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The challenge
Tailored digital support for energy projects
Energiegestalter (formerly FörderProfi and AdminProfi) provides comprehensive support to its clients during energy-efficient renovations. A central service is supporting specialist partners and private customers in applying for government funding. This involves overcoming changing guidelines, regional processes, and a mountain of bureaucracy and documents.
Energiegestalter's services were to be accessible via a central online platform. While other business areas were already using flexible systems, the platform for funding management was still reaching its limits:
- IT resource bottlenecks: The system itself was robust, but depended on various internal IT teams for every change. Updates and adjustments were delayed, and agility fell by the wayside.
- Static workflows: Manual updates were needed for every subsidy policy change, creating compliance risks and slowing response times during critical application windows.
- Operational friction: Data trapped in spreadsheets, partially-automated processes and no real-time status tracking was unsatisfactory both employees and clients.
- Vendor lock-in: Tied to in-house tools, the platform couldn’t support integrations with other manufacturers, limiting market expansion and partnership opportunities.
- Limited partner registration: External specialist companies were unable to register. The network was therefore limited to Viessmann partners and growth potential remained untapped.
Without a dedicated, self-managed platform, Energiegestalter risked falling behind in a policy-driven, time-sensitive market—even as demand for their funding expertise grew.
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Project Highlight
Architecture designed for continuous adaptation
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Project Timeline
January 2024 to April 2025
The goal
A straightforward and scalable web app that combines all of Energiegestalter's services
Our mission was to develop a sustainable, future-proof platform, enabling Energiegestalter to manage grant applications independently of external IT resources, scale its operations efficiently, and reliably map its ever-growing service portfolio. Key objectives included:
- Eliminate vendor lock-in: Transition from limited internal tools to a manufacturer-agnostic system, unlocking growth potential and partnership opportunities.
- Increase flexibility: Ensure workflows can be quickly modified to meet new funding conditions and new services can be offered rapidly, eliminating long lead times and the need for external IT support.
- Ensure seamless continuity: Migrate all data from a legacy system to a new one, with zero service disruption to customers and Energiegestalter’s operations team.
- Build for the future: Implement a modular tech stack to support rapid feature development, including upcoming enhancements for subsidy management and energy-sector planning.
The solution had to provide immediate usability and long-term flexibility, allowing Energiegestalter to scale on their own terms, both technically and strategically.
Implementation & key features
Following an initial conceptual phase, the project began with event storming workshops to refine and gather detailed business requirements. These workshops laid the foundation for an agile development process, utilizing SCRUM with three-week sprints. The iterative nature of this approach allowed for continuous feedback, ensuring the platform was developed in close alignment with the client’s evolving business goals.
Hosting the platform on SUNZINET’s Cloud infrastructure provided scalability and reliability, while post-launch training ensured the client’s team could fully leverage Salesforce and Directus for ongoing platform management.
Key features of the platform include:
- User access and authentication: The connection to the Viessmann’s Identity Provider eliminates the need for separate logins for different systems. Existing users can access the new platform seamlessly, and new partners can easily join.
- Product and purchase management: Users see bundled product offers and go through a secure purchase process. Employees maintain product data and dynamic questionnaires via a central content management system.
- Data integration and migration: Data from the legacy system was seamlessly transferred to the new solution, allowing operations to continue without interruption. This enabled historical data to be used in modern processes—a strong foundation for future innovation and sustainable growth.
- Workflow management with Salesforce: The Energiegestalter team can view, edit, and update application statuses, manage documents, and handle customer inquiries directly via integrated telephony (Aircall). Tasks and deadlines can be managed efficiently—even product orders are processed via Salesforce.
- Product configuration via Directus: Energiegestalter controls the entire sales process in Directus: from the configuration of dynamic application forms and price calculations to the calculation of individual subsidy amounts.
- Automation & reporting: Administrators configure workflows and automations, for example for SAP or Sendgrid integrations. Comprehensive reports on leads and opportunities provide a sound basis for decision-making.
- Central service platform: Instead of being spread across multiple systems as in the past, all services now run on a single platform, which simplifies administration and significantly increases efficiency.
Results & impact
The platform went live at the beginning of April 2025, marking a significant milestone in Energiegestalter’s digital transformation. Now, the company:
- Efficiently manages and updates all their product offerings on a single platform and without technical bottlenecks.
- Rapidly adapts to changes in subsidy policies and regulatory environments.
- Streamlines revenue operations by reducing inefficiencies and scaling service fulfillment processes.
- Benefits from a manufacturer-neutral, scalable platform positioned for future growth and new product launches.
Energiegestalter’s ability to support customers through complex subsidy applications has been greatly enhanced, delivering better service with minimal operational disruption during the transition.
In our customer's words
"SUNZINET successfully transformed a limiting legacy system into a scalable platform that not only delivers technically but also sustainably strengthens our entire business model. The collaborative, peer-level partnership was just as crucial as their technical expertise".
- Gordon Wöhlert, Team Lead & IT Project Management
About Energiegestalter
Energiegestalter (formerly FörderProfi and AdminProfi) is a German company that specializes in providing support for energy-efficient renovation projects. Its focus is on helping companies, municipalities, and private customers switch to sustainable energy systems. Energiegestalter supports customers with everything from subsidies and heat generator registration to various consulting services.
For example, specialist partners can purchase a tool for hydraulic balancing through Energiegestalter and receive help with the registration of heat pumps, PV systems, and wall boxes. Private customers can choose from various consulting services – ranging from a brief, free hotline consultation, to a specific renovation advisory, and up to a comprehensive energy efficiency consultation.
For more information, please visit www.energie-gestalter.de
