Oracle has announced the general availability of its Utilities Outage Management Business Advisor V2, formerly known as SPL Business Intelligence. The upgrade enhances the strength of earlier versions of the solution to provide customers with out-of-the-box integration to Oracle Utilities Network Management, a comprehensive, integrated suite of real-time applications for electricity distribution network management. With an enhanced user interface, this version improves flexibility in the way data are graphed, viewed and analyzed with the addition of a near real-time feed from the mission-critical system to the Business Advisor.

Oracle Utilities Outage Management Business Advisor leverages the most commonly used utility metrics to pre-define the data extracts that customers need. The solution condenses volumes of complex, disparate data from multiple, mission-critical data sources into a cohesive knowledge base. From this data warehouse, utilities can identify risks, determine trends, more accurately forecast and identify cause-and-effect relationships that might not have been otherwise apparent. These capabilities further enable utilities to implement a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization, which enhances the ability to effectively predict changing market conditions. This out-of-the-box approach enables operational reporting needs to be met quickly with decision makers having easy access to the dashboard.

In addition, Oracle Utilities Outage Management Business Advisor is technically robust in that it:

• Efficiently handles very large data volumes coming from a variety of  database platforms in near-real time. 
• Stores data for later analysis and reporting without affecting  production systems.
• Is easy to configure and enhance and is extensible. Additional key  performance indicators (KPIs) can be added to help utilities meet local  reporting and analytical requirements.
• Presents graphs and KPIs via a customizable portal.
• Can be easily upgraded.

"Oracle Utilities Outage Management Business Advisor is a key component in our strategy to provide a comprehensive suite of applications that drives efficiencies in the dynamic utilities industry," said Linda Jackman, vice president, product management, Oracle Utilities Global Business Unit.