Software Platforms for Solar & Storage

Speaking at the Florida SEIA summit earlier this month, Deep Chakraborty, CEO of ENACT Systems Inc. covered the need and rapid growth of software in the renewable energy sector, and its relation to running a successful solar business.

Why are top developers adopting end-to-end software platforms for distributed solar and storage project development across the world?

There are three key drivers for rapid adoption of end-to-end platforms : design + proposals + contracts + execution and asset management, as an all-in-one system:

1. Rapid Sales Development requires accurate proposals delivered quickly, complete in every respect: designs with firm pricing, utility savings analytics and financial benefits, followed by customer contracts and financing agreements. Conversion rates are low, and the entire process is getting increasingly complex with arrival of hybrid systems - storage, charging, etc., and the only way to scale is to adopt one system.
2. Efficient project delivery operations requires agile teamwork: tasks, documents and deadlines need transparency for the entire team, and need to reside on one system. Solar or storage projects are complex with too many moving parts, impacting margins and outcomes. The work-from-home trend has further accentuated the need for a single software platform for the entire organization with remote teams.
3. Customer Satisfaction is difficult to achieve repeatably without live updates on project progress as well as long-term asset performance to win customer trust (and referrals). Customers deserve to measure their financial return on their solar investments live for their long ownership period, adjusted for all factors of uncertainty, including ongoing maintenance costs, and this can only be achieved on one system.

What are some additional benefits of using end-to-end platforms?

The power of data across the project lifecycle for thousands of global projects, unlocks unparalleled analytics and insights. "You can only predict, what you can measure" said Deep. Disparate software apps for design, project management, or monitoring, running in silos, leaves huge data gaps - this becomes a big challenge in today's world of selling hybrid solutions like solar plus storage / EV Charging. End-to-end platforms that are open and integrated to OEMs, close the feedback loop from proposals to final results rapidly, ultimately resulting in fundamentally better project development.