Moving to Integrated Solutions To Be Successful

Wanyonyi J. Kendrick, CIO, JEA

JEA as a utility has a combination of utility related opportunities as well as similar challenges to other corporations. From a utility perspective, we are combating a three headed monster: cyber security, rationalizing our portfolio and big data strategy development. Cyber security has become a clear priority based on education and regulation. Now cyber training is required and network access maybe taken away from those who haven't completed their cyber training or have had a small violation at least twice. Most of our successful utility peers (success defined in first quartile customer satisfaction) have simplified their application portfolios preferring moving to integrated solutions with point cloud solutions rather than best of bred applications integrated through SOA.

JEA has a significant strategy to simplify and rationalize our portfolio. We predict future strategies will move most of our corporate solutions to the cloud once functionality restrictions coupled with cyber concerns become less than the business desires for custom business functionality over business process redesign.