森卡能源

公司

一家融入未來的貿易公司

在可再生能源雄心和即時交易的交匯處，您會發現 Centrica Energy。作為歐洲最大的能源交易商和可再生能源資產管理公司之一，Centrica Energy 不僅僅是一家公司，更是歐洲大陸的權力經紀人。從輸送天然氣到管理 16.5 GW，其中 80% 是可再生能源產能，Centrica Energy 將生產商與市場聯繫起來，並推動可負擔性和可持續性。

簡而言之，Centrica Energy 使能源流動。傳統基礎設施的現代化也讓 Centrica 達到更高的境界。

這就是 Patrick Babic 的用武之地。作為高級交易基礎設施變革負責人，他是 Centrica Energy 技術轉型背後的架構師。作為策略師和經理，Patrick 確保支援 Centrica Energy 全球貿易業務的平台不僅有效，而且表現出色。

挑戰

當您的儲存空間讓您夜不能寐時

Centrica Energy 的內部部署環境開始顯現老化跡象。系統在過時硬體的重壓下不堪重負。該團隊面臨著許多企業 IT 領導者都熟悉的問題：伺服器過多、手動維護過多以及缺乏敏捷性。

Centrica Energy 一直處於邊緣，兼顧老化的硬體和迫在眉睫的停電威脅，同時還面臨交易和金融監管機構日益增長的合規要求。

我們更別忘了它的龐大數量：每天有 1.8 million 個資料檔案，混合了應用程式產生的 CSV 和使用者儲存的 Excel 電子表格。當您為歐洲超過 10 million 客戶提供支援時，基礎設施故障不僅會導致延遲，還會波及整個能源市場。

對於 Patrick 和他的小型精英團隊來說，保持可靠的環境就像在停電期間重新佈線發電站一樣。有些事情必須改變。

解決方案

從笨重到雲端原生

Centrica Energy 不需要另一個儲存系統，它需要一個可以消失在後台並讓業務大放異彩的基礎設施。這正是它在 Amazon FSx for NetApp^® ONTAP^® 中發現的，這是一項完全託管的儲存服務，將 ONTAP 軟體儲存智慧的最佳功能與 AWS 雲端相結合。FSx for ONTAP 由 AWS 提供支援，建立在 NetApp 值得信賴的 ONTAP 平台上，讓 Centrica Energy 在雲原生規模和熟悉的控制之間取得了完美平衡。

作為 20 年的NetApp合作夥伴，Centrica 已經意識到 ONTAP 可以提供可靠性和可擴充性。當 FSx for ONTAP 問世時，Patrick 知道這是最合適的選擇。

管理硬體、安排停機時間以進行升級或在修補週期中交叉手指的日子已經一去不復返了。FSx for ONTAP 提供了無縫、自動修補、永遠啟用的體驗，並具有跨 AWS 可用區的內建高可用度。將法蘭克福作為其指定的災難恢復網站，Centrica Energy 擁有了讓合規團隊高枕無憂的地理彈性。

在能源交易中，每一毫秒都很重要。這就是為什麼 Centrica Energy 還利用 NetApp^® FlexCache^® 使數據更接近行動的原因——在倫敦和哥本哈根等戰略位置快取檔案，以最大程度地減少延遲並最大限度地提高交易者的表現。

對 Patrick 和他的團隊來說，雲端移轉不僅僅是技術升級。這是一次營運上的解脫。

Results

What a “quiet run” looks like in energy trading?

For Babic, the best infrastructure is the kind nobody has to think about. A “quiet run” means the environment performs reliably in the background, giving his team more time to improve what's next.

And “what’s next” is where things get interesting.

That capacity matters as Centrica explores how data and AI can improve the way it operates. Miles sees AI helping Centrica anticipate demand, optimize energy trading, and uncover new opportunities.

Babic's team is already putting that potential to work at the operational level. It has developed an agentic AI capability that pulls together operational information from AWS, monitoring tools, IT service management platforms, and its NetApp environment.

During a recent priority incident, Babic used the tool to quickly determine whether storage was contributing to an application problem. The answer came fast: storage wasn’t the source. The information helped narrow the investigation and kept the team focused.

The Outcome

How does Centrica Energy protect critical trading data?

Centrica Energy operates as part of the UK's critical national infrastructure, making security and resilience business priorities. As Miles puts it, they can never be an afterthought.

Performance only matters if the data is there when traders need it. So resilience gets built in before disruption arrives, not after.

Centrica Energy builds that resilience into the data layer. NetApp SnapMirror replication technology copies data between AWS locations in London and Frankfurt to support disaster recovery, while NetApp SnapLock compliance software and Autonomous Ransomware Protection help strengthen protection for critical trading data.

Babic's team also regularly reviews configurations and tests recovery to make sure its protection strategy remains fit for purpose. “Data is precious,” he says. “You don't want to lose it.”

For Centrica Energy, resilience protects what the business depends on today while creating confidence to keep innovating.

What’s Next

Where Centrica Energy and NetApp are headed next

The quiet run doesn't mean standing still.

Centrica Energy is working toward bringing its remaining Denmark storage environment into AWS, potentially using its existing platform there as a cache through NetApp FlexCache technology. The approach could further centralize data while keeping it closer to the locations that need it.

Automation is another priority as the team looks to reduce manual work and prepare for expansion into new regions.

“When the business needs us, we need to be ready,” Babic says.

Miles sees that readiness in a broader context. The NetApp partnership has helped Centrica simplify its technology environment, modernize data management, and build a reliable, secure foundation for what comes next.

“Decisions driven by data, guided by intelligence, and enabled by technology that's built to adapt,” Miles says. “That's what we're building, not just for where the industry is today, but for where it's heading tomorrow.”