The customer, a cloud-native software provider based in the UK, develops platforms that enable energy retailers to efficiently manage their customers. Their software platform powers digital-first energy supply businesses, managing everything from quotes to billing in real time. The customer sought to enhance their platform by developing an in-house pricing engine that could outperform existing solutions on the market. To do this, they needed a solution that was highly scalable, traceable, and capable of handling complex energy pricing calculations efficiently.
The customer needed to develop a high-performance, scalable pricing engine as part of their SaaS portfolio to outperform the slow and costly commercial options available. UK energy pricing is complex, involving multiple stakeholders like transmission, distribution, and balancing, all of which must be factored into a customer’s bill. While residential energy costs are simplified into a unit rate, B2B customers face numerous options to manage risks and lower costs, resulting in many combinations of pricing calculations.
The traditional method of using SQL Server databases to handle these complex calculations was slow, error-prone, and difficult to maintain. The customer needed a solution capable of managing millions of calculations quickly, while also being fully traceable and auditable. As their customer base grew, scalability became increasingly important. The customer required an innovative, cloud-native pricing engine to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and the ability to scale for future growth.
To meet the customer’s needs for scalability, speed, and traceability, D55 designed a serverless solution leveraging AWS services. The pricing engine was re-engineered using AWS Lambda, enabling the system to handle the fluctuating workloads typical in energy pricing. This serverless model allows for millions of pricing calculations to be run on demand, delivering a tariff to customers in real-time while eliminating unnecessary costs during periods of inactivity.
Key components of the solution included:
By moving to a serverless architecture, the customer's pricing engine is now faster, more reliable, and capable of handling the complex demands of B2B and residential energy billing.
With their new AWS-powered pricing engine, the customer is now equipped to handle the growing demands of the energy sector with speed and accuracy. Their platform is positioned to scale effortlessly, enabling them to offer innovative pricing options to customers while maintaining full transparency and traceability. This solution will continue to evolve, allowing the customer to stay ahead of market trends and continue driving digital transformation in the energy sector.
