Water Utility Strategic Capability Enhancement

Transformation Strategy & Roadmap

Key Capabilities Demonstrated

Business Capability Model development

Business review across people, process, information and technology

Current and future state enterprise architecture definition

Technology options assessment

Complex stakeholder management and engagement

SofM helped one of Australia’s largest Water Utilities to begin transforming their aging technology infrastructure.

Situation

A major water utility found itself at a critical point from a technology perspective, with several of its core systems, including billing, finance, CRM, and asset management, approaching end-of-life.

The client recognised that just doing a technology upgrade would be a missed opportunity, and instead, decided to redefine and transform its operational capabilities and service delivery.

Challenge

The client faced several key challenges:

Legacy of customisation: The technology landscape was high customised and fragmented, resulting from a focus on tactical measures rather than holistic improvements.
Magnitude of change: The scale of change and its potential impact on the business was a significant concern that needed careful consideration and stakeholder buy-in.
Competing priorities: The company had to balance various business priorities with technology lifecycle requirements.

What we did

We worked with the client to develop a fit for purpose Business Capability Model (BCM) based on our proven Water Industry Model.

Leveraging our experience and our global network, we defined potential solution options, balancing risk, cost and strategic alignment. The output was a Target State Blueprint that was agreed and supported by the client’s leadership team.

We then jointly developed a Strategic Capability Plan to deliver the Target State Process and Technology architecture, delivering significant capability uplift, improved efficiencies, and enhanced access to data and analytics.

Outcome

As a result of our work, the utility now has a clear, executive-endorsed strategic capability plan. The key outcomes were:

Operational efficiency: The target state blueprint laid the foundation for improved ways of working and significant operational efficiencies across the organisation.
Enhanced decision-making: The company now has a robust framework for making strategic decisions about technology investments, balancing immediate needs with long-term value creation.
Data-driven insights: The plan enables greater access to data, analytics, and reporting capabilities to support evolving business needs.