Written by: Camille Siegel – Principal Marketing Content Manager at Axway
What does a utility company in the Netherlands like Kenter do when its B2B integration platform is nearing the end because of EU regulations? They teamed with Axway to move B2B integration to the cloud to meet the new challenges.
Kenter — letting energy work for the Netherlands
Kenter plays a prominent role in the utility arena. They deliver gas and electricity metering services and supply electrical transmission infrastructure to customers and businesses year-round.
Metering data is necessary for other stakeholders. It gives power companies the ability to bill on time and balance electricity and gas grids.
Previously, Kenter was part of Liander. The B2Bi solution was hosted at the on-premises data center of Alliander IT, where they trusted B2Bi from Axway to join its metering systems with the central TenneT hub.
Yet, EU (European Union) regulations caused the two companies to split, and new challenges needed to be met.
Challenges
Kenter needed to get a new, reliable B2B integration platform to distribute its metering data readings to stakeholders before 10 a.m. This was no small feat, but Axway B2B Integration met the challenge by moving to B2Bi delivered as a managed service in the Axway cloud.
Moving to the cloud
By selecting an all-encompassing solution, the company could meet stringent SLAs around daily message delivery. This eliminated the cost factor of investing in new on-premises infrastructures.
Additionally, there was no need to allocate resources to monitor the platform. Axway B2B Integration in the cloud also raised the availability for necessary B2B communications to 99.9 percent — a staggering amount.
“We considered a number of different approaches to B2B integration, including building our own platform from scratch,” recalls Meijer. “Of all the vendors we considered, we were most impressed with the Axway offering. Our many years of positive experience with B2Bi made us confident that the platform could deliver the high levels of security and availability that all our data-sharing use cases demand. We also appreciated the ability to tailor the B2Bi offering more closely to our needs, a possibility created by our newfound independence from Alliander IT.
SLAs have to be met
Metering data is a major portion of the energy component and stringent service-level agreements (SLAs) have to be met. Kenter required a sound solution to comply or face losing customers without on-time delivery.
“Around 30 different industry partners rely on the metering data we collect from thousands of businesses across the Netherlands. By 10 a.m. every day, we must send this data to a central hub managed by TenneT, our energy transmission system operator, which then distributes the data to our partners.” Bernard Meijer, Product Specialist — Data at Kenter
Another factor: They needed Fast turnaround times to move the platform away from the on-premises data center. With only six months to move to the cloud, Axway was up for the challenge — and the time crunch.
“The combination of an on-site Axway consultant who knew our business inside-out and near- and off-shore resources from Axway Professional Services contributed to a smooth and straightforward migration, and we were very satisfied with the outcome.”
Tailored offering
With independence from Alliander IT a reality, Axway provided Kenter with the ability to tailor the B2Bi offering more closely to its needs.
“We saw that moving to a managed service would enable us to meet our SLAs without assigning dedicated resources to look after the platform — a crucial capability for a newly independent company with only around 100 employees at the beginning. Axway performed very well in this area, and we were very pleased with the cost-efficiency of B2Bi in the Axway cloud.”
Meeting a tight deadline
With a team of Axway experts, Kenter transferred its B2Bi platform from the on-premises data center to the Axway cloud. The result? Delivery is secure, reliable, on time — and on budget.
The need for quick data delivery is a reality in today’s digital age. What could be better than a service that supports the latest regulatory demands, cloud, on-premises deployment options — and cost savings to boot? The answer: Axway B2B Integration in the cloud.
Read the case study to learn more about how Kenter energized results and relationships with B2B integration in the cloud.
Contact
If you are interested to know more, please connect with Pieter Dekker at pdekker@axway.com
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