IFS, the global enterprise applications company, announced today that the new integrated Energy & Utilities solution will be launched this week at Energiforum in Oslo, Norway. This event, hosted by IFS, will be attended by international representatives of the industry.

Due to mandates of their markets, many of these international utilities have deep experience in operating in competitive, deregulated markets. In these markets, the focus has been on adapting to market conditions and customer orientation while continuing to efficiently produce, transmit and distribute power.

Based on IFS' 25-year-long experience in the industry, the integrated engineering collaboration/capital project/O&M solution has been developed in collaboration with energy & utilities corporations directly targeting the mandates of the industry. New capabilities include increased use of mobile functionality, improved document management and lower costs for customers.

"Our objective in participating in the project was to develop a solution that supported the needs we have today," Hafslund Project and Development Director Dag Akselsen said. "The industry has undergone tremendous change in recent years, and we need enterprise applications that support this change. We have collaborated closely with IFS to gain maximum benefit from IFS Applications."

As most large utilities, Hafslund is a project-intensive enterprise. In recent years, IFS has developed functionality specifically for this type of business, which Hafslund is implementing step by step.

"We are extremely project-oriented at Hafslund and are therefore dependent on applications for this type of operation. Maintenance schedules, workshops, and repairing and constructing infrastructure are examples of operations that are project-driven. In our experience, the new functionality in IFS Applications provides good support for projects and makes it easier to integrate technicians, suppliers and customers," Akselsen said.

"IFS has 25 years experience collaborating with utilities globally, and often develop new functionality in collaboration with our customers so that our products are focused on their business demands," IFS Industry Director for Service and Asset-Intensive Industries Anders Wilhelmsson said. "Such collaboration forms the basis for our global industry strategy and solutions."

"Utilities are being deregulated throughout the world, which places new demands on utility company processes," Wilhelmsson added. "Enterprise applications must be agile while offering the deep functionality that supports the new processes."

IFS targets the energy and utilities industry and has more than 130 customers involved in power generation, transmission and distribution and water and sewage. These include the world's largest hydropower plant, Three Gorges (P. R. China), nuclear power plants OKG (Sweden), PBMR (South Africa) and Qinshan (P. R. China), grid operators such as Svenska Kraftnät (Sweden), Statnett (Norway) and TenneT (The Netherlands) as well as distributors such as Vattenfall (Sweden), Fortum (Sweden), and Hafslund Energi (Norway). Reliable and safe Asset management and workforce management are critical processes in the energy and utility industry, to which IFS has provided solutions for more than 20 years.

Mon Feb 11 09:47:00 CST 2008