Itineris elevates utility customer service on the Microsoft cloud

Itineris announces UMAX 365, a major update to its customer service and billing system for utilities, bringing the power of the Microsoft cloud and Dynamics 365 to the customer-facing operations of utilities.

DEURLE, BELGIUM, October 17, 2017 – Itineris today announced a major update—designated “UMAX 365”—to its UMAX customer information system (CIS), technology used by utilities to manage customer service and billing operations.

As the version name suggests, UMAX 365 builds on the recent cloud-first redevelopment of Microsoft’s enterprise applications platform
Dynamics 365. UMAX 365 leverages the capabilities of the Microsoft cloud and Dynamics 365 to connect people, processes and data across the utility organization, enhancing customer service and streamlining operations.

“We’ve seen a growing trend in utilities considering–and even prioritizing–cloud-based business solutions,” noted Itineris Founder and CEO Edgard Vermeersch, “In response, we’re pleased to offer our proven UMAX solution for utilities, now engineered on the Azure cloud architecture built by Microsoft, a leader in the enterprise cloud space. UMAX 365 delivers the benefits of cloud connectivity but with flexible deployment options, from 100-percent cloud to on-premises to hybrid setups. We believe that’s a compelling value proposition not offered in the industry until now.”

What does UMAX 365 mean for utilities?

With UMAX 365, Itineris is building on Microsoft’s vision for transforming business through intelligent cloud technologies. Itineris is focusing that vision to help utilities modernize customer-facing operations in three key areas:

• Enhancing the customer experience – Enabling utilities to connect
  with customers via their channels of choice and deliver data-enriched
  interactions.
• Streamlining utility operations – Empowering employees to improve
  business productivity, enabled by a solution delivering better data, enhanced insight,
  and optimized processes.
• Making IT easier – Delivering a proven CIS on a trusted, future-ready
  and secure enterprise platform at lower, predictable costs.

Feature enhancements utilities can get excited about …

UMAX 365, running on Microsoft Dynamics 365, delivers new and enhanced features designed for utility operations today while providing flexibility for those of tomorrow, including the following highlights:

Cloud, on-premises and hybrid deployment options allow utilities flexibility to configure UMAX 365 to their business and security needs. Run everything in the cloud, on premises, or keep some environments behind the firewall, while backups remain safely in the cloud. Utilities now have options.

Role-based Workspaces bring together embedded business intelligence, KPIs, lists, maps, “tiles” and a variety of other data sources into a single, interactive dashboard. Workspaces are customizable to the needs of each user role, without code changes, allowing utilities to adapt to evolving business needs and keep productivity on track.

Business Process flexibility is built into the UMAX/Dynamics 365 technology stack, from an extensive catalog of web services for connecting apps and data sources to Microsoft Power Apps and Flow, which enable utilities to develop their own applications and workflows with drag-and-drop tools and no coding.

Power BI embedded across the UMAX 365 solution set (and included in the licensing) provides a more cohesive solution for utilities with integrated, native decision-making tools not offered in CIS solution previously.

Life Cycle Services (LCS), enhanced for the cloud, makes it easier for IT and business analysts to manage the UMAX/Dynamics 365 ecosystem. Spin up or down environments as needed with a click (or tap). Model business processes to gauge impact before rolling them out into production. Create training materials easily through the Task Recorder screen capture tool, store them in LCS as a business process repository, and then play them back as videos or click-by-click wizards for endusers. Itineris delivers a catalog of pre-configured, documented UMAX processes in LCS at Go-Live.

World-class security from Microsoft is baked into the entire UMAX/Dynamics 365 ecosystem, from the device to the database. IT departments will have access to the same great tools for data and security management, but now enhanced for cloud environments.