Innovative UK energy start-up goes around the world to find Gentrack

18 September 2009: Software house Gentrack today announced the successful go live of its ‘out of the box’ billing and CRM solution GentrackNOW! at OVO Energy, the UK’s first new energy retailer for over 3 years.

OVO Energy is a dynamic new electricity and gas retailer based in Gloucestershire, England, with an ambitious 5-year growth strategy based on delivering ‘unexpectedly great levels of customer service’. To support its growth, OVO required a low-cost Billing, CRM and Debt Management software platform that could be rapidly deployed and that is capable of growing with the company. After a worldwide search, GentrackNOW! from software company Gentrack was selected as the best option for delivering a specialist utility solution with minimal up-front capital investment – a challenge for many new entrants to the energy game.

“The hurdles for new players in the energy industry are never easy to overcome – especially in a mature market like the UK” says Gentrack CEO James Docking. “We launched GentrackNOW! to enable new energy retailers to put their best foot forward as they compete for market share against incumbent energy utilities. Having an off-the-shelf billing and CRM solution frees up much needed cash for investment in customer facing areas of the utility business such as call centre infrastructure and resources. Our goal is to enable companies like OVO Energy to quickly establish a regular revenue flow to supplement additional investment and effective collections processes based on proven industry practices.”

GentrackNOW! is an off-the-shelf ‘best of breed’ billing and customer management solution architected specifically for energy start-up utilities such as OVO Energy. The release of GentrackNOW! from Gentrack has removed the need for OVO Energy to invest significantly in the critical business and technical systems typically required to support business growth, opting instead for a ‘pay as you grow’ model with GentrackNOW!. The deployment of GentrackNOW! offers OVO Energy a low cost – low risk step towards Gentrack Velocity, a sophisticated billing and customer management solution suitable for utilities with over 50,000 customers and used in over 40 utilities worldwide.

“We are pleased to welcome the OVO Energy team to the Gentrack family and assure them of our commitment to delivering the tools and technology platform they require for rapid growth and success in the UK energy market.”