In the rapidly evolving world of energy trading, companies are under increasing pressure to adapt to shifting market dynamics, regulatory demands, and the accelerating energy transition. While many organizations have made significant strides in digital transformation—migrating to the cloud, adopting SaaS solutions, and modernizing their IT infrastructure—there remains a largely untapped opportunity: industry-wide collaboration and standardization through shared digital platforms.
Historically, energy trading companies have operated in silos, each building and maintaining proprietary systems for trading, risk management, and post-trade processing. This approach, while once necessary, has led to duplicated efforts, inefficiencies, and a proliferation of undifferentiated tools that offer little true competitive advantage. Today, the industry stands at a crossroads, where collaboration and standardization can unlock significant value, drive innovation, and position organizations for long-term success.
A common misconception in energy trading is that most IT systems and processes are deeply proprietary and central to competitive differentiation. In reality, many of the core activities—such as reference data management, trade capture, position calculations, and post-trade settlement—are largely standardized across the industry. These functions, while essential, do not provide a unique edge and are ripe for commoditization.
By collaborating on the development and adoption of shared platforms and standards, energy trading companies can:
The benefits of collaboration are clear, but realizing them requires a shift in mindset. The industry must move from a focus on protecting perceived proprietary advantage to recognizing the collective gains of standardization. This shift is already underway in other sectors, such as financial services, where open banking and cross-industry interoperability have delivered significant efficiencies and spurred new business models.
In energy trading, the business case for collaboration is strongest in areas where processes are uniform and technology is mature. Reference data management is a prime example: every company needs accurate, up-to-date data, yet most maintain their own isolated solutions. By developing shared standards and platforms for reference data, the industry can reduce costs, improve data quality, and enable more advanced analytics.
Similarly, joint development of adapters for real-time trade and pricing data, shared reconciliation tools, and common post-trade processing platforms can deliver immediate value. These initiatives not only streamline operations but also lay the groundwork for more sophisticated use cases, such as algorithmic and high-frequency trading, by providing real-time, standardized data across participants.
Some forward-thinking organizations are already demonstrating the power of collaboration:
These examples illustrate how shared platforms can move the industry from fragmented, record-keeping systems to integrated “systems of analysis” that enable real-time decision-making and rapid adaptation to market changes.
Despite the clear benefits, several barriers have slowed the adoption of collaborative models in energy trading:
However, these barriers are not insurmountable. As more companies migrate to common cloud platforms and adopt modern, modular architectures, the technical foundations for collaboration are falling into place. What remains is a willingness to engage, experiment, and invest in joint initiatives.
The future of energy trading IT lies in the transition from traditional “systems of record”—which simply store and process transactions—to “systems of analysis” that provide real-time insights and support agile, data-driven decision-making. Achieving this vision requires:
By embracing collaboration and standardization, energy trading companies can unlock efficiencies, accelerate innovation, and build the digital foundations needed to thrive in a complex, fast-changing market. The gains on offer are too significant to ignore—and the companies that lead this shift will be best positioned to capture the opportunities of the energy transition.
Ready to explore how collaboration and shared digital platforms can transform your energy trading operations? Connect with Publicis Sapient’s experts to start your journey toward industry-wide innovation and value creation.