Archive for May, 2011

Junifer Systems, the global provider of leading back office solutions for the utility industry, has been selected after a competitive tendering process to provide its flagship Utility CIS to E.ON’s Sustainable Energy business.

Junifer Systems’ Utility CIS is a modular end-to-end customer information and billing system designed specifically to support the unique challenges encountered by both legacy utility systems and the new requirements resulting from industry wide „Smart Meter‟ rollout programmes. The system has the capability to process „Smart Meter‟ consumption records as soon as they are presented to the system. The Junifer Utility CIS platform enables the Utility to offer innovative products, provide its customers with a better understanding of their energy consumption and ultimately help to reduce their carbon footprint.
The Junifer Systems Utility CIS implementation at E.ON will consolidate multiple systems, automate existing manual processes, provide an integrated accounts receivables and collections capability and provide extensive management reports.

Paul FitzGerald, Sales & Marketing Director for Junifer Systems said: “Our scaleable, Utility CIS platform will receive information from E.ON’s smart meters on a daily basis and process the data immediately – this will provide E.ON customer care staff with a single and timely view of all information related to their customers. We are delighted that E.ON recognised the added value that could be accrued through use of the Junifer Utility CIS platform.”

Jeremy Bungey, Head of Community Energy in E.ON’s Sustainable Energy business, said: “What impressed us most about Junifer Systems was that their software is developed specifically to meet the dynamic needs of the utility industry. Junifer’s Utility CIS was very user friendly and from the first live demonstration we could see exactly how it would work within our business. Our customer services team envisages real benefits from the system’s data collection, billing, CRM and ticketing capabilities.”
E.ON’s Sustainable Energy business will be using Junifer’s Utility CIS to manage the delivery of its many large-scale decentralised energy projects across new build sites such as Maple Quay and Dalston Square in East London.

Decentralised energy is produced close to where it will be used, reducing transmission losses and lowering carbon emissions. Long term, it can offer competitive, stable pricing. For house builders, decentralised energy is the cost-effective means of achieving the mandatory Code for Sustainable Homes targets.

About Junifer Systems
Headquartered in London, Junifer Systems provides complete Customer Information Systems (CIS) to the utility industry, specialising in billing systems for Smart Meter deployments. For more details please visit www.junifersystems.com

Media Contact:
Lindsay Spencer
Tria Nomina
T: +44 (0) 870 850 2157
E: lindsay.spencer@trianomina.com

Gothenburg, Sweden: According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in North America was 2.1 million in Q4-2010. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6 percent, this number is expected to reach 3.8 million by 2015. In Latin America, the number of installed fleet management systems is expected to increase from 0.9 million in Q4-2010, growing at a CAGR of 20.6 percent to reach 2.3 million in 2015. Fleet management vendors such as Qualcomm, XATA and PeopleNet remain largely focused on the high-end trucking segment. Non-trucking segments such as delivery, utility and service are addressed by another group of vendors including FleetMatics, Networkfleet and Wireless Matrix. The high-end vendors tend to offer customized solutions via a consultative sales process, whereas others adopt indirect sales models based on distributors, solution sellers and integrators, and offer more standardized solutions.

The report cites customer awareness of the benefits of telematics as the main driver behind growth. “Today managers in North America generally know that fleet management technology can help their businesses reduce costs and improve efficiency. In Latin America, an educational process may however be needed in order to increase the awareness among prospective users about the benefits that fleet management solutions bring beyond mere security related features”, said Rickard Andersson, Telecom Analyst, Berg Insight.

New regulations related to road transport activities also have a major impact on the market environment. The recently implemented CSA safety scoring system in the US to identify high-risk motor carriers requiring interventions is one example. The hours-of-service regulations are further being revised and a mandate to use electronic on-board recorders to log working hours for truckers is likely to come in place starting in 2012 for new vehicles to eventually include all commercial vehicles. In Brazil, the mandated installation of tracking units in all new vehicles is also an important influencer of the development in this region.

About Berg InsightBerg Insight offers premier business intelligence to the telecom industry. We produce concise reports providing key facts and strategic insights about pivotal developments in our focus areas. Our vision is to be the most valuable source of intelligence for our customers.

For additional information, please contact:
Johan Fagerberg, CEO
E-mail: johan.fagerberg@berginsight.com
Phone: +46 31 711 30 91