Columbia, SC, October 30, 2002 -- SCT, a global provider of e-business solutions and services, announced today that it has signed contracts with Onondaga County Water Authority (OCWA), based in Syracuse, NY, and SCS, Inc., OCWA's prime contractor for the delivery of professional services for OCWA's software implementation project.
Taken together, the contracts are expected to exceed $1 million dollars for services and software, including the SCT Banner Advantage Customer Information System (CIS), accompanied by the complete CRM Essentials solution, SCT's utility-specific customer relationship management tool-set. The contract was signed during SCT's fourth fiscal quarter, which ended September 30, 2002.
"One of the key determinates for CIS vendor selection at OCWA was to find a technology partner with a solution that would enable us to streamline our business processes, and improve the overall service levels for our 80,000 water customers," said Michael E. Hooker, executive director at Onondaga County Water Authority.
"Banner offers this and other important functionality such as allowing us to enter the e-business arena. This will help us offer a higher level of service to our customers, especially in the form of self-service and quick access to information. Banner Advantage CIS will provide an easier, more efficient way to check account information online. This is an important first step in escalating our customer service standards."
"In addition, because of our potential growth in the coming years, Banner's scalable architecture is an integral part of our long-term viability and strategy. With SCT's solutions, we believe future growth will be not only possible, but also achievable from a technology and tools standpoint," added Hooker.
"We are thrilled that the selection team at Onondaga Water selected SCT as its long-term partner for customer care and billing," said John Gregg, president of SCT energy and utilities solutions. "We are impressed with the progressive nature of Onondaga, and believe that this relationship can help them achieve their goals," added Gregg.
About Onondaga County Water Authority:
The Onondaga County Water Authority is a public benefit corporation that was created in 1951 and began operating in 1955. OCWA was established in accordance with the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York with the designated purpose to finance, construct, operate and maintain a water supply and distribution system for the benefit of the residents in and around Onondaga County.
Currently, OCWA is one of the 125 largest publicly owned water suppliers in the United States serving nearly 80,000 customers in 25 towns and 15 villages located across a four county region in Central New York.
The Onondaga County Water Authority maintains membership in the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA). The Authority is also a founding Member of the AWWA Research Foundation and the AWWA / QualServe Benchmarking Clearing House.
The Authority completed QualServe's Self-Assessment in Peer Review Programs in September 2000. In March of 2001 OCWA was presented the AMWA Gold Award for Competitiveness Achievement. Currently the Onondaga County Water Authority maintains an Aa3 bond rating per Moody's Investors Service.
About SCT:
SCT provides advanced solutions and software for utilities and energy service companies. SCT strategically teams with energy and utility companies to enhance customer care and billing activities by reducing total cost of ownership, improving customer satisfaction, and increasing operational efficiency.
The products and services of SCT support more than 92 million utilities accounts worldwide, and generate over 38 million utility services bills each month. SCT also serves the higher education market. SCT has approximately 2,100 employees and serves nearly 1,500 clients worldwide. SCT is headquartered in Malvern, Pa., in the Greater Philadelphia area. The energy and utilities division is based in Columbia, SC. For more information, visit www.sct.com/industrysolutions/utilities/index.htm.
