Microsoft and Gentrack solutions significantly cut processing time – five million customers in 25 hours

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 cuts down lengthy billing cycles for utilities companies

A benchmark test conducted by Microsoft, Gentrack and Hewlett-Packard (HP) confirms that the combination of SQL Server 2008 R2 and Gentrack Velocity can significantly reduce the time it takes to conduct data intensive business processes such as aggregating and billing large volumes of interval data from Smart Metering.

The test mimicked the billing system of a utility company with five million customers each with a smart meter providing 96 intervals of data per day. Drawing on 16 months of sample customer and energy usage data, the solution comprised of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 and Gentrack Velocity processed 200,000 invoices per hour – effectively billing the entire customer base in just over 1 day.

Aaron Baker, General Manager – Smart World Solutions at Gentrack, says efficiencies displayed during testing are set to lower infrastructure and service costs for utility companies, resulting in a reduced total cost of ownership.

“Utilities are faced with growing resource pressures, changing regulatory requirements and the need to adapt to new smart-world technologies, all at a time when budgets are tight. This benchmark study has proven the powerful combination of Gentrack Velocity and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 as a cost effective and scalable solution for large utilities and a real alternative to large expensive ERP offerings.”

Additional benefits of adopting the two solutions includes the ability for utility companies to have a single comprehensive view of critical areas of the business, to streamline and automate utility processes, and to transform the customer experience with a range of innovative billing options. Increasing profitability by lowering everyday costs is also a key benefit – all while giving utilities access to the familiar and flexible Business Intelligence (BI) tools included in SQL Server 2008 R2.

“SQL Server 2008 R2 and Gentrack Velocity are fantastic solutions individually, but when combined they represent significant benefits for the utilities industry,” says Cameron Gardiner, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft.

“SQL Server 2008 R2 offers less vulnerability than most other database software solutions, and provides advanced BI tools – it was a natural fit with Gentrack Velocity. Combined, both solutions empower utility companies to deliver new experiences to consumers who are constantly demanding new ways of engaging through self-service portals, smart devices and social media.”

“We are committed to working with Gentrack to improve the performance of Gentrack Velocity on SQL Server and to ensure new versions of Gentrack Velocity and SQL Server are compatible – building on the successful results we have seen in the benchmark study.”

For further information please visit www.microsoft.com/sql or gentrack.com.