Your Natural Gas Operations Require a Replacement Strategy?
nGenue is routinely called upon to update industry pundits, The Gartner Group and CTRM Center being recent examples. Organizations like these and others keep their fingers on the pulse of the market, with software solution providers like nGenue serving as a leading source of trending market information. Updates span a range of topics; too many to cover in a few paragraphs, so here I will focus on the “Business Motivations” aspect of our recent updates, which identifies leading motivations for Natural Gas operations system replacement / overhaul. Also, I will share what the pundits told us about Natural Gas business inquiries coming their way.
From nGenue’s vantage point, 2023 has revealed itself to be the year Natural Gas businesses are stepping up and taking action to remediate historical issues with aged and ill-suited operational systems. And probably because Natural Gas businesses were experiencing impact from these issues at the busiest time of the year, January and February motivated many to prioritize identifying fixes for implementation over the summer months. Topping the list of issues brought to our attention are needs for an operational system replacement strategy for one of four scenarios:
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Spreadsheets too time consuming, error-prone and costing the business money
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Existing software judged to be too much of a liability or reaching end-of-life (support discontinuance)
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ETRM system not meeting business needs and costing too much to further customize and support
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External Service Providers obstructing profitable growth
In Spreadsheets Costing Your Natural Gas Business Money? , I shared details of the impact running the business on spreadsheets has on a Natural Gas business, so no need to belabor it here, although you may find it interesting to know that thus far in 2023, several businesses have contacted nGenue determined to once and for all eliminate spreadsheets in favor of an institutionalized operational system where business data is stored in a central repository, readily and simultaneously accessible by all staff members.
Increasingly, #2 is a leading motivator, where Natural Gas businesses are being confronted with support for their existing business operations software product being discontinued by its vendor. This is becoming more common for both big name software products and smaller ones; proving to be a major issue for businesses that have invested considerable time and money using and customizing a given product, suddenly having to identify a replacement strategy. The pain of product end-of-life is only exacerbated when the vendor offers a replacement product no better than the previous, yet requiring a completely new software purchase at a hefty price. It’s distasteful how often this happens, so beware!
Recent conversations with industry pundits tell us software product discontinuance is however second to failed ETRM system implementations. For years, Natural Gas businesses have invested in traditional ETRM systems with the expectations that such software would meet retail and wholesale business requirements. Those with experience will tell you ETRM systems require heavy customization for any commodity and, even then, fall way short of the needs of a natural gas business. As a result, analysts have been receiving a steady stream of “replacement strategy” inquiries across a range of commodities. For Natural Gas, nGenue is fortunate to be the beneficiary of regular referrals and the businesses we engage are delighted to learn of nGenue out of the box capabilities that require no coding or customizations.
End Users, LDCs, Marketers, Pipelines, Producers, and Utilities 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
