Central Highlands Water embraces transformation with Infor

Central Highlands Water, based in Victoria's Central Highlands, is set to transform into a more data-driven, agile and digital utility with the help of Infor CloudSuite Public Sector. This cloud-based implementation is forecasted to streamline the organisation's budgeting and reporting, thus replacing five key legacy software systems currently used by the company.

Central Highlands Water services over 160,000 customers across Victoria's Central Highlands region, providing water supply and wastewater services. The advancements brought about by the integration with Infor CloudSuite Public Sector are expected to substantially improve business processes spanning from accounting, budgeting, asset management to procurement and order management. As a result, the regional water corporation stands to become more streamlined and efficient in its operations.

During a two-year programme conducted as part of Central Highlands Water's 'More than Water 2040 Strategy', Infor will help lay the foundation for technology essential to the Digital Water Metering project. Managing Director of Central Highlands Water, Jeff Haydon, said, "One of the major projects we will be focusing on is the ICT&D Business Solutions and Digital Enhancements project, to ensure we continue to provide the best digital solutions and experiences for our customers. Our partnership with Infor is important to achieving this vision, and we're pleased to continue our relationship."

The cloud-based ERP is slated to offer a myriad of benefits. It will enhance data governance and sharing capabilities, streamline data analysis and processing, improve security measures, and deliver a superior user experience. Central Highlands Water will also be able to better navigate the complexities involved with asset management through partners and third parties.

Central Highlands Water has a longstanding history spanning 150 years of fulfilling water supply and wastewater service requirements. Based in a rapidly growing region, the company faces intense pressure on water supplies and infrastructure due to a booming population.

Infor is confident in its ability to digitally transform utilities to align with regulatory requirements, internal objectives and customer needs. Terry Smagh, senior vice president and general manager for Asia Pacific and Japan at Infor, stated, "Modern utilities require agile, secure, and data-driven, industry-specific Infor CloudSuite systems to deliver customer excellence, maximise financial resources and consistently achieve operational efficiency. As a trusted partner, Infor is pivotal to their success."

Infor's proven track record includes a number of public sector entities in Australia and internationally, including Riverina Water in New South Wales, six of the 18 water corporations across Victoria, New Zealand’s largest water authority, Watercare, Waikato Regional Council, and leading US-based water authority Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District. This shows their extensive experience with utilising technology to assist public sector entities in their digital transformation journey.