Network as a Service guarantees data quality and availability in Silkeborg

Silkeborg Forsyning chose Kamstrup’s Network as a Service to avoid having to deal with network maintenance and technological uncertainties. Instead, the utility can now focus on creating value from the high-quality data they receive.

When multi-utility Silkeborg Forsyning learned that their 12-year-old Radio Mesh network was being phased out, they seized the opportunity to opt for a package solution with Kamstrup’s Network as a Service (NaaS) – leaving their new communication network in the hands of one supplier. 

“We’re not network specialists. Our core competence is transforming data into value. So, we wanted a product that would guarantee getting us the data we need throughout the meters’ lifetime. And that product is NaaS,”

– Martin Christiansen, Engineer, Silkeborg Forsyning

Wanted: more and better data

High meter data quality and availability is Silkeborg Forsyning’s number one priority. And with NaaS, Kamstrup guarantees delivering top-quality data exactly as specified by the utility. This will provide them with more frequent and detailed data than before – and more data means more optimization opportunities.

As well as supplying the very foundation for billing their customers, this enables them to generate more value and explore new business development opportunities going forward.

“Our starting point was the need for more and better data. In the coming years, we’ll use it to help our customers, e.g., find leaks and save energy. And we’ll look into optimizing our production based on real-time demand as we become even better at recognizing trends and patterns,” says Laura Møller.

Freeing up resources was not the primary motivation for choosing NaaS. Nevertheless, having Kamstrup handle everything about the communication network in the future means that Silkeborg Forsyning does not expect that they will need to scale up staff resources – despite getting more and more customers. Instead, they will be able to dedicate their time and skills to what they do best.

One supplier. One responsibility.

For Silkeborg Forsyning, NaaS is also considered a safeguard that they will not again suddenly find themselves with an outdated communication network in a few years. It comes down to futureproofing their network to ensure data quality for the next 14 years – which can seem like a lifetime considering the rapid development in this area.

“When it comes to technology, things move so fast. And honestly, we don’t care what kind of network it is – as long as we get our data from A to B for many years to come,” says Martin Christiansen.

And if for some reason data is not delivered as specified, it will then be Kamstrup’s responsibility to solve the problem – whether that requires replacing meters or putting up additional masts or components.

In addition to being able to reach more meters than before, this is one of the most valuable benefits the utility sees from NaaS: “We essentially transfer to Kamstrup not just all the tasks related to our network but also all the uncertainty.”

The fact that Kamstrup supplies and maintains both the communication network infrastructure as well as the meters is also seen as a great advantage that results in a smooth and reliable collaboration – with a crystal-clear division of responsibility.

Moreover, going with an ISO-certified full-service provider ensures Silkeborg Forsyning’s peace of mind in terms of data security because everything stays within the same framework. On a more practical note, this also means fewer data processing agreements with subcontractors and makes everything more manageable. 

“Working with Kamstrup has always been easy, but there’s no doubt that having only one supplier gives us an added sense of security and certainty of supply. Plus, it’s just easier. We reach out to the same contact person about everything.”

– Laura Møller, Head of data and digitalization, Silkeborg Forsyning