The Digital Emergence is here
Everywhere you look, someone is talking, texting, or surfing the web on their cell phone, laptop or tablet. Information technology is everywhere and is changing every aspect of how we live our lives.
This year, I along with more than 200 of my colleagues attended the 4th annual EmpowerU educational series that focused on Digital Emergence. As a new employee and a first time attendee, I was excited to learn about the new technological advancements and their impact on our industry and our customers.
Silver Spring Networks CEO Michael Bell kicked off the day by stating just how big, how fast and how important it is for us to ride the Digital Emergence wave. “This new wave of Digital Emergence is change or die,” stated Bell.
During his time at Apple, Michael was able to take part in creating and kicking off products and services like Wifi, the iMac and the iPhone. He stated, “It was sort of ground zero for what we are calling the Digital Emergence. I would argue these days, it’s more of a digital tsunami.”
Digital technology is changing and improving at a rapid speed. We heard from Cris Eugster, Group EVP and Chief Generation & Strategy Officer, regarding the dynamic technological changes that are taking place within our own industry. Our entire world is changing, and it’s changing rapidly. “We’re in the middle of the change and we need to be adaptable and embrace the change of technology and integrate it into our business,” said Eugster.
With battery storage, distributed solar and new technology that is being incorporated into our industry, we are becoming a technology driven company. We’re offering customers innovative products that meet their needs.
Since joining the team eight months ago, I’ve seen firsthand how our organization is continuously looking at new and innovative ways to meet our customers’ needs. Thanks to mobile advancements and social networks, customers are connected all the time. This means we must pivot and use channels that they want us to be on in order to connect and engage with them. Our customer call center handles more than 4 million calls a year, so to provide exceptional service to our growing community, we are constantly changing to provide them what they want, when they want it.
Our Interim President/CEO Paula Gold-Williams summed up the annual talent development session by encouraging us to continue to embrace technology and our future as an energy provider. She challenged us to come back to our positions and be excited about what we heard throughout the day in regards to how our world and industry is changing every day. Change is undeniable! In closing, Paula left us with a great thought “how can your way be the right way, and the only way, when everything around you is changing rapidly?”
