A customer information system (CIS) transformation is never just a technology project. It influences vast and varied utility domains, from billing and payments to field work, digital self-service, employee workflows, vendor coordination, and data quality. All told, a high-performing CIS is the engine that drives the day-to-day experience customers have with their utility.

Outstanding CIS implementations deserve industry recognition, not only to celebrate their success in taming these complex engagements, but to pave a smoother path for other utilities' transformations. Programs such as the IUCX Excellence Awards highlight utilities that pair ambitious CX goals with disciplined planning, strong governance and implementation leadership built for the complexity of enterprise utility transformation.

E Source is proud of its clients, Citizens Energy Group and the City of Tallahassee, which have garnered top CIS recognition from IUCX, previously known as CS Week.

Tallahassee earned an Innovation in Digital Engagement Award, Level II, in 2024 for implementing a new CIS, meter data management system, and customer self-service portal to improve service delivery, expand self-service options and streamline data management. Citizens earned a Best CIS Implementation Project of the Year Award in 2021, then followed that in 2024 with an Innovation in Field Automation Award, Level II, for deploying a field service management system integrated with the CIS.

These wins reflect a core belief behind E Source's approach: Successful system transformation starts with the utility's desired business outcomes, not simply with the software it plans to deploy.

Citizens Energy Group: Modernizing a Legacy System

At Citizens, the challenge was clear. The Indiana-based utility, which provides natural gas, thermal energy, water, and wastewater services to about 900,000 people and thousands of businesses in the Indianapolis area, was operating with a CIS from 1999. Citizens needed to modernize while reducing the risks that often come with large-scale technology change.

E Source guided Citizens through assessment, procurement and implementation using its NavigateOne methodology. The work included assessing business needs, supporting software and system integrator selection, and serving as project manager from implementation through launch. With E Source's support, Citizens completed the project within scope, under budget and on time.

City of Tallahassee: Coordinating a Multi-Vendor Transformation

The City of Tallahassee, serving over 128,000 electric customers and more than 77,000 residential and 6,000 non-residential water, gas, wastewater and solid waste customers in Florida's capital region, faced a different but equally complex transformation. The city selected E Source to support replacement of its CIS, MDMS and customer self-service applications, a program that required coordination across multiple software companies and integrations. E Source assessed the city's needs, managed the RFP process, helped it select Itineris UMAX and Honeywell solutions, and managed a separate competitive process that led to the selection of Paymentus for payments.

E Source also served as Tallahassee's program manager, providing implementation leadership alongside the city's project team in various areas such as testing and change management, and applying proprietary NavigateOne tools to support a successful launch. With the new CIS, MDMS and payment solution in place, Tallahassee was better positioned to deliver on its strategic plan by expanding self-service, optimizing service delivery and streamlining data management.

The Lesson for Utilities

For utilities considering their own CIS, MDMS, field service or customer self-service transformation, these examples point to a practical lesson: The right partner helps utilities move from project ambition to meaningful outcomes. That means aligning business, IT, customer, vendor and regulatory stakeholders early; reducing risk during selection and implementation; supporting adoption; and helping ensure the new system delivers long-term operational value.

E Source supports utilities across the full program lifespan, from planning and selection to implementation, stabilization and continuous improvement. Its process helps teams align stakeholders, reduce risk, adopt systems effectively and achieve operational and business outcomes.

Tech transformation is hard. But with the right foundation, it can also become a turning point: a chance to improve customer experience, strengthen operations and give utility teams the tools they need to serve customers with greater confidence.

Learn more about how E Source can support and strengthen your utility's critical technology transformations: Visit esource.com/solutions/systems-planning-implementation.