ORLANDO, Fla., March 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Oracle Industry Connect -- Oracle today introduced Oracle Utilities Work and Asset Cloud Service, an innovation foundation for asset performance management. The new cloud offering enables utilities to make the necessary transition from reactive to proactive asset management strategies. Utilities can increase asset reliability by finding asset failures faster and performing predictive maintenance with integrated APM and analytics.

Asset reliability and performance is core to well-functioning electric, gas, and water utilities.  An aging workforce, pressure from regulators, and scrutiny on cost reduction goals are driving the need to extend the life of existing assets. Distributed energy resources (DER) are adding layers of complexity that underpin a utility's asset reliability.  Market research indicates that enterprise asset management supported by analytics and performance monitoring is one of the top investment priorities for utilities today (see footnote).   Asset operations decision-makers are looking at advanced analytics to improve asset reliability and monitor their performance.

In response to these challenges, Oracle Utilities is taking a comprehensive approach to APM.  Historically, work order management, reliability-centric maintenance, asset tracking, advanced analytics, mobile scheduling, and operational reporting have been siloed applications.  Today marks an important step towards integrating these capabilities.

"Predictive analytics are changing the game for utility asset maintenance.  Extending the life of utility assets can avoid expensive capital projects and lower maintenance costs," said Kevin Prouty, Vice President, IDC Energy Insights. "With the explosion of IoT devices and data around the corner, scalability of these systems will require IT infrastructure that can react and scale quickly.  This makes utility asset maintenance applications even more prime for deployment in the cloud."

Oracle Utilities Work and Asset Management Cloud Service improves asset operations ability to predict risk of failures faster with out-of-the-box APM analytics.  The cloud deployment delivers immediate value by reducing total cost of ownership. With integrated analytics, utilities can operationalize insights by optimizing work and maintenance schedules in real time.  Unlike stand-alone analytic solutions, integration of these analytics into established work order management systems is an accelerant to optimizing performance of assets.  

"When you combine deregulation, changing legislation and market uncertainty stemming from increasing distributed energy resources, it's no surprise that utilities are looking for more ways to improve operations and cut costs," said Rodger Smith, general manager and senior vice president, Oracle Utilities. "Oracle Utilities Work and Asset Management Cloud Service provides more detailed analytics and deep insights into asset age, health and performance. The cloud infrastructure also gives utilities the flexibility to scale up quickly as new assets are added to the infrastructure from rising IoT and distributed energy resources that are adding more sensors on the network."

New Features and Benefits Include:

• Prevent risk of asset failures faster with out-of-the-box analytics to support repair-versus-replace decisions
• Detect patterns of asset failure with predefined dashboards and charts to improve investment and capital planning
• Reduce total cost of ownership by using the most up to date IT infrastructure in the cloud and alleviating needs to constantly maintain older systems
• Optimize asset reliability programs including ISO 55000 to increase overall value of asset operations more quickly

Additional Resources 
Footnote: "The Black & Veatch 2016 Strategic Directions: Smart City/Smart Utility" Research 
Oracle Utilities Work and Asset Management overview 
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