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With the Arvato Systems Energy Portfolio (AEP), the IT service provider covers the entire energy industry process chain. This also includes Smart Meter Gateway Administration (SMGWA) as an anchor process for the secure digitalization of the energy transition. As part of this strategic decision, the IT service provider is repositioning itself in terms of technology and personnel in the area of GWA software.

From practice for practice

Arvato Systems sees good market opportunities for the new AEP.GWA product. It has been developed from practical experience for practical use by taking proven components from the old MBSE solution, adding new features and transferring them to a new architecture. Product Business Owner Michael Kuhrs refers, for example, to the new HTML 5-based interface technology, which enables a high degree of process transparency and automation. In particular, the all-important monitoring in gateway administration will set new standards, and the new software will enable much faster scaling. On the other hand, Arvato Systems will be able to offer the entire GWA service from a single source via Software-as-a-Service. “This simplifies the processes and fundamentally increases the speed of response,” says Kuhrs.

Lots of experience in cloud migration

Another future plus point for Arvato Systems is its experience with migration projects. “There is probably no other provider on the market that has as much expertise and know-how in this area as we do,” says Michael Kuhrs. “We now want to use this knowledge to the benefit of future new customers. GWA migration will be a standard process in future. This will certainly not prevent a change of GWA service provider.”

Dynamic Market offers opportunities

Arvato Systems is convinced that the GWA market will continue to move – and that this will result in new opportunities. On the one hand, there will always be metering point operators who are dissatisfied with their service provider and are looking for an alternative. On the other hand, many companies are forced by law to put the GWA service out to tender again and again. And thirdly, it could not be in the interests of the industry if an oligopoly of very few providers were to emerge in the GWA market. “We are entering the competition and want to be there with our new product when the opportunity arises,” says Dr. André Hoffmann.

Added value from neighboring products

The fact that Arvato Systems also has expertise in other areas and can therefore add great value means that it can further strengthen its own competitive position in the GWA environment. For example, Arvato Systems has extensive know-how in the area of SAP, which is important for linking the GWA software with the backend. As a platform provider with a broad, modular solution portfolio, Arvato Systems is also one of the few providers on the market that can provide end-to-end processes from a single source. Arvato System is also one of the leading providers in the field of IT infrastructure services and serves well-known energy customers, among others.

Arvato Systems will be showcasing all this and much more (e.g. AS4, API web service, SAP S/4HANA Utilities, CRM and ESG reporting solutions) at E-world (February 11-13, 2025 in Essen, Hall 3, booth 3C115) – and will of course also be providing initial insights into the new GWA solution.