Fortum's Digital and AI Revolution: Pioneering Modern Infrastructure and Customer-Centric Solutions

Joona Astrom, Director AI solutions in Fortum Consumer Solutions, highlights the robust DevOps processes and the modern customer data platform they've built in Microsoft Azure. This platform uses Databricks and modern tech architecture to  ensure a secure, state of the art and efficient environment for data management.

“The new data platform also lays a solid foundation for developing AI products", says Joona. 

He emphasizes the importance of proper development, testing, and production environments, which facilitates seamless and safe development processes. “Our data platform is built "by the book" following a Medallion Architecture and Ralph Kimball's Dimensional Data Modelling principles, making it easy for developers to find solutions to problems from online resources”, he continues. ”As a market leader within the energy sector in the Nordics, having modernized our entire tech stack also gives us great leverage to drive innovation for our customers".

Accelerating AI solutions

Fortum Consumer Solutions has also set up an entire new AI solutions team, led by Joona Astrom, which aims to accelerate AI adoption and solutions within the company. The purpose is to identify and implement AI initiatives that align with Fortum's business and strategic goals. 

“The AI team is already working on personalization projects and systems with embedded AI capabilities", Joona explains -"such as improving customer service and operational efficiency.” 

He further highlights the importance of developing customer-facing AI applications, such as energy forecasting tools and self-service customer agents powered by large language models (LLMs). These applications aim to provide relevant and timely services to customers, enhancing their overall experience with Fortum.

“Fortum's commitment in using modern technology and AI to drive innovation and sustainability is evident in our ongoing projects and future plans", Joonas points out.

Simplifying development work

Joona elaborates on the benefits of the new data platform. “It simplifies development work and ensures that changes pushed into production do not break existing systems, he says. This approach allows business users to test new features quickly and efficiently. The architecture's design, based on standardized principles, enables developers to find solutions and resources online easily", he continues enthusiasticly.

The AI solutions team goal is to be a real partner for the business, helping to scale up AI initiatives quickly. The unit is responsible for building a backlog and roadmap for AI solutions, deciding which AI solutions to develop in-house and which to buy from partners or vendors.  

Digital lead in the energy sector

Fortum Consumer Solutions commitment and investment in using modern technology and AI to drive innovation and sustainability is evident in their ongoing projects and future plans. 

“I believe that the company's focus on renewables and customer-centric solutions positions us as a leader in the energy sector", Joona states.

“From my point of view, Fortum's AI initiatives are paving the way for a more efficient and customer-centric future. The company's investment in modern technology and AI infrastructure demonstrates its commitment to innovation and sustainability. As Fortum continues to develop and implement AI solutions, it is poised to lead the energy sector into a new era of digital transformation, and create fantastic energy optimization and enhancements for our customer, in order save money and also create a better planet", he concludes.