Transitioning or upgrading to a new technology solution can be taxing, which is why ElectriCities offers many Technology Services to members. Elizabeth City recently upgraded its customer information/billing system (CIS) to one offered by Tyler Technologies and hosted by ElectriCities.
Besides the technical transition support, the new CIS decision limits the on-site server requirements for the public power community. “We offer a secure, redundant environment with all kinds of security mechanisms built within it,” says Dave Turner, IT operations manager at ElectriCities. “It’s one less thing our members have to worry about.”
By providing hosted solutions for member communities’ CIS, we help secure your access to these crucial systems. For 15 years, you might know we’ve worked with one primary vendor, NorthStar. A few years ago, we added a second solution from Tyler Technologies, which is what Elizabeth City integrated. “Tyler seems to be more well-suited for some of our smaller members,” says Angela Strickland, manager of customer facing services at ElectriCities. The Tyler Tech CIS system is no-frills but gets the job done well, and it’s competitively priced. When combined with ElectriCities hosting, it adds up to a lot of cost-savings.
What’s more, the ElectriCities Technologies Services team is constantly working on ways to integrate hosted CIS with smart metering/AMI technology. “It’s really interesting how we can get the billing system to talk to the AMI system,” Turner says. “It’s something definitely of value to communities,” Strickland adds. But you can leave the nuts-and-bolts to them — that’s the point. “Working with an ElectriCities-hosted solution is a load off of the city’s shoulders,” Turner says.