Service · Architecture

Enterprise architecture for energy utilities: the target picture that holds the programmes together

IS-U replacement, IT/OT convergence, data architecture and Clean Core in one target picture. Business signs it, IT builds to it, vendors are measured against it.

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Architecture workshop at a utility: two colleagues in front of a wall-wide plotter print of the system landscape

The end of SAP IS-U maintenance in 2027, smart meter back ends, grid control systems and new data obligations meet grown system landscapes. innobu designs the target architecture, places the programmes in it and holds the architecture governance so that every project pays into the same picture.

Summary

Enterprise architecture for energy utilities is the discipline that brings business processes, applications, data and technology of an energy utility into one target picture and measures every project against it. innobu delivers the target picture, the capability map, the transition plan for the IS-U replacement and the governance, vendor-independent and with an architect who co-leads the programmes.

Who this service is for

  • Head of IT and digitalisationYou have to decide by 2027 how to proceed with IS-U and need a target picture that is more than a vendor presentation.
  • Managing directorYou want to know which projects pay into the same picture and which investments block each other.
  • Programme lead grid and meteringSmart meter back end, grid control, portals and MaKo systems should fit together, not grow side by side.
  • International vendors and investorsYou need to understand which systems German utilities run, which market roles they hold and where your product fits.

Service

What you get

IT target picture and transition plan

The applications as they run today, the target architecture 2030 and the path in between: which systems stay, which go, in which order.

Capability map

Which capabilities exist, where the gaps are and who owns them, on one map that business and IT read the same way. Vendors get measured against it.

IS-U replacement without vendor bias

Options S/4HANA Utilities, Clean Core, alternative platforms and transition operation, each assessed for what it costs, what can go wrong and what it blocks in rollout and MaKo.

IT/OT and data architecture

Grid control, smart meter gateway administration, data spaces and master data in one picture, including the requirements from NIS2 and §5c EnWG.

Architecture governance in operation

Architecture board, decision rules and review criteria that measure new projects against the target picture before budgets flow.

Process

How it works

Four stages, a tangible result after each.

  1. As-is assessment

    We capture applications, interfaces, data flows and contracts, assess condition and risk and lay them out as a map.

  2. Target picture and options

    We design the target architecture and put a price, a risk and a date on every option, in a form management can decide on.

  3. Transition plan and programmes

    The target picture becomes a sequence of programmes with milestones. The dependencies on rollout and MaKo are in it from the start.

  4. Governance and support

    We set up the architecture board and support the programmes so that vendors and teams stay within the target picture.

Evidence

Backed by

Before our programme work in the energy industry, we ran a manufacturer of compressed air and gas measurement technology, around 30 people directly and roughly 100 indirectly, and co-founded its Scandinavian subsidiary. Consumption, flow, dew point and leakage on the industrial demand side: metering is not new territory for innobu. For scale and cover there is a curated partner network, softstack for development, Horizonte for strategy and organisation, SmartOptimo for metering and rollout. Full background.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Enterprise architecture brings business processes, applications, data and technology into one target picture and measures every project against it. At an energy utility this covers billing and market communication, smart meter back ends, grid control, portals and data platforms.

Mainstream maintenance for SAP ECC and IS-U ends on 31 December 2027; extended maintenance until 2030 costs a surcharge. Migrations to S/4HANA Utilities take 18 to 36 months, so the decision on path and sequence has to be made in 2026.

No. innobu does not implement and has no contracts with SAP, Schleupen, Wilken or other vendors. The target picture assesses options by cost, risk and fit with your programmes.

TOGAF as framework, ArchiMate as notation, capability maps and transition plans as working tools, LeanIX or comparable repositories where the customer has them. The framework is published openly on innobu.com.

Smart meter back end, gateway administration, MaKo formats and portals use the same master data and interfaces. The target picture defines which system owns which data so that one release does not block the next programme.

As-is assessment and target picture with option assessment usually take eight to twelve weeks. Transition plan and governance follow within the programmes.

Let's collaborate

Next step

Facing the IS-U decision or want to bring the programmes into one picture? In a first conversation we look at what you run today and name the first architecture decisions.

Book an implementation check More about innobu

Energy and measurement technology since 2010 · innobu GmbH since 2014 · Based in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Whoever pitches also delivers: whoever leads the first call stays your contact right through to the steering committee, with established partners in the project. Direct: info@innobu.com