Discussing data management at 2018 OUUG

New Orleans was the site of this year’s Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing Users Group (OUUG) Conference. The shift from Scottsdale, Arizona and the interest around the selected topics generated the largest attendance in the conference’s history! The tracks for focus were around Customer Billing, Meter Data Management, and Workforce Asset Management. This was our first year sponsoring the event, and we were pleased to be met with genuine interest, as well as a strong following for Experian swag!

We had a number of great conversations with conference attendees at our booth. Everyone that stopped by identified with their inner data identity based on the Experian buttons we were giving out: Data Diva, Data Nerd, Data Wizard, and Data Ninja. Again, we were struck that independent of role or function, all the data people shared similar struggles when it comes to the need to better understand their data. In addition to these challenges, however, many are also enjoying the insights they gain from their data.

For years, Experian has been working with utilities with data quality concerns that have plagued legacy customer databases. Assisting utilities companies with their ability to validate and verify their customer data has been, and continues to be, a challenge. We also saw a great deal of interest in our ability to append missing data from customer profiles this year. Utilities have longstanding customers that pre-date email, initiatives around e-billing, and disaster alerts that require the home’s best email and phone, and Experian’s ability to improve their data has proven invaluable in these initiatives.

We also were extremely excited to announce at the conference that we have an integration into Oracle’s CC&B platform. This integration has allowed customers to verify address, phone, and email at every point of entry in the customer experience. Customer service has seen returns of up to 30 percent improved productivity based on the integration, and this has ensured that the customer journey goes more smoothly and efficiently. Verification has also enabled utilities to reach their customers directly from billing to alerts.

We regularly discuss data quality as it relates to data management within the utilities industry, and we had several conversations about it at OUUG. In an industry that is waylaid in legacy data, as well as mergers and acquisitions, the ability to have a full view of their data across sources has been a point of high interest for the visitors to our booth. Understanding the general health of their data quality has been the focus after many failed initiatives. The ability to truly profile, create alerts, and proactively improve the overall health of the data is needed within their environments in order to launch new programs, migrate to new platforms, and satisfy customer demands.

Our first attendance and sponsorship of OUUG has been a great one that led to new and exciting conversations about the unique challenges and requirements of the utilities industry. Experian is positioned to be extremely helpful and truly understand the needs and wants of our customers in the utilities space.

Want to learn how Experian helps our customers in the utilities industry?

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