Utility billing is a niche market. You dont do it with an off-the-shelf ERP like Oracle or SAP because the complexity of the wholesale tariffs is mind-bending and very unique to the industry. Power industry tarrifs for example can be a function of the asset amortisation plus the distance from the closest sub-station and then unique constructs for specific customers based on industry type, size, subsidies, taxes etc. The last one I saw had 400 permutations of tarrif and the system cost $20M to implement. And thats just the billing side of the business. There is retail billing and then all of the asset maintenance and management functionality to consider including workforce scheduling and dispatch. Quite often the Gentrak styled systems integrate to a common accounting system like Oracle and SAP because thay are better at the generic business management and so you regularly find both at a customer site.
In the unique domain that Gentrak occupies, there are only a few real contenders globally and Gentrak is one of the most cost effective for the small to medium end of the utility market.
re your local market comment, the utility software market is the same globally. A power company in Kazakstan has exactly the same software requirements as one in New Zealand or Germany or China and so its more about language options and local resources to support the software that drives the choice. Gentrak can sell its products all over the world.
Hope that helps. Happy to be corrected by the peeps at Gentrak.
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