Today it may be hard to imagine a world without on-demand, highly personalised media entertainment, or video conference streaming that has redefined the very fabric of how we work and live. Similarly in online retail, same-day or sometimes same-hour delivery is increasingly becoming the norm as brands have seen explosive growth in the sector over the last decade. If we look under the hood across companies as diverse as Netflix, Zoom, Ocado and Amazon, one cross industry consistency emerges.
They all use cloud-based ‘microservices architecture’ which enables hyper scalability and blisteringly-fast product delivery, revolutionising how consumers interact with technology. Supercharged by breakthroughs in AI and machine learning, this next-generation software is unlocking a new paradigm in energy, too.
Real-time insights empower consumers to track their energy usage, understand their costs and be provided with deeply personalised cleantech solutions which are a win-win-win for customers, the grid and the planet. By analysing minute-by-minute consumption patterns, combined with billions of data points from across the energy ecosystem, technological advancements are putting customers at the centre of a smarter, more sustainable energy system so no one is left behind.
That’s why I’m delighted to be joining Kaluza – an advanced platform for energy transformation which is leading this paradigm shift in energy from the front. The Kaluza platform dramatically reduces operational costs, boosts customer trust and loyalty and enables energy utilities to build, launch and scale smart energy tariffs and products across EVs, solar, and heat.
In my new role as Chief Commercial Officer, I’ll be expanding the business’ commercial team which has already made great strides in strategic markets from the UK to Australia. Before my banking and Fintech days, I was Sales and Marketing Director for EDF Energy and I can not think of a better time to return to the energy sector.
Learning from Fintech
Having worked in the highly-regulated finance space for nearly 20 years, I know the challenges for a critical service industry – central to everyday life – to adopt new technology. And it’s not that there’s a lack of aspiration or willingness but the perceived complexity of the road ahead and, in many cases, the ‘unknown unknowns’ can be sufficiently overwhelming that it keeps to the status quo. But there comes a point when standing still becomes riskier than change.
We reached that moment in financial services when customers adopted en masse the benefits of banking on mobile devices and the underlying systems were simply not fit for purpose to cope with everyone banking online in real time. We’re at the same crossroads in energy now. Because it’s not just energy bills we’re talking about here, as important as they are, it’s the future of our planet and you don’t have to be a climate scientist to know that we’re running out of time.
The energy retail dilemma
Most of today’s energy companies are underpinned by tech that was never built for the data-rich, dynamic and customer-centric system of the future. Their applications are outdated, expensive to run, inflexible and worst of all, result in poor customer service. So despite new solar and wind farms springing up, and EV and battery smart charging capabilities breaking through, energy companies are too busy grappling with their internal systems to unlock the emerging value.
There’s therefore an immediate opportunity for superior software platforms like Kaluza to both manage and simplify retail operations so energy companies can focus on diversifying their offerings, delighting modern customers and decarbonising the planet.
A familiar energy
I was privileged to play a strategic role in taking Thought Machine from seed to unicorn status as its software digitally transformed some of the world’s leading banks across Europe, Asia and the US. It was a rocketing growth story fueled by passionate people who were totally bought into the mission. I have a strong sense that Kaluza is on the same trajectory.
And I’m not alone. In June, Kaluza announced both a licensing agreement and a $100million investment by Australian energy giant AGL and shortly after launched a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation – expanding the platform for energy companies and automakers in Japan. Financial backing from clients, and such illustrious household names, is a huge testament to the uniqueness and power of Kaluza’s technology and approach. I look forward to playing my part in maximising its impact on a truly global scale.
Here’s to reimagining the future of energy!
