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Microsoft Cloud Services Solutions Propel Utilities Providers into £3bn Commercial Water Market

WaterPlus Feature

Industry

Utilities

Challenge

Following the deregulation of the English non-domestic water market in April 2017, Water Plus, a newly formed joint venture, faced the urgent challenge of building an enterprise-grade IT infrastructure from the ground up. To secure a strong foothold in the £3bn commercial water market, Water Plus needed scalable, secure, and integrated systems for customer onboarding, billing, and operations, all within an accelerated timeline. The company’s ambition to deliver exceptional customer service while rapidly migrating and managing hundreds of thousands of accounts demanded a future-proof digital platform.

Results

Crimson delivered a fully integrated Microsoft Cloud-based IT environment for Water Plus in just nine months, enabling a successful market launch. Water Plus migrated over 300,000 customer accounts, issued more than one million bills, and collected close to £1bn in payments, all while enhancing customer experience through improved self-service options. The modern, flexible infrastructure empowers Water Plus to serve 2.5 million UK businesses efficiently and positions the company for continued growth and innovation in the commercial water sector.

Key Product

Microsoft Azure

www.water-plus.co.uk
9 mth
Project Turnaround
300k
Customer Accounts
£1bn
payments
WaterPlus

About

Water Plus is a joint venture between Severn Trent and United Utilities, created to serve the commercial water retail market in England. Based in Stoke-on-Trent, Water Plus caters to 2.5 million UK businesses, aiming to become the leading commercial water services provider.

The Challenge

With the deregulation of the English non-domestic water market, Water Plus was formed to compete for a significant share of the £3bn sector. However, as a new joint venture between Severn Trent and United Utilities, Water Plus faced the critical task of building a robust IT infrastructure from the ground up. The company required a scalable and integrated solution to handle high-volume customer onboarding, complex billing, and seamless business operations, all while ensuring regulatory compliance and delivering a superior customer experience. The urgency to be market-ready by the regulatory deadline added further complexity to the project.

The Solution

Water Plus partnered with Crimson to design and implement a modern IT environment that would enable rapid, secure growth. The solution comprised a Microsoft Cloud-based infrastructure, leveraging Dynamics 365 CRM for customer management, Microsoft AX for billing, Office 365 and Exchange for productivity, and SharePoint for document management. Integration with specialist tools such as ClickDimensions, Bureau Van Dijk, and PCA Predict enriched the business’s data and operational capabilities. Crimson also delivered IT as a Service (ITaaS), providing ongoing support, infrastructure, and network services, ensuring Water Plus could focus on customer service and market expansion.

The Results

The successful deployment of the Microsoft Cloud solution enabled Water Plus to seamlessly migrate over 300,000 customer accounts, issue more than one million bills, and collect nearly £1bn in payments. With enhanced self-service capabilities, Water Plus improved customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. Serving 2.5 million UK businesses, Water Plus is now positioned as a leading provider in the commercial water market, supported by a scalable, secure, and future-ready digital foundation.

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