Utility Business Services Inc Chris Walsh Senior Systems

Utility Business Services, Inc Chris Walsh, Senior Systems Architect cwalsh@nui. com Winning in the Web World using Construct Spectrum: UBS - A Customer Success Story

Utility Business Services, Inc n An application service provider (ASP) for the water, wastewater, & gas industries n Serving public and investor-owned utilities and municipal authorities for more than 30 years n Provides full-featured geospatial and customer information systems & services n A subsidiary of NUI Corporation n 30 CIS clients & 11 GIS clients in 8 states n 1 million CIS accounts = 8 million bills sent annually

UBS Products & Services Customer Information Systems (CIS) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) u Water, Wastewater, Gas u Digital maps u Client Support u Facilities database u Bill Printing and Mailing u Distribution system modeling u Payment Processing u Field. Book - u Browser or 3270 Choice & Flexibility remote access to GIS u Automated pipe replacement u Meter route optimization

UBS Environment Mainframe Platform Web Platform u Mainframe OS 390 u Windows NT 4 Server u Natural & Adabas u HTML -Active Server Pages u Construct Spectrum u Entire. X u Natural Construct u Visual Basic u Predict u Javascript u Sagavista (end of 2001) NUI has been a Software AG customer since 1985 Natural & Adabas used by UBS since 1993

Wins® CIS ”Classic” n Design philosophy - Wins® CIS adapts to clients’ ever- changing business environment and does not require their business processes to adapt to Wins® CIS n UBS developed Wins® CIS software in 1993 u Designed to be more than a billing “program” u Flexible, customizable, table-driven design u Multi-organization / multi-jurisdiction n Entity Relationship data model recently evaluated as “one of the best in the utility industry” and “visionary”

Wins® CIS ”Classic” n Mainframe application with “GUI-fied” look’n feel u Not your typical “green screen” application u Wins® CIS is 100% Natural and Adabas u Construct utilized for over 50% of online development n Wins® CIS is the backbone to UBS’ service offerings u Application is extremely reliable and accurate u Selected web methodology needs to be as reliable u Many “heads down” users of system performing data entry

Wins® CIS ”Web” n Not a second system - an enhancement to classic Wins n Design philosophy - Wins® CIS will provide coexistent browser (GUI) and mainframe (CUI) presentation layers u Access shared mainframe-based objects and data u Leverage UBS’ mainframe application investment Character Application NEXT WEB Based Presentation Layer Character Based Presentation Layer Business Logic & Data Access Layer

Wins® CIS ”Web” n Why a web browser front-end? u Most RFPs (request for proposal) require GUI interface and client-server topology u Offer more choices to UBS clients u Increase UBS clients’ competitive opportunities u Position UBS and UBS clients’ for growth in the e-world u Web browser is the ultimate thin client!

Wins® CIS ”Web” n Construct Spectrum is cornerstone of web development u Continues Construct concept of modularity and regenerability u HTML presentation via ASP (active server page) technology u Server-based Visual Basic ABOs (active business objects) and page handlers u Frees the developer to focus on “fun stuff”: l HTML customization l Java. Script l Web page layout

Wins® CIS ”Web” n Entire X Broker & Spectrum connect the two worlds u Provides adaptive performance management u Automatically starts & ends attach servers as needed Web App 2 Web App 1 Natural Business Object Client/Server App Spectrum Proxy Active. X Business Object Spectrum Dispatch Client Entire. X Message Broker Spectrum Dispatch Server

Reengineering for the Web Original Host Object Host Based Objects Web Server Based Objects Presentation Maintenance Dialog Presentation HTML Maintenance Model Program Presentation Object Maintenance Subprogram Data Handling Business Logic Subprogram Proxy Page Handler Active. X Business Object

Web Challenges n Reengineering over 1, 000 presentations within 370+ business functions for Internet/Intranet environments n Wins® CIS functions are robust and flexible: u Dual presentations (full-screen & window) u Dynamic presentation/validation based on profile tables u Interactive account banner information u On-the-fly formatting using DY and CV variables u Internal and external key fields for access u Very flexible security methodology

Web Challenges n Original modules contain embedded presentations, data access, and business rules - 50% Construct (non-object) n No technical specifications or documentation available n Presentation customization issues addressed early in project u “To cache or not to cache” u Unique navigation methodology u How much “webification” to implement u Resemblance to mainframe field arrangement u What browsers and versions to support u Handling of pop-up windows on the web

Web Project n Contracted with Software AG Professional Services to perform reengineering of Wins® CIS presentation modules u Project Team formed (in Denver) of Project Management, Mainframe Developers, Web Developers and Application Testers n Project broken into four phases - the first unit consisted of a small number of representative functions, and progressively increased in both number and complexity n Offsite Methodology of Baseline Testing and shipping each unit has allowed all work to be done remotely, reducing costs, focusing communication and helping to build the expertise of the project team into being a UBS “virtual staff”

Web Project n Project teamwork has provided u Transfer of knowledge to UBS Staff u Formalized documentation of application functions u Reengineering procedures and methodologies u Informal “mini internship” for hands-on training

Future Opportunities n Development of customer (billpayer) web access u Perform account inquires and research u Pay bills and enter meter readings u Schedule service work n Offer more choices to existing clients u Classic and Web interfaces side-by-side u Remote customer service (better utilization of resources) n Attract new clients in more markets u Not confined by traditional connectivity overhead

Future Opportunities n Reengineered objects can now be reused from multiple platforms and environments for future implementations u Visual Basic for traditional client-server requests u Integration to other applications via Sagavista n Other benefits of this project and choice of Spectrum u Trained resources familiar with Wins® CIS application u Increased flexibility to adapt and respond to client needs

teamwork that delivers! Before (and After)

teamwork that delivers! After

Q&A Utility Business Services, Inc 1085 Morris Ave, Union NJ 07083 (908) 289 -9433 ubs@nui. com Chris Walsh, Senior Systems Architect cwalsh@nui. com Thank you!

Demonstration