It’s just over a year or so ago since Birmingham-based ETRM vendor Contigo was acquired by Trayport to become Trayport Contigo. As that anniversary approached, I ask Mr. Tim Rogers, head of Trayport Contigo‘s sales and business development functions, how it had gone so far………
Earlier this year, you joined Trayport Contigo from Trayport with a focus on sales and business development. How have you settled in to your new role and what have you learned?
I’ve settled in very well and I’m thoroughly enjoying the role. My first year has been extremely busy visiting customers and prospects, as well as recruiting. I am very pleased to report that we have more than doubled the size of the team, which has already produced some excellent results during 2014 and will ensure we can meet the increased demand we are experiencing.
Trayport Contigo has some exciting opportunities for strong growth across Europe and a very healthy pipeline for 2015. Coming from an industry background responsible for building ETRM for market participants, I recognise the strength in product architecture, deployment and technical expertise that we have here.
What I’ve enjoyed most so far is being involved in the healthy industry discussions we have internally, and using this knowledge to the benefit of our customers and their businesses as we roll out new features into enTrader.
Moving over from Trayport to Trayport Contigo has been really easy; both companies enjoy a number of synergies.
Commodity Technology Advisory saw some mileage in the acquisition of Contigo by Trayport around a year ago in terms of European ETRM and leveraging some of Trayport’s products. How has that worked out and what has been the progress?
As I mentioned, there is a strong synergy between the two organisations. This is mainly around the integration between execution platforms and ETRM systems. Typically this is a very complex, time consuming and error prone activity, however we have integrated enTrader with Trayport’s Trading GatewaySM which completely de-risks this integration. Not only that but, incorporating European gas and power instruments now gives us a remarkably wide functional and geographical footprint in Europe.
Working collaboratively, Trayport and Trayport Contigo’s wider industry knowledge has improved our resource base for customer projects. I have been impressed with the level of professionalism across the business and depth of subject experts that we are fortunate enough to have. This has allowed us to support customers to simplify processes through our unique approach.
What has worked around the acquisition and what has not?
The Technical integration is a big plus for our customers as well as the ability to satisfy regulatory compliance requirements.
Broadly it has all been positive as the existing organisations were very complementary.
How do you see demand for ETRM software in Europe and what is driving that demand?
I see demand growing across Generators, Wholesale Traders and Retail energy providers. Several factors will drive this growth, including the big drivers which I see as regulatory compliance, the changing market dynamics (such as the changes in generation mix), and renewables in particular. More recently I have seen smaller generation companies with specialist plant, finding it easier to enter the market; they all need ETRM capabilities at their core.
I also see traditional tier 1 wholesale traders being exposed to market changes and the natural life cycle of existing systems. Retailers are finding opportunities in established markets to build and grow highly competitive businesses. They all need cost effective trading and risk management capabilities which complement their current and future growth aspirations.
Looking to 2015, what challenges do you see for energy markets in Europe and how is Trayport Contigo poised to rise to those challenges?
I believe legislation will be high on everybody’s agenda in 2015, especially REMIT. Trayport is heavily engaged with legislative changes and we will benefit from that engagement. The continuing development of renewable energy in Europe will also create demand for our products. Market coupling will create opportunities for cross border trading. Emerging Eastern European markets are poised to de-regulate, creating not only local but again cross border opportunities. There is continuing concern over energy security, influencing not only gas but power infrastructure projects and developments. All of these things will affect trading activities and organisations will require robust systems to manage complex portfolios and mitigate all forms of risk.
Trayport Contigo are refreshingly agile with system implementations and their commercial offering lends itself well to address the needs of companies which are considering software changes. Interestingly we have, and continue to experience an increase in customer engagement and market consultancy to assist organisations in optimising their ETRM systems and business efficiency.
Looking at Trayport Contigo’s technical platform, it is specifically designed for European energy and to be quickly and easily deployed. We are pleased to be in a position which is driven by customer demand which ensures it is fit for purpose.
About Tim Rogers
Tim Rogers heads up Trayport Contigo’s Sales and Business Development functions. He has extensive knowledge of the global trading of Power and Gas commodities. His vast technical knowledge combined with his extensive experience in software development and project management make him the ideal candidate.
Prior to Trayport Contigo, Tim spent a number of years with Trayport on pre-trade risk, compliance systems and execution platforms. He also spent 3 years with industry giant Gazprom Marketing and Trading as acting head of IT. Here he was responsible for build, development and the functionality of their trading systems.
