Echo’s Aptumo billing platform will now underpin Pelican Business Services’ entire operation for 4.1 million customers spread across 2.5 million supply points, replacing legacy systems at Bristol Water and Wessex Water with a single cloud-native stack. The five-year contract hands Echo the mandate to cut operational spend, tighten billing accuracy and raise customer satisfaction scores across two of England’s largest regional suppliers.
Hayley Monks, Echo’s MD for Managed Services, framed the win as the latest step in a long-standing partnership rather than a fresh entry into the market. “We are delighted that Pelican Business Services has chosen Aptumo, our leading utility billing solution as their billing platform of choice to support Bristol Water and Wessex Water customers and we are excited to continue the many years of collaboration we have already had with them as we unite on this journey.”
Pelican’s own managing director, Oliver Jerrome, highlighted how the technology aligns with his company’s customer-first strategy. “We’re really pleased to continue our partnership with Echo through the adoption of Aptumo which marks an exciting new chapter in our journey together. Aptumo’s capabilities align with our commitment to meet the current and future needs of our customers whilst delivering an outstanding experience.”
For the rest of the sector, the contract underscores the accelerating migration from fragmented, on-premise billing suites to integrated, cloud-first platforms. Suppliers that still rely on bolted-together legacy stacks will now face pressure to either modernise or outsource—potentially handing more market share to firms like Echo. Pelican’s decision to place the entire billing operation on Aptumo also signals that water companies are willing to hand over end-to-end control to a single vendor in exchange for promised cost reductions and accuracy gains, a trend that could ripple across the industry.