TCS Transformers - February 2012

AN IDG CUSTOM SOLUTIONS INITIATIVE IN ASSOCIATION WITH

TRANSFORMING BUSINESS THROUGH JUDICIOUS APPLICATION OF IT

PLUS In order to be at the forefront of the ‘power revolution’, Chhattisgarh’s power utility companies needed to adopt an integrated view of their enterprise work and asset management. This helped them increase efficiencies, reduce costs and deliver substantial value to its customers.

INTERVIEW Ajit Panicker, Global Head for IT Infrastructure, Cox & Kings says a sound infosec policy is a must to support the growth aspirations of the company.

TRANSFORMERS CASE STUDY

Company

Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL)

Industry

Power Utility Company

Offering Power distribution

IT POWERS INDIA’S ‘POWER HUB’ In order to be at the forefront of the ‘power revolution’, Chhattisgarh’s power utility companies needed to adopt an integrated view of their enterprise work and asset management.

This helped them increase efficiencies, reduce costs and deliver substantial value to its customers. Here is how they did it.

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T

he Swami Vivekanand Airport, just 15 Kms from Raipur City, is set amidst what looks like a dense forest. This would not surprise anyone who knows CSPDCL that almost fifty percent of Chhattisgarh is covered with forests. This makes it among the was the greenest states in India, contributing to 12 percent first Power Distribution Utility in of forest cover. Apart from being a green state, Chhattisgarh also ranks second in coal production the country which implemented by contributing over 18 percent to the total national SAP Solutions for billing, and production. As a result, the state can now boast WAN across the state.” of having one of the most reliable power supply systems. The state has, therefore, become the SUBODH KUMAR SINGH most favorable destination for entrepreneurs to set Managing Director, CSPDCL power intensive Industries.

These facts were both - a cause of concern as well as pride for the management of the erstwhile Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB). While other states faced acute power shortages, CSEB, centralized server based-IT Solution. This involved was among the few state electricity boards that was creating a wide-area network covering all the not only profitable but also had a power surplus. offices spread across the length and breadth of This was because it had large coal reserves, and the the state. The management decided on an ERP fact that it is situated in the middle of the national solution to integrate all available modules and power grid, made it an ideal location for settingto computerize its business functionalities. This up coal pit-head based thermal power plants. The made it the first Government Power Distribution management was aware that, for Chhattisgarh Utility in India which implemented SAP Solutions to be at the forefront of the ‘power revolution’, for billing. However, this journey was not easy. it had to provide quality power on-demand to all its consumers, and to develop electrical infrastructure in remote areas as well. To achieve NEED FOR CHANGE this, the company needed to adopt an integrated According to Subodh Kumar Singh, Managing view of its enterprise work and asset management Director at CSPDCL, the board was previously using to increase efficiencies, reduce costs, enhance software developed on COBOL and Sybase for its regulatory compliance and deliver substantial billing, stores and finance accounting, and pay-roll. value to its customers.

The software was running on In the event of Power Sector a de-centralized, standalone reforms, Chhattisgarh State mode and was operated from Electricity Board (CSEB) a few circles and division was unbundled to five power headquarters. This resulted in companies in January 2009. accumulation of billing data at Square KM is the area This was the Generation the billing centers which led served by the power Company, Transmission to delay in issuance of bills. utility company.

Company, Distribution Also, the various modules Company, Trading Company, were operated without any and, for the supervision, mutual integration. Patch coordination and facilitation Management, such as of the above four companies, incorporating tariff directives villages covered under the Holding Company. The and other software changes distribution company, which o n a l l t h e co m p u t e r s intensive was called the Chhattisgarh simultaneously, was also electrification State Power Distribution extremely difficult for the IT scheme.

Company Limited (CSPDCL) team at CSEB. They were not decided to implement a able to make any changes in

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TRANSFORMERS CASE STUDY

the legacy software as the source codes were not available with CSEB, after the state was bifucirated from Madhya Pradesh. “Lack of security was also a major concern as the legacy system did not have role-specific security features leading to malpractices by the users. Other limitations included data backup being limited to only a couple of months. It was time for a complete overhaul as the hardware and software were obsolete. We decided to go in for an integrated solution in a centralized environment. ERP-SAP was the best solution to integrate all available modules and computerize its business functionalities,” he added. CSPDCL implemented SAP in the year 2005 with the implementation of modules such as IS-U/CCS (LT & HT Billing and Customer Care), MM (Materials Management), FI-CO (Financials – Controlling) and HR.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND OTHER CHALLENGES For many, starting almost from scratch can be a blessing in disguise. But for CSEB, this meant that they had to set up their IT infrastructure, and their foray into unknown territory was going to be difficult. CSEB, along with TCS, charted a roadmap, which included creating a state-of-the-art data centre for hosting the servers and migrating from a de-centralized system to a centralized one. This involved developing a huge WAN network across the state, connecting all the divisional head quarters in the first, and Sub-Division offices later.

The IT hardware at the distribution centers had to be expanded as most of the processes earlier were manual. “With CSEB being the first utility to have adopted ISU-CCS System, tailoring the

Implementation of an integrated billing system was a challenging job as it had to cater to about 18 Lakh consumers.”

L S CHAWLA Chief Engineer (EITC) Energy Infotec Center, CSPDCL

SAP system as per the billing logics was a major challenge. This was achieved by involving the users directly with the developers of SAP system.

The major task was process-mapping and blueprinting for all customer services processes such as metering, billing, collection, disconnection among others,” says Singh. However, the biggest challenge was not technical. CSEB had to create skilled manpower within the organization by changing the mindset of the user.

However, the management was up to this task.

Initially CSEB was short of IT personnel therefore, a few engineers from the field were grouped together to form an Energy Infotech Centre (EITC) which took on the challenge of implementing the modules in Chhattisgarh. These Engineers travelled throughout the state to educate the users at the grass root level. The management has now strengthened the EITC with the work force comprising of 72 employees. “Undoubtedly, without the support of the field workforce this uphill task could not have been achieved,” says Singh. “Implementation of an integrated billing system was a challenging job as it had to cater to about 18 lakh consumers in the domestic and industrial segments and the users were spread across the state. However, several innovative solutions were linked to the Core SAP IS-U implementation, which helped CSEB overcome these challenges,” he adds.

INNOVATIVE MEASURES Some of these innovative measures included spot billing and automatic meter reading. In normal reading and billing system, there is a gap of about eight days between meter reading and bill delivery. But in spot billing those delays were eliminated, hence a reduction of eight days was obtained, resulting in the reduced cycle time and early revenue realization. Also, previously, large quantity of stationery was consumed to print the documents such as master data and all monthly billing documents of 18 lakh consumers, as compared to 32 lakh currently. Transporting these documents the concerned distribution centre was a recurring expenditure. This process was now eliminated. The centralized billing system has also eliminated all the issues pertaining to implementation of the revised tariff in the decentralized mode. Timely implementation of tariff has helped the organization recover the enhanced revenue without any delay.

The Material Management module had to be implemented at “one go” all across CSEB, which was a considerable challenge. “However this had

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paid off, with the procurement to reduce the cost of meter and inventory processes now reading and bill distribution While other states being conducted through the by sixteen percent. Cash MM module. Procurement collection was facilitated face acute power is now more manageable as through any time payment shortages, CSEB, was stock position of all the storage (ATP) which included online locations is accesable through payments, through ATMs, among the few state a mouse click,” says Singh. money transfer using RTGS electricity boards Additionally, records of the past and cheque drop boxes procurements are available in among others. There was the MM system itself. a reduction in consumer CSPDCL engineers also complaint regarding nondeveloped a multi-functional delivery of bills, and the software called Pragati. It chances of wrong reading caters to the preliminary reduced, thereby enhancing requirement of ‘Management customer satisfaction.

Information System’ wherein Another customer the data from the distribution satisfaction measure was the centre and zones were available at the headquarter e-Sampark Sewa. The services that were available level. The information transfer, which otherwise under this project included bill notification, used to take around two months, is now available at reminder, payment confirmation and so on through the click of a button. The data is submitted online in SMS, to provide billing information to the consumer the Distribution centers and Zonal offices. Besides on-demand, and implement push SMS-based providing data compilation at Sub Division / Division services. CSPDCL also ensured that New Service / Circle / Region and Company level, this software Connection (NSC) requests were fulfilled within provides Information of the officer responsible for three days for load up to 10kW in urban areas and the work at each level. seven days for 5kW in rural areas. CSPDCL is in the The management can now monitor expenditure advanced stage to fully computerize ‘City Central as well as budget for better utilization of resources.

Call Centers’ at Raipur, Bilaspur, Rajnandgaon, This has helped them stream line material codes, and Durg-Bhillai-Charoda to facilitate Consumer and control inventory in a better manner. They can Services. “The existing call centers will also be also view all store transactions on a real-time fully computerized and connected to the above basis. Maintaining employee records , personnel City Central Call Centers. The in-house developed management and pay roll processing has also software is being used for registering and monitoring become easier. There is a drastic change in consumer complaints,” says Singh. working and functioning of the establishment with The CSEB website, www.cseb.gov.in helps the focus on keeping the number of officials to the the consumers view their current electricity bill, minimum and effective time management, hence, make payments, view electricity bill and payment cutting down on personnel expenses. history for lats twenty four months. There is also The distribution company has also set up a an electricity bill and consumption calculator. local intranet for the employees of the electricity board. The employees now have online access to REACHING FAR AND WIDE training documents, company profile, file sharing, Currently, all the regional, circle, and division head user manuals, and a telephone directory among quarters along with power plants (73 locations) others. Other value added services such as video have been connected through LAN I WAN using the conferencing, VolP telephony, corporate e-mail, BSNL point-to-point with 2 Mbps, 128kbps and 64 and corporate internet gateway for all offices had kbps leased lines in the year 2006. The networking been implemented. was further extended up to Sub-Division level in year 2009, whereby the total sites covered have gone up to 150. In the next phase, the networking at ENHANCING CUSTOMER 250 locations, covering all the remote distribution SATISFACTION centers is under process. “Being the first energy Other advantages were that CSPCDL had to visit utility company to implement SAP Solutions for the consumer’s premise only once, as against billing shows our commitment to provide the best twice earlier, one for meter reading, and the service for our customers,” concludes Singh. other for delivering the bill. This helped CSPDCL

that was not only profitable, but also had a power surplus.

TRANSFORMERS INTERVIEW

Getting

Infosec On Board Cox & Kings’ Global Head for IT Infrastructure, Ajit Panicker, must weave his game plan to support the growth aspirations of the company. And a sound infosec policy must be a constant companion.

AJIT PANICKER Global Head – IT Infrastructure, Cox and Kings Group

CUSTOM SOLUTIONS GROUP TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Do IT leaders get to lead company-wide initiatives often?

How often has it happened in your case, and how do you prepare for such opportunities?

In our company, it is generally the business unit heads who are the primary sponsors of new business and strategy initiatives. Some of the strategic initiatives are driven by business owners; for example: a centralized buying group works toward developing a purchasing plan, ensuring long term competitive pricing and service for our customers. Some organization-wide initiatives are driven by the IT organization; for example: IT infrastructure virtualization, information security policies and procedures etc. All our processes are very tightly coupled with IT. We sit across the table to share the business team’s vision.

Recently, we coordinated on a project for providing new means of managing web content along with workflow management.

Do you think vendors have delivered on the promises on video conferencing helping collaboration?

We use collaboration techniques for different purposes to engage with our extensive network of branch offices, franchisees and other strategic business partners who are external to our organization. We plan to deliver training content for our extensive franchisee network via e-learning supported by video conferencing. We have not yet moved to the tele-presence mode, but we are experimenting. We are taking our time learning what works and what does not for our specific needs.

You have had a considerable stint in an IT services. How different is it working in a packaged tours company as compared to an IT services company?

In a services company, IT is the core function, while here, in the travel industry, it is not. We need to provide services that each of the business functions need and so we need to feel the pulse of what is happening in every department. Unlike in an IT services company, there is more freedom to bring in new ideas. Using IT solutions, one has the opportunity to change the manner in which business operates.

More importantly, one moves from playing an advisory role to complete ownership and accountability. We recently collaborated with one of our business units to bring in process automation using barcode scanners and passport readers, which increased operational efficiency manifold. An opportunity to raise productivity is a reward in itself!!!

Is customer data privacy becoming a boardroom issue?

What do you think should be the CIO’s role in that?

Yes it is. Some of the procedures we follow with respect to our customers’ data have to adhere to specific compliance requirements, while in case of others, we have to set our own hygiene levels.

I believe that much more attention needs to be paid to issues that appear peripheral but are, in fact, very important.

For instance, there is a case for a thorough privacy assessment, starting from educating employees on the confidentiality level of the type of information they are holding. We are in the process of refining our existing frameworks and implementing new and robust governance mechanisms to ensure customer data protection and privacy, at all costs. Considering the nature of our business operations which involve access to personal information (passports/SSN’s etc.), a robust data privacy and protection mechanism is extremely important.

If you had to make a business case for cloud service, what would your migration journey be?

There is an excellent case for a private cloud as it makes it easier to account for consumption of computing resources.

While managing a particular project, a business sponsor can add the computing resource consumed to his TCO. We have successfully designed, built and deployed our private cloud over the past year; this has led to significant benefits from the TCO/ROI perspective. The public cloud has raised certain concerns about the security of data.

A business head who has to abide by compliance requirements may find it difficult to embrace the cloud.

What do you think are going to be some of the biggest challenges in the IT workplaces of tomorrow?

One of the biggest challenge for IT is balancing information security and the legitimate need for access to customer information. Information is what gives a competitive edge, so it is critical to have it. The situation is getting increasingly complex with employees desirous of bringing in mobile computing devices and smartphones. There is a need to differentiate between personal and official spaces. Employees want to bring different types of mobile gadgets into the workspace, but tying them into the network without compromising data takes effort. We also need to be vigilant about the dangers posed by social networking; unsuspecting users are potential candidates for identity theft and phishing attacks. It is essential to educate the workforce on these latent issues and protect company confidential information.

2011 saw a big spurt in the number of IT security breaches.

How do you plan to prepare for such an assault in 2012?

IT security strategies should be as flexible as business needs, while still maintaining the proper measure of security protection and control. As a travel services management company, we do not have access to or store critical personal information like credit cards etc and thereby have limited liability in case of fraud. As part of our evolving business needs and growth strategies, we plan to augment our current information security environment with a best practices approach to risk management and mitigation. These would include elements like quantitative risk assessments, deployment of appropriate monitoring and control mechanisms which would enable us, as an organization, to employ a proactive approach for managing information security. For example, a strategic approach to information security controls, which would comprise of a blend of content aware DLP (Data Loss Prevention) along with IRM/DRM (Information Rights Management/ Digital Rights Management) solutions with minimal impact to business users, is one of the key areas which we are currently working on.

Transformers is brought to you by IDG Custom Solutions Group in association with

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