Sole Source Justification
1321 Upland Dr, Suite 8389 214.576.100
Houston, TX 77043 www.vertexone.net
OVERVIEW
VertexOne Software (VXsmart) is the leading cloud -based customer engagement and analytics platform for water utilities. With over 4 million meters under management across 39 states and two countries, VXsmart helps utilities engage with their customers at key moments to reduce service costs, protect resources, improve operational efficiency, and increase customer satisfaction.
VertexOne solutions are proven to reduce water consumption by 5% while improving customer satisfaction by 36% and tripling levels of engagement with customer conservation programs.
In addition to customer engagement, VXsmart combines data about customers, payments, meters, property records, weather, and communications to surface actionable insights and make the lives of water utility managers easier. Through our comprehensive Utility Analytics Dashboard, staff have access to Closed-Loop Leak Resolution, program management, segmentation reporting (including Irrigation Detection), and robust customer support & communications interfaces.
Improved water-use efficiency from VXsmart engagement programs reduces utility costs for marginal water supplies, electricity, and treatment chemicals. In addition, improved efficiency extends asset lifetimes and reduces future capital expenditures through downsized storage and treatment requirements.
VertexOne (formerly WaterSmart) was founded in 2009 as the first company in the U.S. to help water utilities use data analytics and behavioral science to better serve and engage their customers and has since been commercially proven over the past decade. VXsmart is currently in use by more than 190 municipal utilities throughout the United States and Canada. Our innovative, highly cost effective, and verified efficiency technology perfectly embodies how information can be used to drive rapid and persistent behavior change for improved water utility operations. WaterSmart was acquired by VertexOne, a respected utility software and services provider, in May 2020.
INDUSTRY RECOGNITION
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VXsmart Software has been recognized as a technology leader in the water industry and has been the recipient of the following industry awards:
• 2010 Imagine H2O Water Efficiency Prize
• 2011 GoingGreen Global 200 award
• 2012 Global CleanTech 100 Winner
• 2012 Artemis Top 50 WaterTech Award
• 2012 AlwaysOn - Going Green Silicon Valley Global 200 • 2013 South by Southwest Eco CleanWeb award
• 2013 Global Water Intelligence "Top 20 Most Viable Companies in the Water Industry" list • 2014 Global CleanTech 100's "Ones to Watch"
• 2015 Silicon Valley Water Conservation Awards
• 2015 BCorp Best for the Environment
• 2015 Sustainia 100
• 2015 Environmental Business Journal Achievement Award • 2016 GovTech 100
• 2016 WEF Technology Pioneer
• 2019 GovTech 100
• 2020 GovTech 100
• 2021 GovTech 100 (under VertexOne)
In addition, many of VertexOne’s utility partners have been independently recognized for the success of their VXsmart programs. Some of these awards include the following:
• 2014 Silicon Valley Water Conservation Award: City of Palo Alto, CA • 2018 Silicon Valley Water Conservation Award: City of Mountain View, CA • 2019 Silicon Valley Water Conservation Award: Town of Hillsborough, CA • Alliance for Water Efficiency G480 Leaderboard Silver Level: City of Bend, OR • Alliance for Water Efficiency G480 Leaderboard Platinum Level: City of Santa Cruz, CA • Alliance for Water Efficiency G480 Leaderboard Platinum Level: Irvine Ranch Water District, CA
• 2019 Sustainable City Award by League of Minnesota Cities: City of Shoreview, MN
SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION
Alerting and Resolution
Not only is VXsmart Software the primary innovator in customer engagement and education solutions, VXsmart is the only technology solution that offers a full -cycle leak identification, notification and resolution system. While other vendors may offer “leak alerts,” no other platform offers utility staff the ability to manage and automate the entire lifecycle of managing leaks.
VXsmart is also the only technology solution with a bill resolution system that identifies personalized and most likely driver(s) for a high bill for every billing cycle and helps a customer to understand their bill and take action without calling a service center.
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VXsmart is the only technology that incorporates all of the following approaches in its solution:
• Customer engagement systems for individual and group communication that are targeted, timely, and topical
• Automated leak alerting through personalized email, text, automated call, and outbound print notifications
• Leak Resolution flow available through the mobile and web accessible Customer Portal, including in the non-registered, logged out experience
• Leak Resolution feedback to utility staff through the Utility Dashboard • High Bill Resolution flow available through the mobile and web accessible Customer Portal • Patent-pending Irrigation Detection Algorithm that allows utility staff to detect likely timed irrigation AND non-compliance with watering restrictions (e.g., day(s) of the week) Conservation and Engagement
VXsmart is the only technology solution that has been independently proven to deliver verifiable results through a completely randomized control trial which eliminates self-selection bias inherent in opt-in programs. Using a rigorous scientific methodology to verify the outcomes of each program, VXsmart has consistently demonstrated improved customer satisfaction results and saving results that exceed every other water-use efficiency program offered throughout the industry.
While many vendors may claim the ability to offer customer engagement solutions, the deployment of a simple website or mobile application with customer consumption data is a far cry from a comprehensive engagement and behavioral change program that generates measurable water savings and engagement.
VXsmart is the only technology that incorporates all of the following approaches in its solution:
• Unique household profile based on water consumption, occupancy, lot size, bedrooms, bathrooms, historical rebate program participation, regional evapotranspiration data, and more
• A highly accurate water-use disaggregation model to estimate the volume of water used in different household functions (shower, toilet, appliances, irrigation, etc.) • A comprehensive recommendation library of over 150 water-saving actions, personalized for location, household type, and water utility need
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• The water industries’ only content personalization engine with over 200 million content customization combinations for messaging variables, customer segments, communication frequency, household efficiency lifecycle, and seasonal evapotranspiration factors.
SOLE SOURCE CUSTOMERS
As indicated above, VXsmart has partnered with over 190 water utilities throughout the United States and Canada. Many of these customers, after having performed extensive competitive solutions research, have chosen to work with VXsmart under a sole source agreement due to the lack of comparable cost-effective, low risk, and proven solutions in the marketplace.
A partial list of these customers includes:
• City of Acton, MA
• City of Burbank Water and Power, CA
• Fallbrook PUD, CA
• City of Oceanside, CA
• Glendale Water and Power, CA
• Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, CA
• City of Scottsdale, AZ
• Town of Oro Valley, AZ
• City of Brighton, CO
• Eagle River Water & Sanitation District, CO
• Town of Breckenridge, CO
• City of Odessa, TX
• Woodlands Water, TX
• Benbrook Water Authority, TX
• City of Liberty, MO
• Village of Oak Lawn, IL
• City of Ft. Myers, FL
• City of Belmont, NC
SUMMARY
VXsmart Software is not only an innovation leader in Customer Engagement, but also the stand- alone proven technology solution that provides water savings, greater customer engagement and satisfaction, and reduced operational expenses to water utilities throughout the United States and Canada.