Expanding Business Means Expanding to Cloud

Customer: Optima Energy Systems

Industry: Utilities

Solution: Consultancy to selection of Microsoft Azure; Management of Microsoft SPLA

As their platform increased in popularity, Optima was soon collecting data from 385,000 meter points every single day. The amount of data the business was processing meant its existing data center capacity could not effectively handle the increased workload.

Deciding to pursue a policy of business-wide digital transformation, Optima took the decision to migrate its platform to Microsoft Azure. By reducing the burden of managing physical infrastructure, Optima would be able to concentrate on what it does best – pulling actionable insight from energy consumption data for its customers.

As Optima’s platform would be accessed by customers on Azure, it needed to select and manage a Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) to remain compliant. There were a number of agreements to choose from, and this is where a trusted partner, such as SoftwareONE, was invaluable; helping not only in the initial license selection, but consulting on an ongoing basis as Azure consumption and user numbers fluctuate.

SoftwareONE helped the team understand the requirements of Azure, so Optima could configure its in-house monitoring tool to ensure its maximized its return on investment.

• A minimization of the cost of running, maintaining and managing servers within a data centre.
• Optima could create a reliable budget plan based on actual figures, and minimize the unbudgeted costs that are common with cloud projects.
• By defining budget parameters, they avoid unplanned costs, and also receive email notifications when approaching thresholds – spending is tracked in real-time.
• The insight gathered from the platform has also provided a trend line, which enables reliable planning for future growth.