Introduction
At Waltero, we understand that energy utilities are facing a critical transformation. Legacy customer systems—outdated billing platforms, rigid CRM software, and inefficient metering infrastructure—are holding back efficiency and customer satisfaction.
In today’s digital era, utility customers expect seamless, real-time interactions, while utilities need cost-effective, scalable solutions. Advancements such as self-service portals and cloud-based systems enhance convenience and efficiency for utility customers, ultimately leading to improved service delivery and satisfaction.
Modernizing customer operations isn’t just about upgrading software. It’s about rethinking the entire customer experience. From digital transformation in utilities to IT-OT integration, leading energy providers are finding new ways to streamline processes, reduce costs, and improve service.
In this article, we explore the challenges of legacy systems, the ROI of modernization, best practices for implementation, and how Waltero’s solutions can accelerate this transition.
4 Pain Points of Legacy Systems in Utility Customer Operations
Legacy systems were built for a different era—before cloud computing, smart meters, and AI-driven insights. Today, these outdated platforms create significant operational and customer service challenges:
1. High Maintenance Costs
Maintaining aging infrastructure is expensive. Many utilities spend up to 80% of their IT budgets just to keep legacy systems operational. These costs drain resources that could otherwise be used for innovation and improving customer experience.
2. Fragmented and Siloed Data
Older customer information systems (CIS) often don’t integrate well with modern technologies. Data remains locked in separate systems—billing, metering, and customer service—forcing agents to manually piece together customer insights. This inefficiency leads to longer call handling times and higher operational costs.
3. Limited Customer Engagement Capabilities
Utility customers expect self-service options, real-time billing insights, and proactive notifications. Yet, many legacy billing systems lack the flexibility to support mobile apps, web portals, or AI-powered customer interactions.
4. Compliance and Security Risks
With evolving regulations like GDPR and NERC-CIP, utilities must ensure customer data is protected. Older systems are often vulnerable to cyber threats, increasing the risk of breaches and non-compliance penalties.
The Business Case for Digital Transformation in Utilities
Upgrading legacy customer operations isn’t just about catching up—it’s about unlocking real financial and operational benefits. Studies show that digital transformation in utilities can boost short-term earnings by up to 4% annually, with long-term revenue increases exceeding 25%.
Key Benefits of Modernization:
Lower IT & Operational Costs: Cloud-based platforms reduce infrastructure expenses and maintenance burdens.
Faster, More Accurate Billing: Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) enables real-time or scheduled billing updates, reducing errors.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: AI-driven self-service tools and personalized energy insights improve engagement and retention for utility customers, leading to better service delivery and satisfaction.
Improved Regulatory Compliance: Automated reporting and data security enhancements help meet industry standards.
Building a Digital Utility
Building a digital utility requires a comprehensive approach that involves transforming business processes, leveraging digital platforms, and enhancing customer engagement. Utility companies must adopt a customer-centric approach, focusing on delivering exceptional customer experiences through streamlined processes and personalized interactions. This transformation is not just about technology but also about rethinking how utilities interact with their customers.
Technical expertise is crucial in building a digital utility, as it enables the integration of advanced technologies such as smart meters, IoT devices, and data analytics. These technologies provide real-time data and insights, allowing utilities to optimize operations and improve customer satisfaction. A digital utility must prioritize customer care, providing customers with intuitive and user-friendly interfaces to manage their accounts, track usage, and access support.
The chief customer officer plays a critical role in driving digital transformation, ensuring that customer needs are at the forefront of business decisions. By focusing on customer-centric strategies and leveraging technical expertise, utility companies can create a digital utility that delivers exceptional customer experiences and operational efficiency.
Field Service Optimization
Field service optimization is critical in the utility industry, where timely and efficient service delivery is essential for maintaining customer satisfaction and reducing costs. Digital platforms can enhance field service operations by providing real-time scheduling, automated dispatch, and mobile access to customer information. These tools enable field service teams to respond quickly to customer needs and resolve issues efficiently.
As electric vehicles become increasingly popular, utility companies must adapt their field service operations to accommodate this shift. Data analytics can provide actionable insights to optimize field service routes, reduce travel time, and improve first-time fix rates. By leveraging these insights, utilities can enhance their field service operations and deliver better customer experiences.
Utility companies must prioritize customer care and support during field service interactions, ensuring that customers receive prompt and professional service. By focusing on field service optimization and leveraging digital platforms, utilities can improve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Data-driven decision making is essential in the utility industry, where data analytics can provide valuable insights to inform business decisions. Utility companies must leverage data analytics to optimize operations, improve customer engagement, and reduce costs. Smart meters and IoT devices generate vast amounts of data, which can be used to identify trends, predict energy demand, and optimize energy distribution.
Data analytics can help utility companies identify new customers and tailor marketing efforts to meet their needs. By understanding customer behavior and preferences, utilities can create targeted campaigns and improve customer engagement. Additionally, data analytics can provide actionable insights to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs.
Utility companies must prioritize data security and ensure that customer data is protected and used responsibly. By leveraging data analytics and prioritizing data security, utilities can make informed decisions that drive business success and improve customer satisfaction.
Climate Change and Sustainability
Climate change and sustainability are critical issues in the utility industry, where companies must balance energy demand with environmental concerns. Utility companies must adopt sustainable practices, such as investing in renewable energy sources, reducing carbon emissions, and promoting energy efficiency. These practices not only help protect the environment but also enhance the company’s reputation and customer trust.
Digital platforms can help utility companies track and manage their environmental impact, providing insights to inform sustainability initiatives. By leveraging these platforms, utilities can monitor energy usage, identify areas for improvement, and implement strategies to reduce their carbon footprint. Electric vehicles are a key component of sustainable transportation, and utility companies must adapt their infrastructure to support widespread adoption.
Utility companies must prioritize customer education and awareness, providing customers with information and resources to make informed decisions about their energy usage. By promoting sustainable practices and educating customers, utilities can drive positive environmental change and enhance customer engagement.
Case Study: A Utility’s Digital Overhaul with Cloud and AI
One notable example is a U.S.-based energy utility that embarked on a major customer operations transformation. This utility serves about 1.1 million electric customers and 790,000 gas customers, and it faced increasing competition and rising customer expectations. Its legacy customer systems were siloed and could not provide the data-driven, personalized services the company aimed to offer.
Challenges: The utility’s older billing and CRM platforms made it hard to introduce new products or even inform customers efficiently about outages and usage. The company wanted to leverage smart devices (IoT) – such as advanced meters and smart thermostats – and apply AI-driven analytics to glean insights from the data. However, the legacy IT landscape was a barrier to harnessing these tools. In short, the utility needed to upgrade its legacy systems to enable better customer engagement (e.g. personalized alerts, self-service options) and to make data a cornerstone of decision-making.
Modernization Approach: The utility partnered with a technology provider to overhaul its customer operations in two synchronized tracks. First, they created an intelligence platform on top of the existing IT infrastructure to integrate data from various sources. Second, they launched business use-cases to prioritize which customer-facing improvements to implement first. Key steps and technologies in this transformation included:
One leading North American utility modernized its customer service operations with cloud-based CRM, AI-driven analytics, and an integrated mobile app. Facing rising customer expectations and increasing service demands, the company needed a scalable, future-proof solution.
The Results:
- 7% reduction in average call handling time
- 13.6% drop in total customer calls to the service center
- $1 million in annual savings from reduced service costs
This transformation highlights how cloud migration in utilities and customer service innovation lead to tangible benefits.
Best Practices for Modernizing Utility Customer Operations
For utilities considering a legacy system modernization, here are the best strategies for a successful transformation:
1. Adopt a Phased Approach
Replacing an entire legacy system at once is risky and costly. Instead, gradual upgrades—starting with billing or customer service platforms—allow for smoother transitions and quick wins.
2. Integrate IT and OT Systems
Many utilities still separate information technology (IT) (billing, CRM) from operational technology (OT) (grid management, metering). Modern platforms unify these, providing real-time visibility and automated customer updates during outages or service issues.
3. Leverage Cloud & AI Technologies
Cloud-based solutions enable scalability, security, and cost efficiency.
AI-powered insights help predict utility customers’ behavior, optimize billing, and automate interactions, enhancing convenience and efficiency for utility customers.
4. Focus on Change Management
Employee adoption is critical. Providing comprehensive training and involving customer service teams in the process ensures smoother transitions and effective use of new tools.
How Waltero Accelerates Digital Utility Customer Operations
At Waltero, we specialize in helping utilities seamlessly transition from legacy systems to modern, data-driven operations.
Our IoT-enabled cloud solutions and customer analytics platforms provide real-time insights, enabling utilities to:
Optimize billing and customer engagement with AI-powered automation
Seamlessly integrate IT-OT for better service reliability
Enhance security and compliance with industry-leading data protection
By leveraging our expertise in digital transformation utilities, utilities can reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve customer satisfaction without the risks of a full-scale system overhaul.
For utilities exploring modernization opportunities, our Exploratory Kit provides actionable insights into digital transformation strategies.
Conclusion
The energy landscape is evolving rapidly, and digital utility customer operations must evolve with it. Utilities that modernize legacy systems gain more than just efficiency—they create stronger customer relationships, reduce operational costs, and build resilience against future challenges.
By implementing cloud-based solutions, IT-OT integration, and AI-driven automation, utilities can offer seamless, proactive customer service while maintaining regulatory compliance. At Waltero, we’re committed to driving this transformation—empowering utilities to thrive in the digital era.
Are you ready to transform your customer operations? Let’s discuss how Waltero can help you future-proof your utility business.
Kristian Storm – Co-Founder & CEO, Waltero
Kristian merges technical insight with strategic leadership to drive innovation at Waltero. With a PhD in Nanotechnology and an MBA in industrial management, he’s guided multiple high-tech ventures from concept to growth. He’s passionate about applying Edge AI to transform utilities and unlock new efficiencies.
