Creating a modern digital experience
Over the last 30 years, Alinta Energy has grown to become one of Australia’s largest energy retailers, generators and developers, supplying electricity and gas to more than 1.1 million homes and businesses across the country.
Alinta Energy wanted to modernize its customer experience (CX) while reducing its cost to serve. The company knew that, without a native mobile app, customers had to rely on the website and contact center for all interactions. This created an opportunity to increase customer experience and reduce operational load on the contact center.
Recognizing the need for software engineering excellence to create a high-quality mobile app, Alinta Energy partnered with Thoughtworks to support the build of a differentiated digital experience — and a foundation for delivering long-term customer value.
Challenge: Closing the digital gap
Alinta Energy was limited in its ability to provide a more seamless and efficient CX to its customers with the website being the only digital channel.
Routine queries such as bill payments or account management often require service by the contact center. This takes up capacity that can be targeted at more complex customer needs and an opportunity to offer more streamlined customer journeys.
To relieve operational pressure and meet rising expectations, the company set out to build a modern mobile app that would enable customers to self-serve with ease. To ensure success, Alinta Energy partnered partway through the project with Thoughtworks, leveraging our engineering expertise to create an outstanding digital experience.
Solution: A close partnership to build digital excellence
To give Alinta Energy cost-effective access to specialist talent, Thoughtworks implemented a hybrid delivery model. A core team of five experienced mobile developers based in Bangkok, Thailand, worked closely with the company’s internal team, with additional support from onshore Thoughtworkers.
This hybrid team structure proved to be a critical factor in the project’s success, and was enabled by:
Beginning the engagement with hands-on support from local Thoughtworkers to establish technology practices, engineering standards, communication rhythms and the partnership culture
Implementing asynchronous communications channels to ensure a seamless flow of project updates and information
Building trust and encouraging open communication through in-person meetings between Alinta Energy’s leaders and the Thoughtworks offshore team
Thoughtworks in consultation with Alinta Energy, led the development of initiatives like a payment gateway migration. This ‘one team’ dynamic was crucial for the success of the mobile app project — and it provides a foundation for continued innovation to fuel the company’s growth.
Outcomes: Enhanced CX and reduced contact center volumes
The Alinta Energy mobile app has delivered significant benefits, transforming customer experience and operational efficiency.
In the first nine months after its launch, the app saw more than 128,000 downloads and consistently high login percentages of 83-87%, validating the company’s hypothesis that its customers were eager for a mobile experience. The app has also attracted many positive customer reviews, on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
High customer engagement with the app’s self-service features has substantially reduced avoidable contact center inquiries. The app now processes more than 2,000 monthly bill payments and 200 monthly direct debit setups, streamlining routine requests and freeing agents to focus on more complex customer needs. While overall call volumes may remain steady, the shift to digital self-service has enabled the contact center to serve more customers with the same resources, improving efficiency and enhancing the customer experience.
The app’s success has heightened Alinta Energy’s digital ambitions. Moving forward, it aims to move beyond basic utility bill functionality to create a strategic platform for future growth, offering higher-value interactions and new products.
Alinta Energy’s partnership with Thoughtworks remains strong. The success of the hybrid delivery model has led Alinta Energy to renew its engagement with Thoughtworks for FY26 and FY27 and growing the team capacity by 70% .
Our collaboration with Thoughtworks gave us the confidence we needed and ensured that we were building the right thing, the right way. Their expertise was a huge asset, but it was their teamwork, care and commitment to quality that really made the difference.
