's security. Instead, they will have more hours in the day to focus on other priorities that assist your team. And you'll have business continuity because NorthStar Cloud is backed up regularly. You'll also have built-in software updates and upgrades to keep you on the latest software. What's more, with the NorthStar Cloud, implementation takes less time than on-premise, putting you on the latest technology faster.
With a reliable internet connection, you can access cloud-based utility billing systems. If you close your office, you don't have to stop working. Everyone who needs it can access your CIS/UB securely and quickly. Your staff will have the information they need to serve your community effectively, reducing first-contact resolution times and the overall time it takes to handle customer tasks. And with the NorthStar Cloud, your customers have the necessary technology to self-serve, improving customer experiences and satisfaction.
Scalability
One of the main benefits of moving your utility billing systems to the cloud is that the cloud has the flexibility and scalability that modern utilities need. As your community grows and expands, you need software that can grow and expand with it. Because NorthStar's Cloud is designed to grow with your community, your workload requirements may increase over time, but you will not see a decrease in performance. With an on-premise server, you must plan for growth that may or may not materialize and buy software and hardware to meet your possible needs. But with the NorthStar Cloud, you only buy what you need to use at that time. So, if your utility scales either up or down, you can always have the performance you expect.
Agility
Technology continues to change the way business is done. Where customers used to walk into your office during office business hours, they are now serving themselves online. The business of providing utilities to your community was static, but now it is more dynamic than ever. Distributed Generation(DG), smart technologies, GIS, OMS, AMI, and all the industry-leading enhancements have developed recently. And in the years ahead, even more, innovation will drive how we serve our communities. With all these innovations, your utility billing software must be agile to meet these changes. When you move to the cloud, your utility billing system will be up-to-date and ready to integrate with these new developments.
Support
When you move your utility billing system to the NorthStar Cloud, you have our years of experience working for you. Not only do you have NorthStar's expertise, but you also have world-class specialists working for you at AWS. Your staff no longer has to handle your CIS system's day-to-day management. You don't need a database administrator or support staff to ensure your software is current and protected. Instead, your team can focus on providing high-quality service to your customers as our specialists manage the Cloud.
So if the technological changes are making it difficult for your team to keep up, then you may want to see how a cloud-based utility billing system can benefit your team and community. Check out our Cloud Total Cost of Ownership calculator to see if moving to the cloud can save you money. And if you're ready to see how cloud-based utility billing solutions work, contact our sales team by clicking on the button below.