INDUSTRY VIEWS FEATURE – SoftSmiths
The Industry Views Feature is a new feature that we will run here on CTRMBlog.com in which we invite the different CTRM vendors to answer some questions about their company, product and observations around the market in general. ALL the vendors have been invited to participate and we will post them more or less in the order we receive them back.
This Industry Views Feature – Hugo Stappers, Director of Sales & Marketing for SoftSmiths, Inc.
Please describe your company and product(s)?
SoftSmiths, Inc is a Houston based, privately held corporation and an industry pioneer of energy transaction management solutions and services for power and gas utilities, generators, transmission providers and Retail Electric Providers. SoftSmiths’ seamlessly integrated TMS platform helps asset-centric companies with a focus on physical transactions to automate their processes around forecasting, resource management & planning, position management & trading, scheduling, ISO/RTO communication, and accounting. Founded in 1997, SoftSmiths’ proven solutions and in-depth knowledge of the industry’s business practices allow our customers to sell, purchase, trade, and deliver energy in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
How do you see demand for CTRM software in your niche right now and what business issues on the user side seem to be driving that demand?
We see market participants being interested in taking advantage of the Software-as-a-Service delivery model to outsource standard business processes that are not unique or proprietary. For example users in ISO/RTO markets that are changing, such as ERCOT, see an opportunity to move to a more cost-effective solution for ISO bid/schedule submission and settlement. Similarly, SoftSmiths has been very successful in transitioning Retail Electric Providers – who are always under margin pressure – to on-line trade capture, position and forecasting application services.
Is increased regulation in the USA and the threat of regulation in Europe and elsewhere having any impact on demand and business requirements? If so, what in particular are users seeking?
Change typically offers opportunities. The discussions about financial regulations reform in the US Congress talks about standardizing or at least forcing a reporting element for complex structured bilateral deals for commodities, such as power and gas. The goal here is to achieve more transparency. We believe our BiTrade system could help meet these new compliance and regulatory standards as it provides comprehensive audit trail logs and automated deal confirmations.
SoftSmiths, BiTrade is a leading-edge online execution and delivery platform that allows users to create an individual private electronic market for each bilateral OTC transaction. SoftSmiths BiTrade could serve as a data repository where these highly structured, non-standard deals can be submitted and meet new emerging compliance requirements. BiTrade can be remotely hosted and accessed over a secure Internet connection or can be seamlessly integrated with participants’ internal CTRM systems.
What differentiating features or functions does your solution have that users and prospective users find compelling?
SoftSmiths is an industry leader in providing asset-centric companies with a focus on physical transactions all the necessary modules, from trade capture, to scheduling, E-Tagging, Transmission Reservation, and ISO Market communication, in a seamlessly integrated solution that support these complex operations. Users appreciate the processes behind the scenes that automatically format and submit bid/schedules to the ISO Market, create e-Tags, arrange for Transmission and in near real-time update their position.
Do you offer SaaS or hosted solutions currently?
SoftSmiths has been providing hosted solutions for many years, initially with its NERC compliant Electronic Tagging and Transmission offerings, and today most solutions are available through our Software-as-a-Service delivery model. We see that market participants recognize that SaaS allows them to outsource standard business processes that are not unique or proprietary versus having to implement a complete application in house. SoftSmiths’ SaaS delivery model, supported by our industry leading e-Link integration API, provides these market participants an automated, web-based environment that helps them to simplify implementation, accelerate time-to-market and gain ongoing processing efficiencies, while requiring minimal IT support. We have found ISO participants and Retail Electric Providers to be very interested in affordable and easy-to-use applications services.
About Hugo Stappers
Hugo Stappers is Director of Sales/Marketing at SoftSmiths, Inc. In this role, Mr. Stappers oversees and directs all sales, business development, sales operations, corporate marketing and public relations activity.
Starting his career in 1986 after military service in the Royal Netherlands Navy, Hugo held sales support positions with Oracle Corporation Europe. He then became Manager of the Customer Administration Group with Oracle Middle East, based in Dubai, UAE, where he built up the sales support operations infrastructure. He joined Texas Micro International in 1995, where he managed the Indirect Sales Channel. From 1996 to 1997, he was Regional Sales Manager and responsible for the business development and management of Asia, Middle East, Africa and selected European regions. From 1997, he headed Sales Support for Texas Micro, Inc, based in Houston, Texas. In 1999, after the merger with Radisys Corporation, he was appointed Director Sales Operation organizing worldwide sales support, and directing Latin American sales. Under his leadership, he realigned sales operations within 6 months after RadiSys’ acquisition of Texas Micro.
Hugo has served as a member of SoftSmiths, Inc Management Team since October 2001.
Mr. Stappers holds a Bachelor-level diploma from the Institute for Business Administration in the Netherlands, and had executive training from Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Management.
