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SmartConnect
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ADD Energy SmartConnect ® provides the customer a choice of self-service. Answers
to questions such as: “What is my balance?” can be provided without the customer talking
to someone. The answers can be provided over the Internet via your web site or by implementing an IVR (interactive voice response)-enabled telephone system. The IVR interface also provides the ability to locate customers within your database based on
the caller’s phone number. It can automatically display customer information screens
such as General Display before your customer service representative even picks up the phone to talk!
ADD Energy SmartConnect is an API (application program interface), a gateway that can be used by your web site developer or telephone system integrator to retrieve real-time data or update your ADD Energy database. SmartConnect not only provides static information such as balance, last payment and delivery due date. It can be used to accept delivery orders or credit card payments over the Internet. |
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| Let’s focus on the web interface. How does it work? |
| You would provide your customers an Internet sign-up process to create a username and password via your web site that enables the customer to access his account information within your ADD Energy database. The username and password are stored in ADD Energy Security. The customer provides the account number and 10-digit telephone number for the accounts they want to link to their web access account. Customers could link to multiple accounts in more than one database. SmartConnect provides the ability to locate customer records across multiple databases. As soon as the customer completes the sign-up process, they have secure access to the account information you have elected to provide. They may view transaction history, service history, balance information, last payment information, forecasted delivery dates, credit status and more. |
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| What if a customer would like to request a delivery? |
SmartConnect provides the ability to accept orders also. Customers log on with their secure user name and password and display their account(s). Using an interface designed by you and your web design firm, the customer can request a delivery. This automatically creates an electronic order just like the existing Energy phone order process used by your customer service representatives. The web order process will automatically update customer display screens, indicating a “web user” has logged a delivery order. A customer log entry is
created recording the logged order and a ticket could print instantly in the dispatch office. This process will be guided by normal system rules such as: |
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If the ordered amount is greater than tank size, ADD Energy SmartConnect sends a message back to your web site telling the customer the order is too big. |
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If an order is already outstanding, ADD Energy SmartConnect will reject the order request and send a message back to the customer via your web site. |
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If the customer is on credit hold, your business rule may inform the customer they must talk with a credit representative before an order can be accepted. |
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The Energy SmartConnect API provides a framework for accessing and updating Energy data from other applications. It enables the user to access the following modules: |
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Web user profile |
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Energy account validation |
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Customer information lookup |
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Delivery information lookup (including history) |
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Service information lookup (including history) |
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Transaction history |
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Payment entry |
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Delivery request |
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Service request (future) |
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Account modification (ADD/MODIFY) |
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The Energy SmartConnect API is a COM+ application (formerly MTS). It provides a set of Com objects that can be manipulated by COM – compliant development tools such as Visual Basic, Visual C++, and VB Script.
The API provides the ability to search and locate Energy accounts across multiple Energy databases. It uses an advanced data cache mechanism to minimize round-trips to database server(s).
Once an Energy account is located using a 10-digit telephone number, and optionally an account number the API will return the company (database) number. Each subsequent attempt to connect an Energy database requires a company number as well as a valid account number. |
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| Security |
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Several layers of security are currently implemented before an end-user can establish a connection to Energy databases: |
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Connect Authentication: Energy SmartConnect uses the authentication services provided by COM and Microsoft Windows to enable the identity verification and make sure the client identity we’re checking is authentic |
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Energy security layer: an ID will be created in Energy security for each calling application. Any client application that doesn’t have a valid caller ID will not have access to the Energy SmartConnect |
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Security by Company: Energy accounts will be accessed based on a list of companies to which each calling application has access |
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Security by user profile: the status for a user profile must be “Active” in order to log on. The user profile password will be encrypted within the database |
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| The following diagram outlines one method as to how to configure a DMZ to support a secured website: |
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ENERGY SmartConnect Main Classes |
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The current Energy SmartConnect API is based on the main classes displayed below: |
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Hardware and Software Requirements |
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Make sure that your computer conforms to these minimum requirements: |
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ENERGY SMARTCONNECT Server requirements
– Minimum Configuration |
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Microsoft Windows 2000 server edition with service pack 2 (SP2) or higher |
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400 MHz or higher Intel compatible CPU |
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256 MB of RAM |
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1 GB of available hard disk space |
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Network adapter card (Recommended: 100 Mb) |
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ENERGY SMARTCONNECT Server requirements
– Recommended Configuration |
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Microsoft Windows 2000 server edition with service pack 4 (SP4) or higher |
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Dual 2.4GHz processor (or higher) Intel compatible CPU |
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1 GB of RAM |
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20 GB of available hard disk space |
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100 Mb Network adapter card |
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ENERGY SMARTCONNECT Client requirements
– Minimum Configuration |
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Windows 2000, XP |
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200 MHz or higher Intel compatible CPU |
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64 MB of RAM |
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Network adapter card (Recommended: 100 Mb) |
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ADD Energy SmartConnect - a new way of serving your customers. |
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In order to implement ADD Energy Smart Connect, you must be using ADD Energy
Release 2.05 or higher.
If your company has a web site, or is thinking about creating or redesigning one, please contact your ADD Companies sales representative by calling 800-922-0972 to get more information about ADD Energy SmartConnect. |
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