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Southwest Gas Achieves Back Office Excellence through Exception Automation

For over 20 years, Southwest Gas had relied on a legacy system to manage critical operations that had served its purpose but was no longer capable of meeting the demands of growing customer needs and an evolving industry. Recognizing the need for progress, the utility made the bold decision to transition to a modern CIS, a significant step forward that came with potential risks.

Such a major transition was likely to create pressure points, especially in the back-office. A surge in billing exceptions could overwhelm employees, disrupt workflows, and lead to inefficiencies, billing errors, and a loss of customer trust. Frustrated customers flooding the front-office with calls would stretch resources and add to the strain, creating a high-stakes situation Southwest Gas needed to avoid.

In search of a partner that would not only mitigate these risks but also truly enhance Southwest Gas’ operations, Avertra’s MiCustomer digital experience platform (DXP) became the centerpiece of this transformation. With a strong focus on back-office automation and excellence, it combined intelligent tools and an intuitive design that empowered efficiency and streamlined exception management, enabling employees to prioritize more meaningful work.

Within 6 months, an in-depth exploration of Southwest Gas’s processes and unique challenges was conducted and the implementation fully completed, setting the stage for impactful changes across multiple areas of the utility.

Streamlined Exception Management

One of the most immediate transformations was in exception management, where automating repetitive processes reduced manual workloads and gave employees the opportunity to focus on higher-value work.

Over the past 3 years, Southwest Gas has truly simplified life for employees and dramatically improved operations, achieving:

In addition to experiencing a significant shift in how the back-office functioned, these results sparked positive impacts across the organization as:

Proactive Problem-Solving

Beyond exception management, Southwest Gas worked to bring greater clarity to their operations. Identifying bottlenecks across complex processes was a constant challenge, leaving employees to navigate inefficiencies without clear direction.

By leveraging advanced analytics and heatmaps, teams gained the ability to see exactly where issues were occurring and understand the reasons behind them. What was once a time-consuming and uncertain process became a targeted approach, enabling employees to address root causes quickly and resolve challenges before they could escalate.

Simplified Onboarding & Learning

Understanding that a great customer experience starts with an even better employee experience, Southwest Gas focused on simplifying how their teams learned and adapted to new processes.

Through intelligent guided procedures, employees were able to build confidence in their roles, especially in cases requiring manual intervention or their unique expertise. By reducing the challenges of adapting to new workflows, employees were empowered to contribute more effectively, creating a more engaged and motivated workforce.

Optimized Workflow Transparency

Having a centralized view of team workflows played an essential role in improving both employee performance and decision-making. Through intuitive dashboards, teams could easily see previous case histories, understand who worked on specific tasks, and quickly dig into details when deeper insights were needed. Ultimately, this transparency allowed supervisors to step in with timely support to improve processes and develop a stronger, more collaborative environment.

Looking Ahead

Investing in the back office has enabled Southwest Gas to drive impactful changes that touch every part of the utility, reflecting the power of looking inward to create lasting impact for employee and customer experiences, all while strengthening operational resilience and delivering long-term value.

Building on this success, Southwest Gas and Avertra are committed to strategically expanding automation capabilities, targeting a 95% success rate in automatic resolutions. With this vision in mind, the goal will continue to center around driving operational excellence, and delivering excellent customer experiences.

Southwest Gas Achieves Back Office Excellence through Exception Automation

Over the past few months, Florida has endured some of its hardest days, as Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore through communities, leaving homes battered, power lines down, and countless lives turned upside down. In times like these, resilience is found in knowing there’s a trusted partner by your side. Tampa Electric understood exactly what was at stake, taking proactive measures to support their community when it mattered the most.

Through a long-standing partnership with Avertra, Tampa Electric has leveraged the power of the MiCustomer Digital Experience Platform (DXP) to deliver a resilient outage map, capable of supporting over 94,000 concurrent users. Built around three pillars of support—Clarity, Connection, and Comfort, this map quickly became a essential resource for Floridians as they navigated a challenging storm season.

Clarity in the chaos

In the heart of crisis, looking for answers becomes a lifeline, where every bit of information offers a glimmer of hope and helps light the way forward. For Floridians, the outage map provided a reliable guide through the unknown by providing live updates every five minutes and delivering real-time details on outage status and affected areas. These much-needed answers enabled individuals to monitor what was happening in their neighborhoods and gain a clearer picture of the conditions they might be facing, whether a minor outage or something more severe.

For those who had to evacuate, restoration timelines became a source of comfort, giving them a sense of progress. During Hurricane Milton, countless individuals across 102 countries accessed the outage map, checking in on their neighborhoods and loved ones to assess when it might be safe to return home. Similarly, during Hurricane Helene, individuals were checking the map from a total of 47 different countries.

Connection that resonates

When everything else felt beyond reach, having the power to choose how to stay connected made all the difference and provided a sense of control that many were longing for. For some, a text message provided quick reassurance, while others preferred email updates that felt familiar and accessible. This simple but thoughtful choice provided a way for those affected to access information in the way that worked best for them, offering comfort in the most difficult moments.

Comfort when it mattered most

For many newcomers to Florida, unaccustomed to the realities of hurricane season, this experience brought a level of uncertainty and fear that made reliable guidance essential. Access to clear shelter locations and practical safety tips helped residents navigate these challenges with a sense of preparedness, offering immediate paths to safety and the knowledge needed to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Relieving the pressure on the frontlines

Serving as more than just a resource for the community, the outage map brought much-needed relief to Tampa Electric’s frontlines, easing the pressure on its people during high-stress times. By empowering customers to self-serve, it became possible to significantly reduce the number of incoming calls, lower wait times, and allow employees to shift focus resolving complex issues.

A global effort behind the scenes

The success of the outage map in supporting citizens during both storms showcases the incredible dedication and shared commitment of both Tampa Electric and the Avertra team. This joint effort to serve the community was evident as both teams collaborated closely to create a resource that truly mattered during such challenging times.

During Hurricane Milton, the outage map demonstrated its capacity to handle immense demand, supporting 94.6K concurrent users, processing over 500 million site requests and recording an astounding 15 million visits. Its ability to scale during such a critical time ensured that people could stay connected and informed, no matter how widespread the storm’s impact.

Similarly, during Hurricane Helene, the outage map proved its reliability through providing support to over 31K concurrent users, processing over 63 million site requests, and facilitating over 1.6 million visits. More than just numbers, these metrics tell a story of resilience and connection, representing the countless individuals seeking reassurance.

Over the course of both storms, a total of 1,078 engineering hours were invested, resulting in 8 releases, the introduction of 6 new features, and 4 enhancements, reinforcing the map’s ability to adapt under pressure and deliver reliable support.

Commitment that lasts beyond the storm

Through this collaboration, it became possible to build more than just a response to the storm, creating a foundation of trust and reassurance that citizens could rely on. As Florida continues to recover, this partnership will simultaneously continue to evolve, with both teams dedicated to enhancing the outage map to empower the community and ensure preparedness for whatever lies ahead.