Gartner defines configure, price and quote (CPQ) applications as software that enables sales organizations to automate and optimize the creation of quotes and capture of orders. A CPQ application is a sales tool that captures the new goods and services a customer wants to buy or the changes a customer wants to make to existing goods and services. While generally focused on assisted sales channels, CPQ capabilities such as product configuration and pricing must be shared with the self-service commerce channel. The new purchases and changes must be priced, and a binding contract must be formed with the customer before sending an order to downstream fulfillment systems.
The meter data management systems (MDMS) market is used by utility companies in the electricity, gas, water and thermal sectors to support metered commodity measurement at customer premises. This data is used for billing, customer service, consumption management (forecast and demand), operations (outages and losses) and finance. Other buyers of MDMS products include energy service companies for audits and efficiency projects; energy management providers for consumption reporting; outsourced or local energy providers for production planning and engineering; and commercial and industrial users for accounting and finance. Additionally, municipalities and government agencies use MDMS products for public works and regulatory compliance. MDMS are essential IT components of advanced meter infrastructures that facilitate the meter-to-cash process by collecting and managing consumption data for utility services such as electricity, water, gas and thermal energy. MDMS collect meter data; apply validation, estimation and error corrections; and store and process the data into billing determinants based on the customer’s product before sending it to a billing engine. MDMS can support various analytics use cases, including consumption profiles, trends, alerts, revenue protection and basic meter asset management. It can be delivered through on-premises or cloud-based solutions, enabling real-time data access and analytics that enhance operational efficiency and customer engagement.
Utility customer information systems (CIS) manage internal and customer-facing account operations for utility meter-to-cash processes. CIS handles customer contracts and billing against consumption data and facilitates revenue generation and collections. They support order processing, rate design, billing, payments, credit and collections. CIS includes customer self-service and communication preferences for account management and notifications. Some vendors expand to include advanced customer engagement and product and service offerings on a flexible product platform. Modern CIS is adaptable, offering deployment options from on-premises to full SaaS. CIS is central to revenue management, leveraging metered consumption data against a backdrop of service and product parameters. As utilities digitalize, CIS is evolving to encompass a broader spectrum of services, extending beyond traditional meter-to-cash processes. This expansion, often referred to as “services to cash,” necessitates innovative approaches to meet customer demands, including dynamic pricing and enhanced savings opportunities.