The IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Customer Experience Management Solutions for Utilities 2021 Vendor Assessment1 positioned Salesforce as a Leader in the power and utilities sector, citing Salesforce Industries’ subject matter expertise, its development and distribution resources, and the Energy & Utilities Cloud’s industry-specific data model as reasons for the positioning.
Driving the news: Facing evolving customer expectations, energy decarbonization, and the need for new revenue streams, utilities are poised for transformation. According to the IDC Marketscape, utilities and energy retailers are being pushed to “shift from being internal process/technology-centric to being truly customer-centric, focusing on the customer journey and all touchpoints along the way.”
Utilities must overcome organizational silos — and legacy systems like customer information and master data management systems — with digital tools aimed at business agility and delivering a connected customer experience.
What they’re saying: The IDC Marketscape recognized Salesforce’s ability to provide such industry-specific solutions to its 500+ energy and utilities clients. According to the report, “Salesforce’s industry focus and the new Energy & Utilities offering couples the benefits of a preconfigured end-to-end utilities cloud solution with the versatility of the Salesforce Customer 360 platform.”
In particular, the report notes the Energy & Utilities Cloud’s focus on a range of specific use cases, which include:
- A Customer 360 user experience for utility contact center and front office employees
- Development of a digital-first utility customer experience, comprising digital self-service, mobile and omnichannel engagement
- Utility-specific data model and processes for Field Service Lightning deployments
- Retail customer acquisition management
Among Salesforce’s strengths, the IDC Marketscape also mentioned its network of partners, the Salesforce AppExchange cloud marketplace and the Energy & Utilities Cloud platform, which offers hundreds of utility-specific applications and integrations that reduce the need for costly and time-consuming custom development.
The Salesforce perspective: “Trusted customer relationships have never been more important in the utilities sector,” said David Schmaier, President and Chief Product Officer, Salesforce. “When utilities transform to become customer centric, they increase engagement, optimize service, empower employees, and drive revenue.”
More information: To read an excerpt of the report, please click here. To learn more about Salesforce Energy & Utilities Cloud, please click here.
1(Doc #US46154220, June 2021)
*About IDC MarketScape: IDC MarketScape vendor assessment model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT (information and communications technology) suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor’s position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT and telecommunications vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors.
