Nivos is a Mäntsälä-based conglomerate that drives the water and energy sector forward. The company combines products and services that benefit housing and entrepreneurship operations, so that Nivos’ customers can focus on the things that matter to them. The company has developed data center heat recycling, decentralized energy solutions, grid automation, and wastewater treatment, for example. In addition to these, Nivos carries out climate actions, a good example of which is a biogas plant, which are rare on the level of Finland, at the organic farm of Knehtilä in Palopuro, Hyvinkää.
Because Nivos is development-oriented and curios about the future, the company wants its partners to be at the forefront of their field. Loihde has been Nivos’ partner since 2018. Nivos was about to choose another partner to implement their Business Intelligence area, but Loihdes’ approach and references swayed the decision in favor of Loihde. Loihde was selected as the supplier especially due to its comprehensive expertise in data warehouses.
Due to its long history, Nivos had several different data systems, separate invoicing systems, and even the customer relationship data was scattered across different platforms. Its business units operate and make decisions very independently, which has led to the current situation. Through the BI project, the entities were considered from the perspective of the entire Group and how data from different sources could be used efficiently was analyzed. In addition, the goal was to combine and visualize data regardless of companies and businesses.
Loihde implemented a package that is well suited to Nivos’ needs and utilizes a wide range of solutions. Nivos had already decided on the reporting tool before selecting a supplier, but as a technologically independent supplier, the selection was a good fit for Loihde. The solution is currently covered by Loihdes’ continuous support and maintenance service. The service ensures, for example, the daily functionality and timeliness of various downloads and data sources, without forgetting backups.
Long path to change
Over the years, the experts of Loihde have done a lot of reports, visualization, and data aggregation. The partnership with Loihde has also brought valuable project expertise to Nivos.
“We don’t have in-house expertise in this area, so it was natural to outsource this to a partner,” says Anna-Kaisa Kiiski, CFO.
Nivos is very pleased with the results of Loihdes’ development work. BI tools and reports give visibility to data, which was not previously available. The company is well on its way to data-driven management. Of course, skills and competence development is still in its early stages, and sometimes this requires both support and motivation.
Collaboration with Loihde
People at Nivos value supplier partners who are also able to challenge existing thinking and solutions. A partner is expected to bring new perspectives and issues to the table. “The most important thing in a partnership is a functioning cooperation, in which case everyone wins. We win, the supplier wins, and in the end our customers win,” says Anna-Kaisa Kiiski.
Henri Klasila, Development Manager at Nivos (pictured) and Anna Venemies, Billing Manager, say that they constantly get new ideas in their daily interactions and day-to-day work with Loihde. Loihde sees the customer holistically and considers both solutions and development ideas from both the user’s and the end customer’s perspective.
Loihde is an important partner for Nivos, and the cooperation has grown and deepened over time. The partnership is characterized by transparency, ease, and trust. “We can be confident that the work will be taken care of. The work is proactive and clearly defined on both sides. Cooperation is easy and transparent. I would also recommend Loihde as a partner to others,” says Anna-Kaisa Kiiski.
Looking toward the future
The energy sector is undergoing a major transformation and is at the heart of climate change. No one knows exactly where we will be in five years. The goal is to move from studying past data to predicting the future. Other solutions and tools have also been considered. “We should be able to better predict the future and see from the data which steps we should take next. This is also something Loihde can help Nivos with,” says Anna-Kaisa Kiiski.
