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Water utilities as integrated businesses
Author(s) -
Heller Miriam,
Von Sacken Eric W.,
Gerstberger Richard L.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.1999.tb08735.x
Subject(s) - service (business) , competition (biology) , competitive advantage , software deployment , legislation , industrial organization , business , risk analysis (engineering) , deregulation , environmental economics , reliability (semiconductor) , computer science , process management , marketing , power (physics) , economics , ecology , macroeconomics , political science , law , biology , physics , quantum mechanics , operating system
Information technology is helping utilities achieve a competitive edge today and move closer to ecoefficiency. With privatization, managed competition, deregulation of the power industry, and increasing environmental legislation, water utilities must aspire to more than high levels of service and reliability. They must seek competitive levels of service and reliability. To reach this goal, water providers have to balance financial considerations and consumer requirements. They must make optimal use of production processes and support systems, ultimately achieving ecoefficiency, i.e., economically efficient use of resources with other businesses. Information technology (IT) plays a key role in achieving this climate of widespread efficiency by (1) enabling the integration of computer systems, information, human resources, and natural resources; (2) defining common performance measures; and (3) optimizing performance. Three existing paradigms—the utility communications architecture, utility business architecture, and industrial ecology—can serve as structured applications for efficient IT planning and deployment at the plant, utility, and regional levels.