Trimble announced it has acquired the UtilityCenter(R) assets from privately-held UAI, Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama in an all-cash transaction. UAI is a leading provider of Geographic Information System (GIS)-based workflow automation and outage management solutions for electric and gas utilities. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The purchase of UAI’s UtilityCenter platform extends Trimble’s portfolio of field and mobile worker solutions by providing application-specific software capabilities within the utilities market. The industry is increasingly using enterprise management tools to automate their workflow and business processes to increase efficiency and improve productivity.
"The acquisition of the UtilityCenter software enables Trimble to offer an industry-specific field solution to electric and gas utility customers," said Doug Merrill, general manager of Trimble’s Mapping and GIS Division. "With our complete line of rugged data collection and mobile computing devices, TerraSync field asset software and UtilityCenter software, customers can now streamline many of their complex day-to-day operations. Our focus is on integrating field asset information and workflow management with traditional ERP platforms to enable customers to achieve higher asset utilization, increased field worker productivity, better customer response time and consistent compliance with regulatory requirements. UtilityCenter software for the electric and gas utility market complements Trimble Fieldport software designed for the water/wastewater utility market."
UtilityCenter provides a comprehensive suite of workflow solutions designed to automate the daily business operations of utilities from work management and job order tracking to updating maps while in the field. The technology is fully scalable, cost-effective and able to meet the diverse needs of utilities. The 11 application modules within UtilityCenter include data mapping, asset inventory, work order management, outage management, vegetation management, maintenance scheduling, regulatory compliance reporting and others. With its Web-view module, UtilityCenter information can be shared across departmental lines via a secure network access. The software also includes the necessary interface portals to fully integrate stand-alone "islands of information" such as customer information/billing, SCADA and scheduling/payroll systems.
