China's ENN Energy Teams with IBM on Cloud Computing Strategy

IBM has announced a cloud partnership with one of China’s top energy distributors. ENN Energy, a privately-owned clean energy distributor, will use IBM’s POWER7 server and a cloud-based IT environment to transform its infrastructure in preparation for cloud solutions and services.

ENN decided to work with IBM in an effort to enhance revenues, increase operational efficiencies, drive growth and completely transform its IT operations. The result has been an enhanced customer service experience and vast improvements in system response for the energy company.

"Through this agreement, we've not only improved our IT infrastructure's response to business demands but also greatly enhanced system efficiency," said Liu Jishen, CEO of ENN. "IBM's best practices as well as its strategic planning and implementation have not only helped ENN complete business transformation but also changed our mindset and management. The work we're doing with IBM has set the precedent for how we will work with future partners, which ensures we can successfully promote the adoption of clean energy through smart technologies."

ENN is benefitting from a number of efficiencies and has made IBM a long-term strategic partner for both IT and business development. Already, the waiting time for extracting natural gas reports and the sale of gas has been cut in half, and sales times at outlets have been cut from three to four minutes to 40 seconds. ENN applications of new IT resources have also been shortened from one month to one day, providing major benefits and efficiencies.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the energy sector has chosen a gradual approach to implementing cloud solutions, particularly in Europe. However, growth within the industry has been steadily increasing as organizations discover the benefits for managing business and mission-critical applications. More and more companies, like IBM, are developing cloud solutions geared specifically toward vertical market needs, which is also propelling adoption.

"Over the years, we've worked side by side to explore for ENN a suitable road to cloud, and we've learned a lot of deep industry insights and experiences from ENN," said Huang Qionghui, general manager of strategic sourcing service business, IBM Greater China.