Plan your next two years of operations software without a rip-and-replace.

Many co-ops and public power utilities are setting 2027 budgets now, with wildfire plans, storm reporting and aging systems all competing for the same dollars. When the operations team asks for better tools for outage work, the conversation often jumps straight to replacing the outage management system. That is rarely the right first move.

Most utilities did not choose their systems all at once. The CIS, the AMI head-end, the OMS, SCADA and GIS each have their own contracts, data and experts. A better question for the next 12 to 24 months is how a new tool can sit alongside what already works, read from it safely, and earn the right to do more. Two families of standards make that possible: MultiSpeak and IEC CIM.

MultiSpeak in plain terms

MultiSpeak is an interoperability specification developed with NRECA for exchanging data between the software applications distribution utilities run. In plain terms, it gives each kind of system an agreed vocabulary and set of messages, so an OMS can ask a meter system whether a meter has power, or a GIS can pass network connectivity to an outage application, without a custom interface for every pair of products. It remains an active topic for co-ops in 2026: NRECA's February 2026 business and technology update listed a preconference session on MultiSpeak integration, analytics and risk reduction ¹.

Three versions are common in the field today: MultiSpeak 3.0, 4.1 and 5. Different products adopted different versions at different times, so many utilities run a mix. That matters in practice: two systems that both "speak MultiSpeak" may not speak the same version, and the version in use affects which messages are available and how each interface is secured. Before any new project, it is worth listing which version each existing interface uses.

IEC CIM in plain terms

The Common Information Model, or CIM, is a family of International Electrotechnical Commission standards that describe utility data and how it relates: equipment, network connectivity, customers, work and the messages exchanged between systems. The part most relevant to distribution operations is IEC 61968. The CIM Users Group, a not-for-profit organization of utilities, consultants and suppliers that promotes the use and understanding of the IEC CIM standards, framed its April 2026 meeting around moving beyond defining the model to integrating, extending and applying it in practical ways ².

MultiSpeak and CIM overlap but are not the same. MultiSpeak grew up around distribution utilities and co-ops and defines specific messages and transport. CIM is broader and more abstract, and leaves more of the implementation to the project. Translating between them is possible but takes care. A vendor that works with both should be able to tell you which it uses for each interface, and why.

How an operations layer sits alongside existing systems

An operations layer is software that coordinates the work around an outage, such as dispatch, crew briefings, switching, field logs, approvals and reporting, without taking over the systems of record. In a well-designed arrangement:

• The CIS remains the source of truth for members and accounts.
• AMI continues to report meter events, including outage and restoration signals.
• SCADA continues to monitor and control field devices under existing procedures. The operations layer may read events, but it does not operate equipment.
• GIS remains the source of network connectivity and asset location.
• The OMS keeps running outage prediction and tracking during a parallel period.

The operations layer subscribes to the events it needs, links them to a single incident record, and adds the work that today happens on paper, radio and spreadsheets. Writing back to other systems comes later, through agreed interfaces, once the utility is satisfied with what the layer does with read-only data.

What a contained, read-only pilot looks like

A contained pilot limits risk while producing evidence the utility can judge for itself. If you are planning one for 2027, expect it to include:

• A small scope. One district or operating area, a small number of crews and a dispatcher, rather than the whole system.
• Read-only access first. The pilot reads from existing systems and writes to none of them. If it misbehaves, nothing in production changes.
• Historical data as a baseline. Loading a past storm season lets the utility compare the new tool's view of real events with what the current process recorded.
• Agreed measures before day one. Decide in advance what will be compared, such as time from first report to crew assignment or completeness of the restoration record, and how.
• Security and safety review up front. Network access, identity, data handling and any effect on switching procedures are reviewed before connection, not after.
• A defined exit. If the pilot does not show value, access is removed and the utility keeps its data.

Only after that stage should two-way integration, single sign-on and live parallel operation be considered. An incumbent system should be retired only once a parallel period has shown the new process is at least equivalent.

A practical timing note: a read-only pilot that starts in the off-season gives operations staff time to learn it before storms arrive, and lets the utility decide on the next phase with a full season of comparison in hand.

What to ask any vendor

Whichever products you are considering, these questions tend to separate clear answers from vague ones:

1. Which MultiSpeak versions and which parts of IEC CIM do you work with, interface by interface?
2. Which of our specific products have you integrated with before, and can we see what was tested between those pairs of products?
3. What happens when our systems use different MultiSpeak versions, or when one of our vendors upgrades?
4. How is each interface secured, particularly older interfaces that predate current security features?
5. Will the pilot be read-only, and exactly what credentials and network access does it need?
6. Will our incumbent vendors charge for access to their interfaces, and who handles that conversation?
7. Where is our data stored, who can see it, and how do we get all of it back if we stop?
8. Which of these commitments will you put in the contract?

Where GridSteward fits

Amplyra GridSteward is designed as an operations layer. It works with MultiSpeak 3.0, 4.1 and 5 and with IEC 61968 CIM for outage events, connects to the billing, meter, SCADA, phone and GIS systems a utility already runs, and confirms each connection with your systems during the pilot. Single sign-on through your identity provider is set up as part of each utility's integration plan. A GridSteward pilot starts read-only in one district with two crews and a dispatcher, loads a storm season of history and compares it with your current OMS process, before any two-way integration. Actual schedules are set with each utility's integration, security and safety review.

To walk through how that would look against your own systems, Book a guided tour.

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