The Cloud: liberating data for managing trading, treasury and risk

The energy industry is going through a transformation unlike any it has seen before. As margins continue to be squeezed, data holds the key to new revenue opportunities. The cloud plays a crucial role to play in unearthing fresh insights from data. On-premise software just can’t keep up with the needs and demand of today’s market.

Cloud tech grows in popularity

Openlink provides clients with dynamic and secure cloud solutions for trading, treasury and risk management functions. Openlink clients can identify data that brings speed to their transactions, as well as providing greater insight into risk as markets continue to become more volatile.

Across every sector, firms are adopting cloud-based platforms. If companies want to “peek around the corner” in rapidly changing global markets, they need systems that break down organizational silos and provide speedy access to real-time data. To do this effectively, they need a cloud environment.

A new direction for Uniper

Uniper, a German energy company, has realized unprecedented performance gains, cost reduction, and increased risk management over the last 15 years by partnering with Openlink.

Openlink is strengthening Uniper’s data-security environment and business value by coupling security expertise with speed and efficacy of the cloud energy trading platform, and this partnership has been integral to the digital transformation of Uniper’s energy business. 

However, transitioning to the cloud is not without its challenges. As more firms move towards cloud platforms, cybersecurity becomes a bigger risk. To mitigate the threat of these cyberattacks, companies need to understand the location, encryption, and segregation of data in their particular cloud platform.

Marco Scherer, the Director of Sales & Trading for IT at Uniper offers 3 pieces of advice for firms considering the transition. First, identify and develop an internal skill base for the cloud transformation. Second, create partnerships on both an operational and executional level. And third, take the time to build proper network designs, create resilient interfaces, and identify management.  

Here to stay

Transitioning to the cloud is a lot of work, but it’s well worth the investment. On-premise software may not yet be obsolete, but make no doubt about it–the cloud is the future of data management.

By design, Openlink’s data platform is an architecture that fits right into the cloud movement. In combining the flexibility of core software with the technical elasticity of the cloud, Openlink provides customers immediate, secure access to almost limitless computing power, enabling greater market understanding, speed, and evidence-based decision-making.