Efigas, a Colombian gas company, together with its technology provider, Open International, shared their success story at the 2021 Digital + Cloud for Utilities Summit, discussing how they have been able to face the operational challenges arising from the pandemic, while also strengthening their customer service and billing operations with Smartflex’s cloud solution.
On July 27, the webinar “EFIGAS – Empowering business growth with cloud” was held, where the natural gas company that distributes its services to over 600,000 customers in Colombia, shared the history of its technological evolution with its partner, Open International, a provider of solutions specialized in public services.
Throughout the discussion, Alzate shared how the company has been able to boost the growth of its business and the satisfaction of its users with the support of a CIS solution in the cloud. Alzate explained how having an adequate technological strategy, implemented 8 years ago, has leveraged the development of new business lines such as Brilla, a non-bank financing service that offers users an approved credit quota with which they can access a portfolio of products and services focused on improving their quality of life. This business model has allowed Efigas to increase their revenues and improve their innovation capabilities. He also shared how Efigas has managed to overcome disruptive events such as the pandemic. During the conference, Alzate said,
“To overcome the challenges brought by COVID-19, Efigas relied on technology. At that time, we took full advantage of the flexibility of Smartflex’s software to introduce new products and services and comply with regulations in record time. What is clear to us from this experience is that to support your billing processes and adapt quickly to market changes, choosing the right partner is not an option, it is an obligation. That’s the key to achieving business goals, and the reason we work with Open International.”
Hernando Parrott, the president of Open International in North America, complemented Eduardo’s presentation, sharing the benefits of having a billing and customer service solution within a cloud and the software requirements necessary to support business growth and operational stability.
About the presentation, Parrott commented,
“During this virtual session, we had the opportunity to discuss how an agile CIS solution gave Efigas the ability to accelerate its digital transformation and generate new lines of business, preserving the quality of its services, even during truly disruptive events, like the Covid-19 pandemic. We also demonstrated Open’s commitment to working with our customers so that they can overcome their biggest business challenges while meeting their customers’ expectations.”
Finally, Rick Cutter, Managing Partner of Cloud for Utilities, stated,
“It was a real pleasure to have Eduardo and Hernando be a part of Cloud for Utilities 2021. In this session we were able to learn how a utility company like Efigas managed to strengthen its operation and focus on its core business, thanks to a strategy that involves a cloud architecture infrastructure and a cloud enabled CIS solution, such as Smartflex, which enabled them to be agile to support new emerging customer needs”. We remind all utility attendees that if they missed the session, “Empower Growth with Cloud CIS + Cloud-Based Tech”, they can view it on our virtual platform on-demand until October”.
About Efigas
EFIGAS is a company that distributes natural gas in 63 towns in the coffee region or central zone of the country. It stands out for receiving the Icontec seal of sustainability for the implementation of the best sustainability practices, achieving a rating of 97% in the economic dimension and 93% in the social and environmental dimension. The company’s highest purpose is to transform lives for a lifetime.
