LEW Lechwerke: High-Performance Browser Application by Close Cooperation

LEW Lechwerke is an energy service provider located in Augsburg, Bavaria. It continuously provides nearly one million inhabitants in an area of ​​almost 7,000 square kilometres (2,700 square miles) with electricity. The company, which is one of the leading Bavarian suppliers of energy from hydropower, employs more than 1,700 people.

LEW Lechwerke wanted to provide a digital customer account for its customers. A cooperative team of developers from LEW Lechwerke and byte5 were in charge of the technical implementation. The Kundenkonto Online (Customer Account Online), a browser application for the self-administration of customers, was realised within a short time. The technical implementation was made possible by the open source CMS Umbraco and the JavaScript framework AngularJS, which created a strong unity. A third system was added for the preservation of existing data.

• conception and technical implementation of the customer dashboard
• high-performance browser application based on Umbraco and AngularJS
• SAP gateway for the delivery of data
• a cooperative team enabled this high-quality technical solution
• successful project completion within a short time

The existing customer dashboard was very outdated and was to become more modern and user-friendly by the use of new technology. Right from the start, it was clear to LEW Lechwerke that the team would need support to realise the Customer Account Online (KKO) project in the best way possible. As a satisfied long-term client, they entrusted their newest Umbraco project to the byte5 experts, because of their high qualifications.

A dashboard, Kundenkonto Online, was to be designed and developed with which customers could edit and manage their personal data in the browser. LEW Lechwerke required that the system be multi-contract capable and that information such as master data, meter data, and invoices could be viewed and edited. While the driving force in the backend would be Umbraco as a content management system, AngularJS would be used in the frontend. The SAP gateway, with which data would be requested and distributed in the KKO interface, was particularly challenging to implement.

For byte5, the implementation of the user dashboard began with the application’s conception. All project processes were completely agile. In a cooperative team consisting of developers from both LEW Lechwerke and byte5, the KKO user dashboard was realised within a few months. The open data protocol interface ensures the connection to SAP. This enables the transfer of data that is delivered to the dashboard. The Kundenkonto Online does not only shine with its range of functions, but above all with its performance – made possible by the smooth interaction of Umbraco in the backend and the AngularJS stack in the front end. Umbraco’s versatility was particularly valuable in development. AngularJS integrated itself seamlessly into the frontend.

KKO offers LEW Lechwerke’s customers a significantly greater convenience than its predecessor. They can manage their data with easily with KKO. The browser application is very clearly structured and intuitive to use, even for inexperienced users. KKO handles asynchronous SAP requests easily thanks to the SignalR programme library. After this successful implementation, byte5 continues to support LEW Lechwerke with maintenance of the Kundenkonto Online. Other cooperative projects between LEW Lechwerke and byte5 are ongoing.