Opower (NYSE: OPWR), the global leader in cloud-based software for the utility industry, announced Opower 7, the newest generation of its industry leading customer engagement platform. The upgrade includes a significantly expanded set of advanced business intelligence tools that let utility managers draw useful, actionable insights from their ever-growing pool of customer data.

“Opower has been finding increasingly sophisticated ways to put our massive data engine to work for utilities,” said Opower CEO Dan Yates. “We’ve recently launched products like Behavioral Demand Response, Bill Advisor, and Marketplace—all of which are anchored on Opower’s unmatched analytics. Opower 7 puts utilities in the driver’s seat, giving them the power to glean insights to improve their Demand Side Management, marketing, customer care, and other programs.”

Opower 7 is built on the world’s largest residential energy data analytics platform with over 500 billion meter reads from more than 60 million households and businesses, and 100 utilities across 4 continents. The platform combines CIS, CRMS and smart grid/MDMS data to create a holistic view of each customer. The latest platform enhancements include:

• Enhancements to Opower’s personalization engine and advanced segmentation and targeting capabilities which make it easy for utilities to segment customers across more than 100 demographic, psychographic and behavioral variables
• Proprietary call center analytics to help utilities predict which customers are most likely to call into a service center so that utilities can proactively engage them
• Enhanced capabilities for cross-channel branding and customization and providing differentiated experiences across the customer journey, such as new mover and seasonal editions

Additional partner extensions to give utilities access to more pre-integrated applications, including an online marketplace where customers can compare more than 600,000 energy-using product and service offers from hundreds of retailers

Opower’s platform and advanced business intelligence capabilities combine energy usage data with location, weather, and parcel data; utility account information; and third-party demographics. The platform also incorporates Opower’s advanced analytics including load archetypes, giving program managers unprecedented visibility into their customers and the ability to conduct highly targeted and personalized outreach campaigns.