SoftwareOne case study

Software Asset Management flowing smoothly for a major water utility

As a public water utility committed to supplying over 5 million customers with clean, safe, water for drinking and business use; the company delivers valued services while protecting the environment, meeting legal requirements, and keeping bills as low as possible. Working with customers and stakeholders the utility has defined a 25-year business and service plan to achieve their desired long-term outcomes. These include safe, clean water; management of water supplies and wastewater; monitoring and improving environmental impacts; and delivering high levels of customer service at the best prices possible.

Client: Major water utility
Industry: Energy
Services: Software Asset Management with Snow Software including Managed Services and Audit Support for SAP, Oracle and IBM
Country: United Kingdom

The greatest value we have from SoftwareOne is knowing exactly where we are. That’s powerful information. No unexpected expenses and no fines.

IT Asset Manager

The challenge

Systems and services provided by this water utility are heavily reliant on information technology. Nearly everything the company does to provide clean water and customer services is dependent on critical IT applications, databases, and infrastructure. They also depend on vendor support to supply the IT elements and to keep it all running smoothly. Now, more than ever, these are essential elements that must be up and running 24x7x365. Any failure or outage must be resolved immediately. Customer service and field staff requirements have been the driving force for the company’s IT modernization. Customers demand an immediate response. Field staff mobility and information accessibility have created the “anywhere office.”

The rise of subscription services and all-in-one-platforms, along with the growing complexity of their SAP environment, created a challenging question:

How well were they keeping track of what they were using?
Where did they stand concerning authorized software licenses and vendor compliance?
How could they successfully continue their digital modernization while effectively avoiding risks and keeping track of software assets?

The result

With the assistance of SoftwareOne experts, the company established an extensive software asset management program, including Managed Services for Oracle and SAP and Audit Support for IBM. Together they built a trust-based strategic partnership that has delivered an ROI of $5,082,000 in financial benefits to the public utility and its customers. As a heavily regulated company, there can be no surprises, so reliance on managed services has become fundamental to their strategy and an essential ingredient of a financially productive and trusted partnership.

Key benefits