Entering the North American utility software market

From its origins in CMMS for the Swedish nuclear industry, IFS has long been a strong player in providing business solutions for the global utility market. The company has now formally entered the North American market by winning initial utility business against the industry’s top tier traditional suppliers.

IFS Applications is used by some of the world’s top utilities and has helped Three Gorges, the largest hydroelectric and water conservation project on earth, maintain its facilities with significantly fewer people. IFS Applications is also the trusted asset lifecycle solution relied on by grid operations such as SVK, Sweden’s deregulated national grid, and Vattenfall, a leading multinational distribution corporation operating in northern Europe.

IFS Applications for the utility industry are optimized for asset management, covering the entire range of solutions from managing the complex collaboration of engineering,
construction and commissioning of major projects to automation of maintenance associated with major shutdowns or routine operations, even facilitation of asset performance, retirement and replacement decisions.

“The ability to effectively manage the total asset lifecycle is mission critical to executives responsible for electric utilities,” IFS Director of Business Development for Utilities Michael Blalock says. “Only by preventing unplanned downtime and maximizing the value realized from their capital asset investments can executives increase customer services levels, ensure network security and improve corporate performance for shareholders.”

IFS has more than 150 customers involved in power generation, transmission, distribution and gas. This clientele includes nuclear power plants OKG (Sweden), PBMR (South Africa) and Qinshan (P. R. China), grid operators Svenska Kraftnat (Sweden), Statnett (Norway) and TenneT (The Netherlands) as well as distributors such as Fortum (Sweden) and Hafslund Energi (Norway). Reliable and safe asset lifecycle and workforce management are critical processes in the energy and utility industry to which IFS has provided solutions for more than 20 years.