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Lake Saint Louis, Mo., Feb. 1, 2019 – National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC), a leading provider of software solutions to utility and telecommunication companies, will be sponsoring and exhibiting at NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association’s Rural Telecom Industry Meeting & Expo (RTIME) Feb. 3-6 in New Orleans, La.
Lake Saint Louis, Mo., Jan. 23, 2019 – National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC), a leading provider of software solutions to utility and telecommunication companies, is excited to announce its new advertising and promotional campaign: Membership Amplified. Focused on the key identifiers that set NISC apart from their competitors, Membership Amplified highlights how Members play an integral role in every aspect of the technology cooperative and the unique advantages of partnership with NISC. Some of those key advantages include training and education opportunities, Member advisory committees, dedicated regional business managers and more. "The benefits of NISC Membership run deep and we are proud to work with our Members to demonstrate that with this campaign," said Jasper Schneider, NISC vice president of Member & Industry. "Technology is transforming the electric utility and telecommunications industries and our NISC Members are at the heart of that transformation. We view our Members' success, as our own." Throughout 2019, Membership Amplified will be highlighted in industry publications including NRECA's RE Magazine and NTCA's Rural Telecom Magazine. The campaign will also be present on NISC's public blog and social media channels. For more information on Membership Amplified, please visit www.membershipamplified.coop. About NISC National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) is an information technology organization that develops, implements and supports software and hardware solutions for our Members. We deliver advanced solutions, services and support to 832 independent telephone companies, electric cooperatives and other public power entities. NISC is an industry leader providing information technology solutions including billing, accounting, operations, automated mailroom services, third-party integration as well as many other solutions. With facilities in Mandan, N.D., Lake Saint Louis, Mo., Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Shawano, Wis., NISC and its subsidiaries employ more than 1,280 professionals between [...]
Lake Saint Louis, Mo., Nov. 20, 2018 -- NISC’s web and mobile app, SmartHub, along with several Virginia-based NISC Members were recognized by the Virginia Energy Efficiency Council for contributions to energy efficiency. SmartHub, along with A&N Electric Cooperative, Community Electric Cooperative, Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative, Prince George Electric Cooperative, Southside Electric Cooperative and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, were presented a second-place award in the Residential category at the 2018 Virginia Energy Efficiency Leadership Awards luncheon Nov. 14 in Richmond, Va. SmartHub is a customer engagement web and smartphone app for NISC Members’ consumers that provides an easier way to pay their bill and monitor their energy usage. To Rappahannock Electric, one of the award recipients, this has meant increased efficiency and enhanced customer communication. “Through anecdotal evidence, cooperative consumers make changes to their behavior to reduce their electricity use once presented with their personalized energy analysis,” said Kris Sieber, director of member services for Rappahannock Electric Cooperative. “In contrast to receiving an electric bill once a month, consumers are able to draw meaningful correlation to controllable factors like thermostat settings, appliance use, and see the impact external factors such as weather have on their electric use. SmartHub brings tremendous intangible value to Rappahannock Electric.” “We’ve long-known our Members are leaders in the utility industry when it comes to energy efficiency,” said Doug Remboldt, NISC vice president of Member Support. “We’re proud that SmartHub is helping these Members truly communicate with their end consumers and make a difference when it comes to energy efficiency. It puts much more information in the hands of the person at the end of the line, and allows them to not only have access to this information but select how they will [...]
Tool kit includes animations, digital content and marketing materials to spread cyber security awareness and safety More than 130 large-scale targeted breaches occur in the United States each year, and that number is growing by 27 percent each year. (Accenture) The average cost of a malware attack on a company is $2.4 million. (Accenture) Ransomware attacks are growing more than 350 percent annually. (Cisco) For every one of these statistics, there are hundreds more. Cyber security threats loom. Attacks are intensifying. Every second, hackers are targeting people, homes, small businesses and international corporations. The urgency is real, and National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) is responding. October brings National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and the technology cooperative has added another tool in its cyber security arsenal, with the launch of CyberSense, a free educational toolkit available to organizations nationwide. Designed specifically for rural electric cooperatives, public power utilities and telecommunications companies, the kit includes three short animated videos, downloadable bill stuffers, social media content and retractable banners. "Our target audience is end consumers/customers," says Jeff Nelson, NISC general counsel and vice president of Information Security and Risk Management. "Awareness starts at home. If we can bring a cyber security culture into our homes, we are not only providing a service to our communities, but we're helping to mitigate threats and strengthen our nation against these cyber crimes." NISC's leadership in cyber security extends into its software solutions, with a full suite of solutions designed to help Members protect their organizations from attacks, including training modules, detection and response solutions, endpoint protection, perimeter defense tools and vulnerability management solutions. "As a technology cooperative, it is our responsibility to arm our Members with premier protection solutions so they [...]
St. Louis, Sept. 13, 2018 — National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC®), a leading provider of technology solutions to utility and telecommunications organizations worldwide, hosted more than 2,500 Members, partners and staff at its annual Member Information Conference (MIC) Sept. 11-13 at the America’s Center in St. Louis, Mo. The IT cooperative’s annual learning conference draws users from all over the continental U.S., Hawaii, Alaska and Canada. With class topics ranging from accounting and billing to engineering and customer care, the MIC offered more than 190 learning sessions throughout the three-day event, with 46 sessions being led by NISC Members. Along with the learning sessions, the 2018 MIC also hosted three powerful general sessions over the course of the conference. Day One was kicked off by NISC’s president and chief executive officer Vern Dosch, who delivered an inspirational opening general session focusing on NISC’s 50-year history of innovation and Member service. Day Two featured executives and thought leaders in the telecom and utility industries. Shirley Bloomfield, chief executive officer of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, shared her thoughts on the benefits that rural broadband networks bring to the national economy. Kirk Johnson, senior vice president of Government Relations for NRECA, discussed the state of the utility industry and importance of working together towards our common goals. “We were extremely pleased to host our Members this week at the 2018 MIC,” said Jasper Schneider, NISC vice president of Member and Industry. “At the heart of this conference is learning, and our Members had the opportunity to attend more than 190 different classes. We also had the pleasure of welcoming numerous industry partners and friends. As much as the MIC was about celebrating our 50 years of service and [...]
New Solutions, Features Unveiled at the 2018 Member Information Conference Saint Louis, Mo., Sept. 12, 2018 — National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) is celebrating 50 years of business at the Member Information Conference (MIC) this week in St. Louis, Mo. While the celebration is focused on the past, NISC’s solutions look to the future with new features and products being showcased over the course of the conference. “While we pause to celebrate 50 years in the technology industry at this year’s MIC, we have to ensure our solutions continue to focus on the future,” said Vern Dosch, President and CEO of NISC. “We want to make sure we’re staying ahead of the curve and continuing to deliver solutions that will help our Members do their jobs efficiently and effectively.” This week, NISC released a modernized design and new, enhanced functionality for iVUE Mosaic, a tool to help users make better business decisions by better leveraging data to identify trends. The new design provides an enhanced user experience allowing users to gain new insights from their data with more than 300 pieces of standardized content right out of the box. NISC Operations Analytics (OA) is another new NISC solution, helping engineers and system operators of electric systems harness the granularity of time-series data for better decision making. OA, along with EDD’s Distributed Engineering Workstation (DEW), enables users to look beyond peak system analysis to better grasp real system performance and provide better service to members, increased savings in their operations and better management of their electrical grid. iVUE Connect is helping carry NISC’s enterprise platform into the future. iVUE Connect – Service’s functionality continues to grow with the addition of delinquent collections [...]
Saint Louis, Mo., Sept. 11, 2018 — At the annual Member Information Conference this week in St. Louis, Mo., National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) announced a new, modernized design with enhanced features for its iVUE Mosaic solution, a cloud-based tool helping organizations better leverage data and identify trends to make more informed business decisions. Along with a sleek, new design and improved user navigation, iVUE Mosaic now has over 300 pieces of standardized content available to users, providing a baseline to work towards their specific organization's goals. Depending on their needs, users also have the option to build their own content from scratch, with support readily available from NISC staff. "These new features allow our Members to gain immediate insights into their data by using out of the box content," said John Weber, NISC product line manager. "In addition, they can also easily customize an existing visualization to meet their unique needs." Other new features available to users include improved portal creation tools, expanded iVUE data sources as well as a New Data Source Explorer for navigation. Egyptian Electric Cooperative, located in Murphysboro, Ill., deployed iVUE Mosaic in February of 2018. The cooperative was looking for a better tool to not only analyze their data, but to present that data in an effective way to the decision makers at Egyptian. "Before we began using iVUE Mosaic, we gathered information from various NISC modules and developed reports from spreadsheets or Word documents," said Art Pontow, projects manager for Egyptian Electric. "It was very time-consuming, and the reports didn't have the flexibility that we were looking for. iVUE Mosaic gave us the ability to get at the data the way we wanted to and present it in [...]
Lake Saint Louis, Mo., Sept. 6, 2018 — National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC), a leading provider of software solutions to utility and telecommunication companies, announces its annual Member Information Conference (MIC) Sept. 11-13, 2018, in downtown St. Louis at the America's Center. NISC's premier learning event, the MIC, brings together more than 2,500 Members, NISC employees, invited guests and national speakers for a three-day conference featuring more than 190 concurrent sessions and three power-packed general sessions. "At the heart of the MIC is learning," says Jasper Schneider, NISC Vice President of Member and Industry. "We're able to emphasize our enterprise-wide technology solutions to help Members better enhance their operations and utilize the NISC solution suite to its full potential. Our scope spans a wide range of industry professionals, from executives to communications/marketing, accounting, finance, human resources and information technology professionals." This year's MIC celebrates NISC's 50th anniversary with special tributes to our rich history and a focus on the next 50 years. Highlights: Sessions From accounting and billing to engineering and all points in-between, the 2018 MIC will provide a record 191 sessions on the latest enhancements to NISC solutions, updates on the technology roadmap and discussions of issues facing the utility and telecom industries. Of these sessions, 46 will be Member-led, featuring best practices and case studies. Partner Pavilion As the hub for the MIC's events, the Partner Pavilion is home to NISC's Consulting Booth and Innovations Lab, where attendees can meet with NISC subject matter experts, as well as more than 30 exhibiting partners and vendors showcasing a variety of solutions and services valuable to our Member organizations. Thought-provoking General Sessions Sept. 11 Vern Dosch President and CEO of NISC Dosch will share [...]
Lake Saint Louis, Mo., July 26, 2018 — National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC), a leading provider of software and solutions to utility and telecommunication companies, announces a key partnership with Momentum Telecom as part of its overall multi-industry enterprise software solutions offerings. Momentum Telecom, a leading provider of cloud voice, BBX broadband management and support services, offers customizable cloud-based applications, including voice, video and collaboration tools, for direct customers and more than 500 nationwide white label and channel partners. With this collaboration, NISC’s software solutions will integrate seamlessly with Momentum’s cloud-based solutions, offering NISC Members enhanced broadband services and a one-stop-shop for billing, payment and service offerings. “Our partnerships are crucial to providing our Members superior service,” says David Bonnett, NISC vice president of Product Management. “NISC really stands out in the marketplace for a couple key reasons: First, we’re a cooperative; our customers are our Members. We exist to serve, and we work for people, not profit. Second, we serve multiple industries including utility, telecom, broadband and municipal services. And lastly, we offer enterprise-wide solutions, enabling advanced, integrated IT solutions for consumer and subscriber billing, accounting, engineering & operations, as well as many other leading-edge IT solutions.” While NISC will continue to support and integrate with other third-party cloud-voice platforms, the technology cooperative’s preferred relationship with Momentum allows full integration with Momentum’s suite of services. “The integrations, access to the most advanced technology and sharing of knowledge that will come from this partnership is going to truly empower operators to reach new heights and will be a vital key to success in today’s business landscape,” said Tara Kelley, Momentum senior vice president of White Label. Both Momentum and NISC will be spotlighting their services at [...]
Lake Saint Louis, Mo., July 18, 2018 — National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC), a leading provider of software solutions to utility and telecommunication companies, has long been a supporter of the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA). The IT cooperative continues to strengthen its presence in the region with the addition of Lebanon Utilities in Lebanon, Ind., and Lawrenceburg Municipal Utilities in Lawrenceburg, Ind. “IMPA serves as an energy partner to communities in Indiana and Ohio,” said Jasper Schneider, Vice President of Member & Industry for NISC. “We are excited to help serve this region by offering integrated software solutions that will not only benefit customers in Lebanon and Lawrenceburg but will also make their operations more streamlined and efficient.” Lebanon Utilities (LU) offers electric, sewer and water services to more than 8,800 customers in central Indiana. Additionally, the company manages and operates storm water and telecommunications facilities for the City of Lebanon. LU currently uses NISC’s automated bill printing services and is expanding their use of NISC solutions by implementing the fully integrated enterprise for billing, accounting and operations management. “We realized we needed a modern, robust, fully integrated platform to manage our business more efficiently,” said Sandra Morgan, CFO for LU. “NISC offers a suite of functionality that provides us a one-stop-shop for all our business process needs – including billing for all services, meter data management and an App for field service management. In addition, they offer award-winning support, so we know we will have a lasting, stable relationship.” Lawrenceburg Municipal Utilities (LMU) offers electric, water and waste water services to more than 3,400 businesses and residents in southeastern Indiana. LMU is also launching broadband services to meet their customers’ needs. LMU will [...]
