Nextgen Digital leader: ARIJIT MITRA, Noida Power Company

Overview of emerging technologies deployed at Noida Power Company

Noida Power represents a confluence of best-of-breed traditional technologies powering the Electricity Distribution business such as ERP, CRM, Utilities Customer Information System, Geographic Information System and Advanced Distribution Management System with the application of emerging technologies such as Machine Learning-driven Analytics initiative and Artificial Intelligence-based smart conversational agents.

Functions/departments in your organization that is starting first with the emerging technologies?

Billing, Collection and Customer Service functions that are highly data-driven, have been the first to tap into the possibilities of Analytics to improve decision making in the area of Revenue Assurance. The Chatbot application has added a new dimension to customer service and has seen a high volume of transactions. The Automation function dealing with large volumes of data emanating from sensors deployed in the distribution network is also actively considering applications of Big Data Analytics.

How will emerging technologies like AI, Machine Learning, IOT, Big Data, Augmented Reality, Analytics etc will change the fabric of IT organizations?

The relevance of the emerging technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, IoT and Big Data Analytics in today’s IT landscape clearly calls for reengineering of platforms and skill sets so that the advantages can be reaped without delay. Barriers for the adoption of skills have also been coming down with recent advances in technology and the stage is set for IT organization to reorient priorities so that the process of reengineering is taken up with fervor and executed with the right strategy and plan.

Best practices and emerging tech deployment strategies

A change in mindset and culture is first necessary to recognize the fact that many of these technologies are not niche areas reserved for controlled experimentation, but are important tools that can provide a competitive advantage. It is also important to identify the right Use Cases that can spell success, which can give rise to further investments. IT organizations also need to majorly re-architect plans for upgrading of platforms and skillsets to take full advantage of the emerging opportunities.