Your Natural Gas Billing Data Being Held Hostage?
Right when I think I have heard it all, something new crops up that I would not even imagine … Working with our newest nGenue adopter, it has come to light that their billing system vendor (soon to be replaced) has been holding the Marketer’s data hostage such that the Controller must estimate revenue using a laborious spreadsheet-based process. I did a doubletake when I heard this until I explored their situation.
In Natural Gas Billing Software Selection, I wrote about Billing software designed for Power and adapted for Natural Gas. There are a few of these software vendors out there and they are regular sponsors of industry events such as EMC and LDC Forums, so much so that Natural Gas companies would think they are trusted and capable solution providers. Well, it turns out that at least one of these vendors controls their customers’ data such that instead of a Marketer having free access to its own data for routine operational tasks, users must formally log requests for data extracts to support activities such as analyses and reporting. Can you believe it!?
What this means is that Natural Gas companies using such restrictive software cannot freely query the database holding their own data. Instead, they are at the mercy of the vendor to supply required data when the vendor gets around to it. In the case of this Marketer, to circumvent their obstruction, its operations team has created its own separate data repository that extracts data from their vendor-controlled database, so they can run analyses and create ad hoc reports as needed (weekly). Can you imagine not having free access to your own data? We recently learned that this is standard fare for users of certain billing systems.
The good news for this Marketer and Natural Gas businesses in general is that nGenue in no way restricts data access. nGenue recognizes that data is the #1 non-human enterprise asset of a Natural Gas business; data must be securely held, quality standards maintained, and be readily accessible, 24×7. This is what nGenue enables and we would never have imagined that such a fundamental business right is treated by other vendors as an on-demand privilege.
Marketers, Producers, LDCs, Utilities, and Pipelines face increasing competitive and compliance pressures, requiring increased operational efficiency, data integrity and process improvement. Their operational systems must support this, but most do not. Engage us and we will show you how to make a breakthrough. It’s what we do for Natural Gas companies. We are experts in our field, committed to enabling your achievement of Natural Gas Operational Excellence.
– Ken
