The True Cost of Using Old Tech [Software & Field Equipment]
Everyone understands that technology is advancing at breakneck speed, but sometimes it’s hard to quantify the rate of change. One way to measure technological advancement involves examining patent records, and when The Atlantic did so, it noted that “in the first decade of the patent office, the U.S. granted 229 patents—the same amount today’s America grants every 7.2 hours.” What’s more, consumers have come to expect that businesses will stay ahead of the technological curve. A survey conducted by Microsoft discovered that 80 percent of users will leave a website prior to making a purchase if it is out of date.
IVR Systems: 6 Mistakes you Want to Avoid
Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVR), otherwise known as Auto-Attendants, are systems designed to automate call processes. They help alleviate many of the burdens faced by both callers and receivers. However, if not appropriately incorporated into business operations, they may frustrate your customers, leave issues unresolved, and cause your business’ reputation to suffer. Whether you’re proving your customers with the ability to pay their bills over the phone, or you need to handle the onslaught of inquiries during an outage – having an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system is integral to keeping things running smoothly.
Six Surprising Ways GIS is Being Used—And More!
In 2004, Newsweek’s Steven Levy wrote, “Digital mapping is about to change our world by documenting the real world, then integrating that information into our computers, phones and lifestyles. Roll over, Mason and Dixon: spurred by space photography, global satellite positioning, mobile phones, search engines and new ways of marking information for the World Wide Web, the ancient art of cartography is now on the cutting edge.” How right Levy was — and yet how little did he foresee the ways in which geographic information systems (GIS) would impact our day-to-day lives. What is GIS and its uses?
Setting Expectations: Navigating Rate Increases with Customers
Decisions made around money and valuable goods tend to follow certain patterns, and those patterns can make or break people and businesses. Just consider the case of utility rate increases. Utility usage is considered inelastic in economic terms, meaning that the amount demanded doesn’t proportionally decrease when the cost increases. In other words, even if COVID-19 rate hikes or some similar increase in pricing squeezes consumers, consumers will continue to consume utilities — and they often grow irate at the greater cost.
Robbie Carlson Announced as new Milsoft Technical Sales Engineer
Robbie Carlson has taken on the role of Technical Sales Engineer. "Over the last 11 years, Robbie has been instrumental as a Regional Account Manager taking great care of customers and growing the Milsoft presence in the North and Southeastern U.S.," says Josh Wolf, Director of sales. He will continue to work closely with the sales organization as he transitions to the new role of Technical Sales Engineer, leading functionality discussions and demonstrations across the Milsoft suite of applications.
Brian Lassiter Promoted to VP of Product and Corporate Strategy
Milsoft is excited to announce that Brian Lassiter has been promoted to VP of Product and Corporate Strategy. Brian has demonstrated technical and interpersonal skills at every position he’s held at Milsoft over the last 16 years. Milsoft will leverage Brian’s experience to help bring products and services to market that offer customers the most significant benefits. "Utility industry software and cloud-based solutions are getting increasingly complicated, and we feel Brian brings the skill sets necessary to take the challenges head-on," says Brian Carr, CEO of Marketing.
Cary Hamar Promoted to VP of Support
Milsoft made a critical change in customer support leadership in 2020. Daffron & Associates' acquisition made it necessary to bring two support teams working on two very different platforms together. Milsoft promoted Cary Hamar to VP of Support to lead this ambitious effort. We are proud to announce that Cary has exceeded expectations in establishing one team under one support umbrella. "Cary has done a great job bringing structure, organization, and leadership into the critical business of supporting all our customers," says Brian Carr, CEO of Marketing.
Is Solar Power Changing Electrical Distribution?
As recently as 2015, solar-powered energy was considered unreliable and ultimately unworkable on a mass scale. However, opinion seems to have shifted recently — and shifted quite dramatically. According to Bloomberg, the International Energy Agency has declared that “renewables are set to overtake coal this decade as the world’s favorite fuel to generate electricity.” And Government Technology reported that Google has been purchasing significant amounts of energy from Tennessee-based solar farms to power its data centers.
Milsoft OMS System Verification
All operations systems change over time. Databases grow, circuit models change, and hardware ages. While the effects of these changes may go on undetected, when a significant event strikes, you want to ensure that the Milsoft OMS system is optimized and ready to respond. Milsoft now has a service that can be a game-changer. The Milsoft OMS System Verification is a service provided to assure that you and your systems are ready for the next large-scale outage. Milsoft will inspect, verify, and identify any data, software, and hardware issues present in the Milsoft OMS system and provide detailed plans to address them.