Powerlink Queensland adopts RISE with SAP for digital transformation

Powerlink Queensland has opted to deploy RISE with SAP on Microsoft Azure, aiming to harness the full potential of SAP Business AI for improving data and asset management, visualisation, and operational efficiencies.

Powerlink is an electricity transmission network service provider in Australia, extending its network 1,700 kilometres from Cairns to the New South Wales border. The network comprises 15,449 circuit kilometres of transmission lines and 152 substations. The decision to adopt RISE with SAP marks the next phase in Powerlink’s digital transformation journey.

The deployment will include SAP’s AI copilot, Joule, which will empower staff to quickly access critical information regarding company services, assets, and financial data through natural language capabilities. This development follows Powerlink’s implementation of SAP S/4HANA and SAP Analytics Cloud in 2022, and SAP Sustainability Control Tower in 2023. These implementations have already delivered enhanced analytics, improved budget planning, and better financial reporting.

Powerlink Chief Executive Paul Simshauser stated that the new implementation has also bolstered the company’s sustainability reporting by consolidating auditable climate-related metrics in alignment with Australian and international standards. “Powerlink has a long-standing relationship with SAP, reaching a 25-year milestone this year, that has delivered significant value to our organisation with recent uplifts in data management, automation and self-service,” Simshauser said.

Simshauser added, “We opted to accelerate our move to RISE with SAP as it is a natural progression of our digital transformation and AI advances. With many of our mission-critical processes already running on SAP, having the ability to leverage SAP Business AI capabilities will deliver tremendous value to our people.”

Mark Pozdena, Powerlink’s General Manager Business IT and Digital Delivery, remarked that the transition to RISE with SAP offers a range of new capabilities, including increased platform security and new visualisation tools for managing critical asset information across the organisation’s transmission network. “We plan to move to RISE with SAP by the end of the calendar year to take advantage of new innovations within the platform and offer new capabilities to our people,” Pozdena stated. He also emphasised the importance of the increased security and availability offered by RISE with SAP.

Angela Colantuono, President and Managing Director of SAP Australia and New Zealand, highlighted the benefits for Powerlink at the SAP Now ANZ event in Sydney. She said, “Every organisation today requires cloud-enabled systems and processes to unlock untapped productivity gains. For Powerlink Queensland, turning to RISE with SAP and leveraging the full breadth of SAP Business AI will help achieve faster time to value for many of its organisational processes, empowering its staff through data-driven analytics so they can focus on delivering improved experiences for its customers.”

Colantuono also noted that innovations in SAP Sustainability Control Tower will allow Powerlink to automate the reporting of its environmental, social, and governance data. This will significantly reduce the time and effort required for reporting, driving further productivity gains for the organisation.