Context

A major phase of modernization involves transitioning from SAP IS‑U to a more flexible, modern utility billing platform. Field operations have already been modernized using a clean‑core, sidecar strategy, and the same approach is now being applied to utility billing. The objective is to upgrade billing capabilities without modifying or disrupting the SAP ECC finance module.

Challenges

SAP IS‑U is powerful but tightly coupled to the core ERP, making enhancements costly and risky. Modern billing needs,such as flexible tariffs, new rate structures, customer self-service, and faster billing cycles are difficult to achieve inside the legacy system. Field technicians also require a simple way to capture meter readings and outage events that directly influence billing. Migrating customer contracts, tariffs, and meter data must be done carefully, with parallel validation to avoid billing discrepancies. At the same time, end users expect a modern digital experience for viewing bills, raising queries, and managing preferences.

Solution

The Utility Billing Hub is implemented on Microsoft Dynamics 365 as a clean‑core, sidecar billing platform. Lightweight field apps allow technicians to record meter readings, log outages, and capture service details, all of which feed the billing engine. AI‑assisted calculations handle billing based on updated readings and rate structures. Utility account management, tariff configurations, billing runs, and customer queries are managed through Dataverse-backed applications. A customer-facing web page enables bill viewing, profile management, payment preferences, and service queries. To ensure safe transition, SAP IS‑U and the new billing system run in parallel, comparing billing cycles until complete validation is achieved. Once aligned, the legacy billing module can be decommissioned, reducing operational cost, infrastructure load, and overall complexity while enabling faster, more agile billing