thoughts on technology it is a little bit funny and a little bit sad watching the technology group try to get buyoff from louise and the business units on 2002 budgets . it is unbelievable that we can ' t get a project - based capital and expense budget for next year where someone like me can say i signed up for these 5 projects and willing to do them at such and such a cost . if the project costs more then i ' m not interested . while there is definitely room for improvement on the technology side , the commercial side has room for improvement as well .
we had a very useful ees risk / wholesale risk technology meeting on friday . it was clear from that meeting that commercial , technology , and operations are not on the same page . east wholesale and west wholesale commercial aren ' t on the same page . ees commercial and ena commercial aren ' t on the same page . ees marketing and ees risk may not be on the same page . anthony and beth aren ' t on the same page . sally beck ' s organization is organized wholesale vs retail while ( at least on the power side ) the commercial and technology groups are heading towards organized along commodity lines .
for fear of sounding too dramatic . . . the success of ees as well as wholesale services deals is a function of our technology and back office . without it we fail . the cost numbers are huge . it is a critical point of competitive advantage .
it was amazing , we had a room full of talented people at this meeting on friday ; i believe what was standing between us and a successful technology development effort was organization . we are completely disorganized right now . there are very few specs that are currently written to support next year ' s projects . we have a completely inefficient , decentralized process for working through this stuff .
i have some thoughts that i ' d like to share . it cuts across wholesale and retail . i think that we need a lead from commercial , technology , and operations for power ( and probably gas ) . i think the commercial person needs to drive the process and ultimately sign off on spending money for projects . i think that we need one technologist in charge of all power systems . i think that we need to look at everyone we have and choose the right person - - not necessarily the people who are currently leading this effort , although anthony and beth could be leading contenders . we need sally beck to look at her organization and make sure that it is aligned for maximum likelihood of success .
the goal of this is not to micromanage each business unit ' s technology needs . it is to coordinate and optimize across groups . we have to make sure that we don ' t spend money in wholesale and retail and then develop incompatible systems .
how do you guys want to talk through this ?
thoughts on technology
it is a little bit funny and a little bit sad watching the technology group try to get buyoff from louise and the business units on 2002 budgets . it is unbelievable that we can ' t get a project - based capital and expense budget for next year where someone like me can say i signed up for these 5 projects and willing to do them at such and such a cost . if the project costs more then i ' m not interested . while there is definitely room for improvement on the technology side , the commercial side has room for improvement as well .
we had a very useful ees risk / wholesale risk technology meeting on friday . it was clear from that meeting that commercial , technology , and operations are not on the same page . east wholesale and west wholesale commercial aren ' t on the same page . ees commercial and ena commercial aren ' t on the same page . ees marketing and ees risk may not be on the same page . anthony and beth aren ' t on the same page . sally beck ' s organization is organized wholesale vs retail while ( at least on the power side ) the commercial and technology groups are heading towards organized along commodity lines .
for fear of sounding too dramatic . . . the success of ees as well as wholesale services deals is a function of our technology and back office . without it we fail . the cost numbers are huge . it is a critical point of competitive advantage .
it was amazing , we had a room full of talented people at this meeting on friday ; i believe what was standing between us and a successful technology development effort was organization . we are completely disorganized right now . there are very few specs that are currently written to support next year ' s projects . we have a completely inefficient , decentralized process for working through this stuff .
i have some thoughts that i ' d like to share . it cuts across wholesale and retail . i think that we need a lead from commercial , technology , and operations for power ( and probably gas ) . i think the commercial person needs to drive the process and ultimately sign off on spending money for projects . i think that we need one technologist in charge of all power systems . i think that we need to look at everyone we have and choose the right person - - not necessarily the people who are currently leading this effort , although anthony and beth could be leading contenders . we need sally beck to look at her organization and make sure that it is aligned for maximum likelihood of success .
the goal of this is not to micromanage each business unit ' s technology needs . it is to coordinate and optimize across groups . we have to make sure that we don ' t spend money in wholesale and retail and then develop incompatible systems .
how do you guys want to talk through this ?