Global - English Search Media Center Contact Us SHARE HOME CLIENT STORIES Centrica Avanade supports Centrica’s 50% increase in trading volumes Business Situation Solution Results Related Stories CONTACT US Business Situation As companies increasingly transform themselves into digital businesses, their IT operations don’t merely become more ubiquitous - they become more crucial to business success. That is certainly the case for Centrica, an integrated, international energy company with major interests in energy production, supply, and storage throughout the UK, Ireland, and North America. Centrica EM&T’s trading platform was a case in point. Platform uptime was essential to capturing maximum revenue from trading operations. So was the speed of overnight batch runs, which had to be completed before traders could know their starting positions for the next day. But the trading platform didn’t perform at the level, and with the speed, that Centrica EM&T needed to meet its business goals. "IT used to be the bottleneck on anything that needed to get done. Since working with Avanade, we have a track record of meeting business needs. IT is now an asset that gives the business confidence to explore opportunities." Stuart Beeston Chief Operations Officer, Centrica Energy Marketing and Trading Solution To solve its technology issues, Centrica EM&T chose Avanade, founded by Microsoft and Accenture. Centrica EM&T engaged Avanade in 2013. By the end of 2014, the trading platform supported a 50 percent increase in trading volume, along with a corresponding increase in gross margins. Behind that business turnaround was an equally remarkable technology turnaround. Platform uptime is at 99.9 percent, in part as a result of reductions in the number of downtime incidents (by 50 percent) and in the average time to resolve those incidents (by 60 percent). Overnight batch-runs are now regularly completing in time for start of daily operations, when previously they were frequently over-running and without proper maintenance would regularly fail to meet business needs. Avanade put in place a team of 100 consultants, 20 deployed on application development, and 80 on a range of application maintenance functions, including preventative maintenance, second and third tier maintenance, environmental management, testing services, and database administration. About 30 percent of the Avanade consultants were located with Centrica EM&T’s own IT staff, where they could provide knowledge transfer to make their staff more effective. Results Research firm IDC estimates that the cumulative benefit of Avanade’s engagement to Centrica EM&T over five years will be substantial. Most of its gain will come from the additional business Centrica EM&T can capture as it increasingly becomes a digital workplace in which traders are more able to maximize their productivity, aided, rather than hindered, by the trading platform. 50% increase in trading volume 50% reduction in downtime incidents 60% reduction in time to resolve incidents Centrica Centrica - Application Managed Services Case Study Related Client Stories Solutions See the services we offer and the vision that informs them. View More Thinking Insights to help you do what you do better, faster and more profitably. View More About Avanade Providing innovative digital services, business solutions and design-led experiences for clients. View More Client Stories Real-world examples of the value our work brings to clients and their customers. View More Media Center Keep tabs on how and why we’re leading the marketplace. View More Next steps Learn more about the value our work brings to our clients and their customers. CONTACT US Avanade Solutions Technologies and Capabilities Client Stories Thinking Careers About Avanade Media Center Avanade Trust Center Awards and Recognition Learn more about how we can partner to help you realize results – and recognition. Follow Us Contact Us Global Headquarters 818 Stewart Street Suite 400 Seattle, WA 98101 Phone: +1 206 239 5600 Toll Free: +1 844 282 6233 Send us a Message All Locations By using this site, you agree that we can place cookies on your device. See our Cookie Policy for details. Site Map Privacy Policy Procurement Code of Business Ethics Terms of Use © 2017 Avanade Inc. All Rights Reserved.