Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline is a natural gas transmission system spanning over 6,000 miles in the Midwest and Mid-continent regions of the United States. The company was formed more than 100 years ago and was relying on a legacy mainframe system, which had been around for WHAT SEEMS LIKE as long, for many of its critical operations. The system was hard to use, it contributed to difficulties with complying with emerging Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requirements and its operation was dependent on a select few experts. Through our Advance FROM Legacy offering, Atos Origin helped Southern Star advance its application and its business with a new web-based Customer Service Information System.
Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline is headquartered in Owensboro, Kentucky, and its pipeline system and facilities are located throughout Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Nebraska and Kentucky. It serves major markets such as St. Louis, Wichita, and Kansas City. Southern Star is a locally managed private company owned by GE’s Energy Financial Services business and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
Southern Star has provided more than 100 years of continuous, quality service since its formation in 1904. Highly sought after due to its consistently strong performance, desirable location in America’s heartland, and quality of service, Southern Star has enjoyed various owners and undergone several name changes over the last century; however, one thing has remained constant: its reputation for continuous, safe, quality service.
Another thing that had remained constant was its legacy mainframe
system, which leads us to the Business Challenges...
Business Challenges
Southern Star is in a heavily regulated industry that must meet stringent requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The legacy system made it difficult to efficiently produce reports needed for compliance and also presented other issues. The “green screen” interface was unattractive and difficult to use. The customer service information system was not up to par with those of competitors, thus making a poor impression that did not encourage customer loyalty.
The Total Cost of Ownership for the legacy system was much higher than acceptable and its operation was dependent upon a select few experts in a technology area with a high retirement rate. Functions and processes hidden in the patches and solution “band-aids” of an antiquated, poorly documented legacy system added to the cost of operation.
Our Solution
Our solution is based on four steps: Assess, Plan, Transform, Sustain.
Atos Origin performed a detailed assessment of the legacy system, its functionality and its role in the customer service business processes. This entailed searching beneath the decades of patches and temporary fixes to define the real requirements for a replacement system. Based upon the findings and on the imminent expiration of mainframe software agreements, Atos Origin recommended that Southern Star invest in an up-to-date, web-based enterprise system. The plan included steps for Atos Origin to take over the hosting of the existing mainframe system and begin work on the transformation to the new system, operating in the Microsoft .net environment.
This arrangement helped keep the Southern Star IT staff focused on assisting with the development of the new system while Atos Origin led the development and also transitioned the mainframe and associated services to the Atos Origin data center. Additionally, the transformation provides a way for Southern Star to easily sustain the management and maintenance of the new application.
The Results
The new system was rolled out in phases to meet the aggressive deadline for the expiring legacy system. It provides FERC-compliant reporting, it offers extensive features and it is easy to maintain. The new web-based platform and integrated environment will ensure faster response to future regulatory requests and requirements. Additionally, the new interface is intuitive, user-friendly, and offers a positive experience when accessing Southern Star on-line services.
Atos Origin also trained the Southern Star staff and related personnel on how to use and maintain the system. The company is no longer dependent on a few key people as expert knowledge is built into the business rules and logic of the system — and is internally sustainable for ongoing system operation and maintenance. The .net Web-based system incorporates many self-service features and functionalities, freeing up considerable time from Southern Star’s IT staff to focus on other internal operations. And, Southern Star has realized significant reduction in the operating costs of the new “ERP” system.