Why Kraken is empowering utilities to serve their own tech needs

In the world of energy, the idea of “self-service” has traditionally been focussed on helping end-customers change a tariff (or rate), check their usage, or resolve an issue without calling their utility for help. But as digital tools evolve, a new kind of self-service is emerging: one aimed at utilities themselves.

Today, many utilities struggle to achieve their goals with unwieldy, disconnected, inflexible tech systems. As pressures mount, it’s becoming increasingly important to ensure that utilities can serve their own technological demands, configuring their tech as needed to develop new products, refine processes, and connect systems – without getting caught up in complicated coding tickets or needing to call on outside help.

Fortunately Kraken is here to lead the charge. Our tech experts have been putting a considerable amount of effort into building out Kraken to be an independently configurable operating system for utilities. By giving teams direct control of their data, focussing on open APIs, intuitive interfaces, and an array of versatile tools, Kraken now gives utilities the power to champion a rapidly changing industry, responding to challenges and innovating more quickly and easily than ever.

Rigid tech is holding utilities back

Outdated, cumbersome technology continues to be one of the biggest obstacles to innovation in the utilities sector. Many organisations are still operating on a tangled web of legacy systems spanning billing, metering, customer service and field operations. These platforms rarely talk to each other, leaving data fragmented across multiple formats and locations. As a result, even modest changes – like introducing a new rate or adjusting a collections workflow – can take weeks of specialist effort across several systems, followed by careful rework to ensure nothing breaks as it’s all stitched together. This isn’t just slow and expensive, it also wears people down. Talented teams lose faith when they can’t fix what’s broken or move ideas forward.

Empowering utilities to serve their own tech needs

Real transformation starts when utilities can bring everything together on a holistic, next-generation operating system. This opens up a world where utilities can easily shape their technology to suit their needs without worrying about bringing the house down around them. A single, seamlessly integrated system paves the way for the open APIs, intuitive interfaces, thoughtfully designed user experiences, and versatile tools that leading utilities need to serve their own needs. The agility and flexibility that this unlocks is vital for keeping great people inspired and championing genuine transformation across the energy system.

This open, empowering approach – supported by powerful tooling and accessible design – has never been more important. Even many so-called “modern” platforms still limit how much control utilities really have, restricting configuration options or access to their own data. When teams have a strong idea, whether it’s a tailored EV rate or a new customer rewards programme, they shouldn’t need to go back to a vendor to ask what’s possible, how long it will take, or how much it will cost. That dependency stifles agility, slows innovation, and erodes competitive advantage. To lead in a rapidly evolving industry, utilities need technology that lets them configure, experiment, and self-serve — on their own terms.

Configurable Kraken: a case in point

Built specifically to empower utilities, Kraken’s unified operating system gives teams the freedom to configure, test, and launch new ideas at speed. With open APIs and a single, consistent data model, utilities can safely design and deploy bespoke products and workflows in just a few clicks – without long development cycles, heavy custom code, or growing backlogs.Kraken’s purpose-built tools turn the platform into a genuine product lab. Teams can model, trial, and release new offerings in real time, adapting quickly as requirements evolve. Kraken Flows, for example, brings flexibility to process design, enabling utilities to map, test, and refine efficient processes and customer journeys, from collections and rate enrolment to incentives and rewards.With this level of configurability, utilities can experiment with new tariffs, onboard emerging smart devices, and manage increasingly complex customer needs without lengthy discovery phases, coding delays, or escalating costs. This autonomy shifts utilities from passive users of technology to active drivers of innovation across the energy system.

Utilities can unlock a true energy transformation

A fully integrated, configurable operating system gives utilities the foundation they need to connect every part of the energy value chain, from customer management and field operations to controlling consumer devices and grid coordination. With the barriers between systems removed and the right tools, utilities can innovate across the entire energy value chain for a much larger impact. For example, a single customer action, like updating EV charging behaviour, can inform grid operations in real time, while field teams can work more efficiently with a complete view of customer and network data, speeding up the deployment of low-carbon technologies.

This way, utilities can bring the benefits of open, unified tech to stakeholders across the energy system, enabling holistic actions and decisions that benefit everyone involved. This is how we shift away from today’s cumbersome energy system and towards a future that is responsive, adaptive, and increasingly autonomous — one where utilities can continuously configure, evolve, and innovate to keep pace with the growing demands of a changing energy landscape.