US-based utilities company improves business processes
TCS helps the company adopt generative AI-powered Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve efficiencies and business processes across the value chain.
Service
Microsoft Business Solutions
TCS and Microsoft Cloud: Driving Business Transformation
Highlights
- A US-based electric utilities organization wanted to use generative AI (GenAI), specifically GenAI-powered Microsoft 365 Copilot, to improve its workflows and processes.
- The market leader collaborated with TCS to identify high-value use cases and roll out a pilot Microsoft 365 Copilot implementation at speed.
- Teams at the company have reported efficiency gains of 18-20% by integrating Copilot into their workflows.
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Challenge
Turning the GenAI potential into reality
A leading US electric utilities company, committed to providing reliable, affordable, and clean energy to its diverse customer base, wanted to explore the possibilities of transforming work and business with generative AI (GenAI). Reliability and resilience (ensuring the electrical grid is robust and resilient to natural disasters and cyber threats); sustainability (transitioning to renewable energy sources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change); and customer-centricity (providing innovative solutions and services that meet the evolving needs of customers) are core to the company’s strategic initiatives.
So the company decided to tap artificial intelligence (AI) and GenAI to build a smarter grid, enhance its predictive maintenance capabilities, optimize energy distribution, improve customer service and operational efficiency, and reduce costs. Considering the high use of Microsoft 365 across the organization, it was keen to adopt Microsoft 365 Copilot, a GenAI assistant, to enhance AI adoption across its diverse workforce and improve existing business processes and workflows.
To realize this AI-driven transformation, the market leader collaborated with TCS to evaluate the potential impact of emerging GenAI technologies on the company’s value chain and identify high-value use cases, proofs of concepts (POCs), and pilots using Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Solution
TCS was the company’s partner of choice to drive its generative AI initiative with M365 Copilot as the solution of choice.
A strategic partner of the company for over a decade, TCS has been instrumental in driving its digital transformation and operational excellence journey. Having established centers of excellence for cloud, automation, and DevOps and deployed multiple cutting-edge digital solutions across their Transmission and Distribution, Customer Service, Field Engineering and Enterprise departments, TCS was the ideal partner as it sought to chart a GenAI roadmap. Our contextual understanding of the company’s core business processes, expertise in applying AI and GenAI technologies across industries, and robust AI and GenAI capabilities tailored for utilities made us a clear winner.
TCS worked with the company to assess the organizational readiness for Microsoft Copilot, helped it understand the complexities involved, and created a comprehensive strategy for a successful rollout of the solution across the enterprise.
In collaboration with key stakeholders, TCS:
- Established foundational AI proficiency across the organization.
a. Developed processes and tools, including a support center tool and a Copilot use case submission tool, for technical enablement and support
b. Created a Copilot portal site, developed Copilot training materials, and conducted Copilot proficiency evaluation of pilot users
c. Conducted numerous training sessions on the fundamentals of Copilot - Conducted Copilot exploration workshops with business units across the company.
a. Created a Copilot exploration framework to help teams identify high-value Copilot opportunities
b. Worked closely with stakeholders such as the company’s Customer Service, Transmission and Distribution, Enterprise Asset Management, Training, and Enterprise Learning and Development departments to experiment with Copilot capabilities, reimagine workflows, design prompts to accelerate each step in the new processes wherever applicable, and establish baseline metrics.
c. Created reusable playbooks to help cascade learnings and innovations across the enterprise, further accelerating adoption - Established Copilot extensibility base patterns to expand Copilot capabilities and help realize high-value business use cases. Constructed various baseline Copilot extensibility patterns in partnership with Microsoft to enable integration with other core systems such as SAP ERP and SailPoint’s identity governance and access management system.
- Implemented a responsible AI model for evaluating the quality of prompts and responses based on six priority areas: efficacy, dependability, inclusiveness, simplicity, orderliness, and neutrality
- Created an ROI evaluation framework to help teams assess the benefits of using Copilot for work.
- Deployed a comprehensive AI-driven solution designed to enhance productivity and operational efficiency, with key features including:
a. Intelligent document processing: Automate the processing of documents, reducing manual effort and errors.
b. Enhanced collaboration: Streamline communication and collaboration among teams using AI, facilitating better decision making.
Convinced by the strong ROI indicators and compelling business case, the customer has invested in 1,400 additional Copilot licenses. TCS is in the process of rolling out Copilot to these new users spread across 10 operational units.
A GenAI culture
Enabling the transition to the AI-assisted way of working
Building a GenAI culture among its people and making the transition to GenAI easy was an integral part of the initiative at the utility company. The pilot program was focused on enablement and use case exploration.
As part of this, we conducted Copilot awareness workshops, exploration hackathons, and workshops on writing effective prompts. Throughout, the program focused on the practical application of Microsoft 365 Copilot capabilities within the organizational construct and enabling users to work smarter.
To drive engagement, we established the TCS Engage-AI Office Hub. The hub served as a one-stop place for business use case submissions and for capturing high-value prompts and responses. It also recorded user-reported efficiency gains. Thereafter, each use case was assigned an efficiency score leveraging the responsible AI evaluation model.
TCS helped build and manage a Champions Community through engagement activities such as Viva Engage, which recognized power users and curated meta prompts.
Benefits
Paving the path to accelerated value from GenAI
Through the M365 Copilot program, the electric utilities company could address critical challenges, transform its operations, and unlock new opportunities. It has enhanced not just operational excellence, but also paved the way for a more sustainable and innovative future. The engagement has helped the company to:
- Drive higher AI adoption across the enterprise. Identify and validate high-value use cases to help establish the enterprise rollout strategy and fast-track the GenAI adoption journey.
- Obtain 18-20% efficiency gains by integrating Copilot into workflows in areas such as legal analysis, regulatory affairs, field services, market research, employee training enablement, and corporate communications. A strategic decision to leverage Microsoft Copilot as the catalyst for the company’s operations excellence strategy program resulted in this significant gain.
- Reimagine utility operations through integrations to enterprise system of records and systems of engagements leveraging composable archetypes. This enhanced employee experience, improved customer service, optimized energy distribution, and enabled improved predictability in asset maintenance and field operations.
- Drive data-driven decision-making with enhanced data analytics. Insights provided by M365 Copilot have led to better resource allocation, strategic planning, and overall business performance.
- Establish a repeatable Copilot Center of Excellence model that can help onboard future GenAI technology and drive OCM at a much faster pace.
Tangible impact
18-20% |
1,400+ |
efficiency gains achieved by integrating Copilot into workflows.
|
additional users identified for scaling up GenAI across the enterprise. |