SAP on AWS Helps Origin Energy Embrace a Digital, Data Driven World

With activities that span exploration, production, power generation and retailing, Origin Energy Ltd (Origin) is one of Australia’s leading integrated energy companies. Their goal is to make energy smarter, easier, sustainable and more affordable for their customers.

The energy sector is undergoing far reaching change. The three Ds - Decentralisation, Decarbonisation and Digitisation - are affecting all areas of business. Power generation is more decentralised as consumers become producers through solar energy at home. Carbon intensive power stations are being phased out. At the same time, digitally empowered consumers not only expect more, they want to control when and how they use energy.

Origin had already gone a long way to meeting consumer demands by giving them digital tools. But as technology made meters, appliances and energy grids smarter, it knew digital interactions would grow exponentially.

All of these interactions would create an explosion of data. Managing this data would be critical, as Jan Prichard, General Manager of Customer Care, Origin, confirms: "It’s all about data and so the ability for us to continually have that data coming through and be able to use that and provide value back for our customers is fundamental to success for Origin."

Much of that success will depend on how Origin supports growing customer self-service. As Jon Briskin, Origin's Executive General Manager of Retail points out: "The most important thing in a new digital world is actually to make things simple for customers."

Customer management had been handled by an on premises SAP platform. However, Origin was already planning for a data driven future with its Cloud 2022 strategy. Shane Thatcher, Origin's Chief Information Officer explains: "Our Cloud 2022 strategy is really about exiting the traditional data centres. I think that’s critically important for the broader Origin enterprise strategy."

When it was time for a data centre refresh, Origin decided to put its strategy in motion by moving to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud.

Origin selected a range of AWS services for its SAP retail applications. Since the applications underpin transactions worth millions of dollars, system responsiveness and reliability were vital.

At the core were high performing compute and storage to handle multiple customer interactions via the Origin website and app.

Given the transaction intensive workloads, automatic load balancing to even out traffic flows was also chosen. As was a private AWS network to the cloud for high speed data throughput.

Because the SAP platform contained sensitive financial and personal data, security was paramount. Origin adopted AWS cloud security to protect its accounts and workloads, which it controls from one place.

Origin's SAP platform supports more than 4 million customers 24x7, so downtime was not an option when migrating to the cloud. Origin also had irreplaceable information on Oracle databases. Alla Krapivsky, Group Manager for Retail IT, says they had to "move 50 terabytes of data where you couldn’t lose a single byte."

Consequently, Origin adopted a phased approach to migration with AWS Professional Services and other migration partners. At each stage, it evaluated how SAP performed in the AWS cloud and with applications like banking, then finetuned accordingly.

When a last minute hitch occurred, it was quickly resolved. Says Krapivsky: "AWS were right there with us. They actually parachuted some additional expertise in, and within 48 hours the teams were able to triage the issue."

Moving the SAP platform to the AWS cloud has already delivered significant advantages. Crucially for a company that strives to put customers first, the cloud's power is making customer self-service easier and more rewarding.

Responsiveness to customers has also improved. Self-service has reduced the load on the call centre, while a 10 percent performance boost in the CRM module offers speedier access to information. Staff are now more productive and have more time to engage in richer customer conversations.

With data critical to operations, the ability to process it faster has also been welcomed. In fact, Origin reports at least a 30 percent improvement in batch run time for billing. Speed is matched by greater agility. Origin can now gear up compute resources to easily handle peaks in demand so customers aren't kept waiting. And just as easily gear them down.

Similarly, the flexibility of the cloud allows Origin to experiment with new initiatives in a risk-free way. These trials are critical to test the waters in a changing energy environment. Now it can be set up quickly with no impact on daily operations. Origin can also take advantage of new and evolving services that are already tested and integrated. it can try them and then discard them if they're not a good fit, which is almost impossible with on premises infrastructure.

Increased security is another advantage. The AWS cloud is a homogenous environment which is simpler to protect than diverse on premises infrastructure. Fewer security patches are needed and can be applied more frequently through automation so it's easier to stay up to date.

Moving to the cloud also helps IT evolve from supporting business to promoting business, says Thatcher: "I see IT as the significant business enabler…to help seek out new revenue opportunities, to be able to take cost out by having a better appreciation of the business models and drivers."

Origin also reports that moving from on-premises has saved roughly 50 percent in operating costs. The cost to serve per customer is also lower.

When looking for a cloud provider, Origin obviously factored in quality and scale of infrastructure, as well as the scope of services offered. However, three attributes made AWS the standout candidate.

Firstly, AWS' attitude earned praise. AWS took time to understand Origin's business drivers, then focused on solving problems. Moreover, it pointed Origin to other companies with the same issues to gain further insight.

Expertise was another incentive. AWS Professional Services not only brought a depth and breadth of knowledge, they provided access to the skills of a specialist partner network.

Innovation was also a key inducement. Origin can take advantage of cutting-edge services that are continually being expanded and improved. This was something only AWS offered, says Thatcher: "You know, we’ve not found anybody who innovates at the same pace."

Fresh from the success of the SAP migration, Origin is now preparing to move its ERP functions of finance, supply chain, procurement and asset management to the AWS cloud with SAP S/4HANA. It expects to gain similar performance, agility and cost-efficiency advantages when it does so.

Perhaps most importantly, moving to the AWS cloud positions Origin for a decentralised, digital and data driven future. Says Briskin: "Without the data and information, and the ability to process that quickly, we won’t be able to move to a world where we’re able to use things like demand management, virtual power plans, and be able to optimise those energy flows."

To learn more, visit SAP on AWS.