MultiSpeak is ideally suited to supporting a strategic, SOA-based integration architecture or it can be realized in a tactical point-to-point approach with simple transport layer security. A bus architecture makes it easier for a single application uniformly to support services for a number of other software packages in place at a utility. Structuring the web services in this manner also helps to support a service oriented architecture (SOA). Figure 1 illustrates the MultiSpeak service bus.
As shown in the Figure, MultiSpeak supports a number of functions. Software vendors offer products that will contain one or more functions combined into applications. The following table indicates the coverage by function of MultiSpeak as contained in the most recent releases of Versions 3.0 and 4.x.
| Function |
Version 3.0, Build aa |
Version 4.x |
| Business Functions External to Distribution Management |
| Customer Billing (CB) |
X
|
X
|
| Customer Relationship Management (CRM) |
X
|
X
|
| End Device Receiving (EDR) |
X
|
Replaced by EDTR
|
| End Device Testing (EDT) |
X
|
Replaced by EDTR
|
| End Device Testing and Receiving (EDTR) |
Was EDR and EDT
|
X
|
| Finance and Accounting (FA) |
X
|
X
|
| Meter Data Management (MDM) |
X
|
X
|
| Payment Processing (PP) |
X
|
X
|
| Prepaid Metering (PPM) |
X
|
X
|
| Distribution Engineering, Planning, Construction, and GIS |
| Asset Management (AM) |
|
X
|
| Engineering Analysis (EA) |
X
|
X
|
| Field Design (Staking) |
Staking
|
Field Design
|
| Geographic Information Systems (GIS) |
X
|
X
|
| Inspection (INSP) |
|
X
|
| Dynamic GIS Viewer (DGV) |
X
|
Replaced by GV
|
| Static GIS Viewer (SGV) |
X
|
Replaced by GV
|
| GIS Viewer (GV) |
Was DGV and SGV
|
X
|
| Distribution Operations |
| Call Handling (CH) |
X
|
X
|
| Demand Response (DR) |
|
X
|
| Distribution Automation (DA) |
WAS DAD and DAC
|
X
|
| Distribution Automation Control (DAC) |
X
|
Replaced by DA
|
| Distribution Automation Data (DAD) |
X
|
Replaced by DA
|
| HAN Communications (HAN) |
|
X
|
| Load Management (LM) |
X
|
Included in DR
|
| Outage Detection (OD) |
X
|
X
|
| Outage Management (OA) |
X
|
X
|
| Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) |
X
|
X
|
| Switching Orders (SWO) |
|
X
|
| Vehicle Location (AVL) |
Partially supported in DGV
|
X
|
| Distribution System Monitoring |
| Connect/Disconnect (CD) |
X
|
X
|
| Load Profile (LP) |
X
|
Included in MR
|
| Meter Reading (MR) |
X
|
X
|
| Work Management |
| Work Task Generator (WTG) |
|
X
|
| Work Task Originator (WTO) |
|
X
|
| Work Task Performer (WTP) |
|
X
|
| Work Task Scheduler (WTS) |
|
X
|
| Work Task Viewer (WTV) |
|
X
|