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Centrica, Direct Energy Parent, Acquires Assets Of Big Data Tech Company Rokitt

Positions Company To Respond To Evolving Customer Wants

May 4, 2017

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Copyright 2010-17 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Karen Abbott • kabbott (at) energychoicematters.com

Centrica announced that Io-Tahoe LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centrica plc, has acquired the assets of Rokitt Inc. and Rokitt's proprietary Rokitt Astra technology

The transaction marks the first acquisition through Centrica's Innovations unit. Centrica is the parent of Direct Energy

Centrica said that Rokitt Astra is a data discovery software solution, "that enables companies to discover meaningful information from their data and data relationships through a unique set of machine learning algorithms."

"The acquisition strengthens Centrica’s innovation technology pipeline and expertise in data science and analytics," Centrica said

"This technology supports an important area of strategic focus and offers a leading data management solution when combined with the Io-Tahoe suite of smart solutions," Centrica stated, as the company said that the acquired technology complements its existing data management capabilities, which include Data Tap, Fingerprinting and Concierge.

The acquisition accelerates internal efforts to integrate and harmonize various legacy backoffice systems and the data they contain, Christophe Defert, Centrica Innovations Director – Ventures, told EnergyChoiceMatters.com. With Centrica and Direct having been formed decades ago, and having grown through numerous acquisitions, the company ended up with a "beast" of various legacy systems, with the data siloed in these individual systems.

With Rokitt Astra, all of that data is put in one place, and Direct can access, analyze, and connect the data from legacy systems in a more efficient manner, Defert said.

With insights gained from such accessible data, "we are now in position to provide what the customer wants," Defert said

With Rokitt Astra, Direct can be, "much more agile," and, "nimble," in responding to customer requests for insights or various data-driven services, whatever those may be, Defert said

"Direct Energy customers across North America will benefit from the combined resources and capabilities of Rokitt Astra and Io-Tahoe as part of our on-going commitment to delivering a smarter energy future helping residential and business customers take control of their energy and save money," Defert said

"This represents Centrica Innovations’ first portfolio investment, following its commitment to invest £100 million over the next five years in start-ups, incubation and acceleration programs. It is directly aligned with the company’s customer-focused strategy to identify and invest in physical and digital technologies and innovative ideas that can deliver new products, offers and services to both residential and business customers," Centrica said

Centrica’s innovation unit has already been supporting the growth and commercialization of its proprietary data management solution through the formation of Io-Tahoe LLC, a big data management solution company with expertise in data science, analytics and systems architecture. Io-Tahoe LLC will leverage Centrica’s in-house data management capability to external customers.

Mike Young, Centrica’s Group Chief Information Officer said, "Digital technology, particularly big data and the actionable insights provided by data analytics are influencing and accelerating change in many markets, including the energy market. Data science and analytics are core components of our long-term technology strategy. The acquisition of Rokitt Astra is an exciting and value-creating addition to our digital technological capability."

Upon completion, the Rokitt Astra team will become employees of Io-Tahoe LLC.

Rokitt is based in New Jersey

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