Seaglass Cloud Technology, an end-to-end, software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider to the energy sector, has developed a scalable and future-proof, full-service customer management system for Omni Energy, helping it to provide a responsive and highly-efficient service to domestic pay-as-you-go (PAYG) energy customers.
Omni Energy specialises in the PAYG market, where consumers top up energy via Omni’s app, online portal or physical card or key – a market it believes is under-served within the energy supply industry.
“These customers are perceived as too complex, and do not get offered forward-thinking products or account management,” says Gary Bartlett, CEO at Omni Energy. “Our sole purpose is to make pre-payment better.”
Seaglass’ end-to-end, cloud-based solution includes automated SaaS systems that streamline customer risk calculations, data migration, onboarding, supplier switching, customer communications and billing.
As a cloud-native business, the Seaglass system is innately configurable and includes system updates resulting from regulatory changes as part of its standard offering. It is helping Omni Energy, for example, in offering its customers faster and more reliable switching in line with Ofgem’s Switching Programme.
Charlie Hewson, Omni’s Operations Director, says the Seaglass system allows them to more efficiently serve customers: “When a customer calls us, all of their details are at our fingertips – their meter readings, when they last topped up, how much energy they used, etc. That enables us to deliver the correct action for our customers – at the right time.
“For all honest consumers it provides the ‘wow’ factor in customer service, and for anyone trying to game the system – our access to live data makes it much more difficult.”
Omni Energy opted for the Seaglass system following a demonstration of its capabilities: “It was clear that it was in a league of its own,” adds Gary. “Because it is scalable and future-proof in its nature, it will grow as we grow – enabling us to easily add new services for more customers. Whereas other systems have just a three-year lifecycle before the need to upgrade to accommodate industry changes such as the coming mandatory half hourly settlement, with Seaglass the functionality is already built in.”
Gary concludes that the system ticks the required boxes: “Its forecasting and risk management capabilities also set it apart, enabling us to intelligently predict energy usage and interact with the market.
Alex Troth, Commercial Director at Seaglass Cloud Technology, says the business builds systems in partnership with its customers: “Ultimately it has been built to help Omni Energy deliver the same or better service to PAYG customers that other energy consumers enjoy. At the same time being easy to implement, reducing the cost to serve and enabling Omni to take on more customers while managing the risk of doing so.”