Logo preload
closeLogo
Infographic

How vegetation management software helps utilities reduce risk and prevent outages

View the infographic

Vegetation management software helps utilities move beyond outdated, cycle-based trimming by integrating GIS with real-time field data. This approach improves accuracy, reduces outages, and enhances decision-making by enabling risk-based, data-driven vegetation control strategies.

Vegetation Management Software Key Insights:

  • Static maps aren’t enough: Traditional GIS maps lack real-time updates, causing mismatches between planned and actual conditions.
  • Cycle-based trimming is inefficient: Trees grow at different rates, so scheduled trimming wastes resources and may miss real risks.
  • Field-connected software improves accuracy: Real-time data from crews updates GIS instantly, enabling smarter risk prioritization.
  • Advanced tools boost efficiency: Integration of GPS, drones, and satellite imagery streamlines inspections and supports proactive management.

Outcome: Fewer outages, better ROI: Accurate data allows utilities to focus resources effectively, reducing disruptions and operational waste.


Utilities spend billions on vegetation management, yet trees still cause a significant number of power outages every year. The problem isn’t awareness—it’s outdated data.

GIS maps help utilities visualize risk zones, but static maps alone don’t keep up with changing conditions. Vegetation keeps growing, weather accelerates risks, and by the time crews arrive, the landscape may look nothing like what was planned.

Vegetation management software fills that gap by combining GIS with real-world field data, ensuring teams have accurate, up-to-date information before making decisions.

Many utility companies still rely on cycle-based trimming, cutting vegetation on a set schedule. The problem? Trees do not grow at the same rate, and trimming everything equally wastes time and resources.

Meanwhile, real hazards can go unnoticed until they cause an outage. Without field data feeding into GIS, utilities are left making decisions based on outdated assumptions instead of real conditions.

Vegetation management software connects field teams directly to GIS, eliminating delays and keeping maps accurate.

Crews can document vegetation risks in real time, track growth patterns, and sync updates instantly. Instead of relying on a fixed schedule, utilities can prioritize risk-based trimming—focusing resources on the areas that actually need attention.

Managing Vegetation and Tree Risk Assessment Strategies

Managing vegetation and assessing tree risk are crucial components of maintaining the integrity and reliability of utility infrastructure and services. Advanced vegetation management program strategies leverage cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, satellite imagery, and GIS data to provide a comprehensive understanding of vegetation encroachment and potential hazards. 

By analyzing complex geospatial and time-based datasets, these solutions help identify high-risk circuits or corridors that require immediate attention. Customized dashboards and scoring systems allow stakeholders to prioritize maintenance operations, ensuring that tree pruning and removal are performed efficiently to mitigate risks. 

The integration of real-time data and predictive analytics further enhances decision-making, enabling proactive asset management strategies that minimize disruptions and reduce costs associated with manual inspections. Through these innovative approaches, utilities can safeguard their infrastructure while promoting sustainable vegetation management practices.

Vegetation Management Software: Optimize Data, Prevent Outages

The right approach to vegetation management doesn’t just map infrastructure. It tracks the reality on the ground and ensures every decision is backed by real-world data. With vegetation management software, utilities can:

  • Pinpoint high-risk areas instead of scanning miles of infrastructure manually
  • Track vegetation growth over time and move beyond inefficient cycle-based trimming
  • Sync real-time field data to GIS, keeping maps up to date and reducing guesswork
  • Eliminate manual reporting, cutting out slow paperwork and data entry errors
  • Use GPS, drones, and satellite data to improve inspections and streamline fieldwork

When vegetation risks are mapped and managed with accurate field data, utilities reduce outages, avoid wasted work, and operate more efficiently.

This infographic breaks down the problems with outdated vegetation management practices and shows how a field-connected approach improves accuracy, reduces risks, and keeps operations running smoothly.

Download the infographic to see how utilities are using vegetation management software to trim risk, not just trees.

View the infographic
2025 Utility Vegetation Management software feature