Iren Energia, operating 30 power plants across 14 markets, faced challenges managing vast amounts of data for reporting and planning. By implementing the Board Enterprise Planning Platform, Iren Energia transitioned from cumbersome spreadsheets to real-time data processing. This shift has allowed the company to generate daily reports, improve decision-making, and enhance planning and control processes. With increased data transparency and real-time insights, Iren Energia now operates with greater efficiency and agility in a highly dynamic energy market.
Board is a reliable planning platform that allows us to securely manage a very large data lake, empowering us to make faster, better-informed decisions.
Giuseppe Bergesio
CEO Of Iren EnergiaIren Energia, part of the Iren Group, specializes in energy production (including district heating), gas distribution, and environmental services. The company’s 30 power plants generate vast amounts of data from operations across 14 markets, presenting significant challenges for managing financial planning, reporting, and control. Initially, spreadsheets were used for reporting and economic planning, but these soon became inefficient as the company’s scale and complexity grew.
Over time, and following its listing on a public stock exchange, business needs shifted. The manual nature of many planning processes made it difficult for the organization to generate timely insights or respond effectively to the fast-moving energy market. It necessitated a more efficient, integrated system to manage data and enable quick, informed decision-making. To meet this need, Iren Energia partnered with Board and Bios Management to deploy the Board Enterprise Planning Platform in 2012.
A shift to real-time planning and reporting
The Board platform enabled Iren Energia to streamline and automate its reporting processes. Instead of relying on complex, outdated spreadsheets, the company could now generate daily, weekly, and monthly reports, unifying data from all 30 plants and comparing it against budgets, final balances, and daily forecasts. Giuseppe Bergesio, CEO of Iren Energia, notes:
“The daily reports are a game-changer. They allow us to align our operational activities with market conditions, making swift adjustments when needed.”
This shift to real-time reporting has transformed the company’s ability to react quickly to market fluctuations. During volatile periods, such as 2022, when energy prices could vary by 20% daily, having real-time insights allowed Iren Energia to adapt swiftly and make confident, data-driven decisions.
Key benefits and impact
Iren Energia has achieved significant improvements across multiple areas of its operations. From faster decision-making to greater transparency, the company now operates with a level of efficiency and control previously unattainable.
Enhanced decision-making with daily reports
Iren Energia’s adoption of daily reports has been critical in improving the timeliness of decisions. These reports update stakeholders on the previous day’s performance, comparing actual results with forecasts and competitor data, allowing the company to react quickly to any changes or disruptions in the market.
Improved planning and control
The Board platform has streamlined economic and financial planning, allowing Iren Energia to manage CapEx planning more effectively. By centralizing financial data, the company has achieved better control over resource allocation and can now track performance against strategic goals more easily with an integrated Balanced Scorecard.
Increased data transparency
Board has enhanced data transparency across the organization, ensuring that all departments have access to consistent, reliable data. This has improved the overall efficiency of reporting and planning processes, while reducing the risks associated with manual data handling.
Data-driven governance for a dynamic energy market
The implementation of Board has fundamentally changed how Iren Energia manages its financial operations. By transitioning from spreadsheets to an automated, real-time system, the company has not only streamlined its reporting and planning processes but has also increased its ability to make timely, data-driven decisions in a highly volatile market. This data-driven governance allows Iren Energia to remain agile and competitive.
Giuseppe Bergesio concludes:
“Data quality is the foundation of effective reporting and planning. Board has allowed us to integrate and leverage data in ways that were previously unimaginable, supporting both operational and strategic decision-making.”
Fabio Ghi, Founder & Executive Chairman at Bios Management adds:
“This is a concrete example of how financial analysis and operational insights can work together to support strategic planning and operational efficiency. Through tailored solutions, the finance area has optimized data management and provided a solid foundation for informed decision-making across the organization.”
