Asseco to Modernize Energy Billing in Ethiopia

Warsaw — A proprietor of a polish IT solution company, Asseco Utility Management Solution (AUMS) and Enterprise Resource Planning solutions (ERP), are set to overhaul the overall energy billing system in Ethiopia following a USD 10 million contract that was signed between Information Network Security Agency (INSA)

and Asseco S.A. for the design of a comprehensive energy billing and customer data base management systems in the country.

AUMS is one of the flagship energy sector solutions that Asseco sold to power distributors in Poland and elsewhere. According to information obtained from the polish IT company, currently, some 60 percent of bills that are issued in Poland are those produced by the solution designed by Asseco.

The contract signed between the two parties states that the INSA 2.0 Energy Enterprise Management System Development and Implementation covers the delivery and launch of a modern software that will manage power consumption readings and customer services; while, Asseco has also entered a contract to play a role of an advisory in the development of ERP systems by INSA. According to the original contract, Asseco is expected to deliver and launch the software solutions by end of 2015.

Both AUMs and ERP are integral parts to INSA's goal of creating a modern energy sector in Ethiopia. And, among other things, maintenance cost optimization, IT integration cost optimization, ability to manage a swift change in offers and settlements, increased customer service efficiency, Customer service delocalization (customers are no longer assigned to branch offices) and ease in obtaining information on the financial result of the company thanks to integration with other corporate IT systems are some of the benefit that can accrue from the Asseco's solution that will be launched in Ethiopia.

To date, this deal is the biggest IT undertaking in Africa by Asseco. However, Artur Wiza, managing director of Asseco Poland, told The Reporter that the split of the former Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) into Ethiopian Electric Power and Ethiopian Electric Services has resulted in stalling the launching of the billing system and other negotiations for a while but now the work is under way.

In a related news, Asseco's ongoing search for a local partner in Ethiopian is near completion with shortlisting of two small IT companies in Ethiopia. Although Asseco is not yet ready to divulge the names of the two companies, Wiza is positive that a deal will be struck during its next visit to Ethiopia. "Originally, we were scheduled to travel to Ethiopia at the beginning of October as part of 60-company business delegation that will travel with the Polish Prime Minister," he said. However, with Polish PM, Donald Tusk, leaving for the presidency of the European council, the scheduled visit was postponed indefinitely. Anyway, Wiza said, "By our next visit to Ethiopia we would have a local partner with whom we are thinking to form a joint venture. It is to be remembered that more than a year since Asseco started shortlisting companies for partnership in Ethiopia. Both companies we are in talks with are small IT companies by European standards," the director told The Reporter.

Asseco has celebrated its decade since it was first listed in Warsaw stock exchange and in that time, the company's annual revenue has increased from USD 100 million to USD 1.4 billion last budget year after joining the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Starting from a humble beginning as a startup company of one Adam Goral, now head of the publicly traded company, it is now one of Europe's IT giants occupying sixth place in the continent. Currently, Asseco derives most of its revenue from software development and is providing IT solutions to different businesses among them, IT solution for the financial sector, mainly the core banking system, solution for health-care system and billing and customer service systems for energy utility sectors. Apart from that, the company is also venturing out into hardware dimension by making hardware suited for the solution that it designs.

Source: AllAfrica