Complexity is all around us. In the field there are diverse asset types, sizes and locations and with them comes the challenge to manage multiple hardware and software components. In the office, we rely on an array of software solutions specially designed for unique market segments and specific user groups and roles. As the volume of tools multiplies, the challenge of interoperability grows. Add to this a diverse range of contracts, service providers, and regulatory agencies, and you end up with a profoundly complex business ecosystem running on an ever growing data set.
As our organizations grow and mature, so does the technology that supports us. The first generations of a new technology tend to focus on a discrete set of problems at a workgroup or department level. The result is often a myriad of specialized solutions, each one tailored for a particular business function or set of functions, all aiming for the best-of-breed position. This delivers value to the workgroup, but as time goes on and both organizations and markets grow in scale and sophistication, the challenge elevates from the workgroup to inter- and extra-enterprise levels where the specialized solution approach often creates a problem within a solution.
Disconnected architecture cannot solve the full scale problem of complexity. In an enterprise environment, the siloed solution approach often reduces efficiency. The need to procure and manage a variety of systems and software products increases costs without adding value. So does the need to train staff on how to operate different programs. Companies spend valuable time moving data from one platform to the next, managing fleet-level data in ways that may or may not be consistent with project and device metrics, and validating results in separate processes. Key data, documents, and processes are scattered across a range of platforms and office systems.
For our maturing industry, we can look to other technology sectors for our best-practices playbook examples. The leaders in these industries do not put activities or work groups in siloes. Instead they create integrated workflows built on comprehensive, data-driven optimization, decision support, and management. They do this with a single platform approach, building a system of systems architecture.
A single platform approach provides a flexible, scalable, and extensible architecture for your complex ecosystem, empowering efficient, value-driven decision making with more coordination and cooperation among work groups. For renewables, this gives us an end to end platform that incorporates and harmonizes the complete set of business activities, from performance analysis and O&M to financial analysis and asset management, optimizing daily operations and automating system controls and operations. It provides a single optimized data source to connect field work with operations centers and offices, improving accountability and security. More importantly, it allows you to quiet the noise to better understand, and therefore better manage, the critical events that have the greatest impact to your top and bottom lines. The single platform approach streamlines workflows and improves efficiency, lowering costs of operations and delivering increased returns across the entire fleet.