Gentrack: Building smarter communities with specialist CRM tools for energy utilities

Smart Grids are transforming the landscape of energy industries and households globally, New Zealand and Australia are no exception. Deployment of smart meters, communications networks and new generation software applications continue to gain momentum as the industry looks for new ways to manage consumer demand and grid performance.

In a demonstration of its leadership position in the race to smart grid success, Gentrack has recently launched a new release of its Gentrack Velocity smart CRM system, designed specifically for energy utilities looking to put the customer at the centre of their smart grid strategy.

“Gentrack Velocity’s CRM capabilities are designed with the smart grid in mind, ensuring utilities have the CRM tools to understand and engage with customers around energy consumption and household energy efficiency,” says Gentrack CEO James Docking.

“We continue to innovate using a set of powerful workflow engines and communication tools to enable utilities to establish new customer touch points, and to engage with customers in new ways such as Social Media, in home displays and SMS.”

Households in New Zealand are set to become a whole lot smarter with access to high speed broadband and new mobile smart devices, all key enablers of smart metering technologies and online collaboration. The growing world of social media is a new paradigm for many energy utilities looking to engage with customers online, and remains a key focus of R&D for Gentrack’s smart CRM tools.

“Around the world there are 2-3 new Twitter accounts activated every second and over 50 million tweets recorded each day. There are 350 million active Facebook users, up 40% over the last 6 months. As a customer touch point, utilities need to embrace these new channels using smart CRM tools for messaging and online collaboration, encouraging new behaviours regarding energy consumption and communicating the customer’s role in achieving greater energy efficiency in New Zealand.”

Gentrack continues to work collaboratively with energy utilities actively involved in smart grid trials and deployment programmes throughout Australasia. As a key player in the smart grid game, Gentrack has committed to continued investment in its next generation smart CRM and billing tools where the customer is pivotal to achieving smarter communities.

“The customer and our wider communities are critical to smart grid success. Utilities need the right vendor relationships and specialist CRM tools to understand consumption behaviours, to drive innovative demand side initiatives throughout our communities and deploy a range of smart energy products to meet consumers changing energy requirements. Our CRM products enable utilities to drive these smart initiatives.”

Gentrack has witnessed firsthand the changes in New Zealand’s energy industry, with a 25 year history of developing and deploying its specialist billing and CRM software in what is considered one of the world’s most innovative energy industries.

“We’re in the game for the long term and we have spent many years delivering smart software to the energy industry. Building smarter homes will be the result of giving ‘real time’ information to households when they need to make decisions. Developing and deploying smart CRM tools for utilities to enable this vision is what really excites the people in this business.”