Discover How Data Integration Enhances Energy & Utilities Cloud Operations

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Navigate legacy utility system complexities with confidence.
  
• Visualize the value of a modern, connected utility architecture.
  
• Unlock better customer experiences through Salesforce integration.
  

Before You Start

Before you start this module, consider completing this recommended content.

• The Energy and Utilities Industries
  
• Energy and Utilities Cloud Basics
  

What Makes Data Integration So… Hard?

In the energy and utilities sector, data is abundant but often scattered across various systems. You might have billing systems, metering data, and customer information stored in different silos, all held together by legacy technology. Imagine trying to manage a smart grid with walkie-talkies—it’s not efficient and it’s certainly not modern.

Integration is challenging because these systems were not designed to work together. However, in today’s digital age, where customers expect instant updates and field crews need real-time information, seamless integration is crucial. It’s the key to providing better service, faster response times, and future-ready operations.

The Legacy System Dilemma

Legacy systems have been the backbone of energy and utility operations for decades, but they are now becoming a liability. They make it difficult to get a clear, unified view of your operations, slow down your response times, and hinder your ability to deliver the smooth, connected service that customers expect today.

What Makes Legacy Systems So…Legacy?

Legacy systems in the energy and utilities sector are typically built on monolithic, highly customized architectures. These systems were designed decades ago to handle specific operational needs, such as metering, outage management, billing, and asset maintenance. Over time, they have grown more complex through layers of patches, point-to-point integrations, and customizations.

Key characteristics of legacy system architecture:

Why Energy and Utility Legacy Systems Need a Major Tune-Up

For years, energy and utility companies have managed a patchwork of systems—each designed for a specific function but not for integration. The Customer Information System (CIS) was the central hub, handling everything from billing to customer service. However, it wasn’t built for the rapid changes and digital demands of today.

To keep up, utilities added CRM systems, custom dashboards, and super screens (custom-built user interfaces or dashboards that pull together data from multiple legacy systems—like CIS, CRM, and others into a single screen). But with the digital era, customers now expect texts, apps, and online chat. More quick fixes were implemented, and through mergers and decades of patches, some companies ended up with multiple CIS systems, leading to even more fragmentation.

The result? A tangled web of tools, slow service, and teams stuck stitching together data instead of solving problems.

This legacy utility architecture diagram highlights the need for a modern, unified architecture that can seamlessly support today’s digital-first energy and utility operations. The legacy utility architecture, once effective, now poses major challenges. Systems are siloed, making data sharing slow and inefficient, while outdated CIS platforms lack the real-time capabilities needed for responsive service and billing. Adding new technologies is costly and complex, limiting flexibility and innovation. Customer interactions remain largely manual, falling short of modern digital expectations. And with numerous point-to-point integrations, even small changes create a ripple of maintenance burdens across systems.

The solution is a modern platform that connects your systems, streamlines operations, and helps you deliver the kind of service today’s customers expect.

Deliver a Modern Customer Experience

Utilities today are balancing stability and innovation—relying on dependable legacy systems while facing customers who expect seamless digital experiences and real-time responsiveness. Salesforce Energy & Utilities Cloud acts as a digital bridge, integrating with your existing systems to provide a 360° customer view, AI-powered insights, and omnichannel support.

The Salesforce Solution

Instead of completely overhauling your legacy systems (which could cause significant disruption), Salesforce Energy & Utilities Cloud connects them as shown in the diagram below, ensuring they work together seamlessly. This integration offers real-time data flow, faster customer service, and more accurate information for field teams.

Meet Lisa: A Real-World Example

Lisa has worked as a Service Agent at River City Power Authority for several years. Her daily routine involved jumping between five screens just to answer a simple billing question. Meter data, customer records, and outage information were scattered across different systems, making her job a constant struggle. Employee frustration led to increased turnover, and onboarding new team members required significant investments of time, effort, and money.

The tipping point came when a customer asked why their power went out and why their bill doubled. Lisa couldn’t provide a clear answer, and it was a wake-up call.

Lisa’s Solution: Salesforce Energy & Utilities Cloud

• 360° Customer View
  
  • Lisa can now see all customer data in one place, across all channels.
    
• Faster Issue Resolution
  
  • Automated case routing and real-time data updates help resolve issues more quickly.
    
• Better Decisions
  
  • Synced, up-to-date data allows for more informed and timely decisions.
    
• Smarter Planning
  
  • Predictive insights based on historical data and trends help in proactive planning and maintenance.
    

With Salesforce, Lisa transformed her legacy chaos into connected calm. She still has the same job, but now she spends more time improving the customer experience and less time spinning in her chair switching apps and playing IT traffic cop.

Next Steps

In this unit, you explored the challenges energy and utility providers face when managing data across disconnected legacy systems and why a modern, connected approach is essential. You saw how integrating data with the Salesforce platform can unlock smarter operations and better customer experiences.

Next, you dive into the integration options available to help bridge the gap from legacy to modern systems.

Resources

• Salesforce Help: Energy and Utilities Cloud Integration Capabilities