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Seacoast Utility Authority Smoothly Transitions to Version 2 of CIS Infinity

Cost-effective upgrade provides Seacoast Utility Authority of Florida with new functionality and the move to a SQL database.

Advanced Utility Systems Corporation (Advanced) is pleased to announce that the Seacoast Utility Authority (Seacoast) has smoothly transitioned to Version 2 of CIS Infinity®. Seacoast provides water and sewer services to over 30,000 accounts covering residents and businesses in Palm Beach Gardens, Lake Park, North Palm Beach, and Juno Beach.

Seacoast first went live with Advanced in 2000 and has already experienced several significant improvements in the software functionality. Version 2 allowed them to take advantage of CIS Infinity's client server architecture and migrate to a SQL database.

The upgrade process with CIS Infinity was quick and cost-effective. Done via the internet, without the need for incremental set-up, the physical change-over was completed in just two days. Some set-up and training services were needed to bring the experts at Seacoast up-to-speed as quickly as possible. Both Seacoast and Advanced worked closely to ensure that the upgrade was successful and completed without any interruptions in Seacoast's day to day activities.

Bonnie Evans, the Customer Service and Billing Manger for Seacoast worked as the project manager and overall leader of the core upgrade team. This role demanded that the software upgrade be completed in a timely manner, and that the new functionality be implemented and fully used. This raised several challenges.

Of prime concern was to avoid downtime. "The system is in use every day. Our customers need access to billing information, and will not tolerate any excuses if we cannot meet their needs" said Bonnie Evans. She added, "Equally important was the need to introduce new functionality and train users on how to take advantage of the many system improvements. In both these areas we were able to complete the upgrade effectively."

Bonnie Evans also stated, "Our success depended on the high quality teams at both Advanced and Seacoast. We have a very close relationship with Advanced and we knew their team, and the expertise they possessed would ensure a successful upgrade. We are very pleased with the new functionality implemented. The new collections module will dramatically improve our revenue retention and Advanced has done a tremendous job of automating many processes in the software."

The upgrade teams included experts in the areas of Training, Billing, Testing, Business Processes and IT. Together they ensured Seacoast met the numerous milestones established throughout the upgrade project.

According to Patricia Sorbara, the President and CEO of Advanced, the upgrade was extremely successful, which could be attributed to two main factors. "The entire staff at Seacoast was dedicated to the upgrade and roll-out of the new functionality. The strong leadership at Seacoast ensured a seamless transition to Version 2 and the SQL database. Their entire team, led by Bonnie, worked closely with Advanced to guarantee that all users were comfortable with the new functionality and how it impacted their departments."

"Second, the team at Advanced was very familiar with the business practices of Seacoast and Florida water utilities. This expertise allowed us to work well together in reaching our goal of a successful upgrade."

Seacoast has fully utilized many of the new features in Version 2 of CIS Infinity and are currently working on the new on-line billing module that allows staff to review bills and exceptions without having to print paper journals. Seacoast has noticed great increases in performance after moving to the SQL database with Bonnie Evans summing it up best, by stating "Version 2 has met and exceeded all of our expectations."

CIS Infinity is being installed at Energy Services of Pensacola (ESP), Florida using an Oracle database. Advanced is excited about the Florida marketplace and looks forward to continued success and growth in Florida.

More about Advanced: Advanced Utility Systems Corporation is a privately owned and operated software and services company in Toronto, Canada. The company has grown from its 1997 start-up to serve more than 60 North American and Caribbean water, electric, and natural gas utilities with its billing and customer information solution, CIS Infinity®.

For more information, contact:
Philip Playfair
Chief Marketing Officer
Advanced Utility Systems Corporation
(416) 496-0149 x229

Bonnie Evans
Project Manager
Seacoast Utility Authority
561 627-2900 x331