Solenis is a leading specialty chemical supplier that helps its customers create cleaner and safer environments. With a century-long history of delivering advanced chemical and equipment solutions and a dedicated workforce of 16,500 professionals operating in 130 countries, Solenis excels at serving its customers with sustainable solutions for water-intensive industries. The company's expertise spans a variety of sectors and products, including pulp, paper, industrial processing aids, and water and wastewater treatments.

Within its comprehensive portfolio, Solenis' Pool Solutions Group focuses on providing innovative products and technologies to simplify pool maintenance. Recognizing the complexities involved in maintaining pool water quality—including achieving the right chemical balances, deterring algae growth, and optimizing pH levels—Solenis' Pool Solutions Group developed the HTH™ Test to Swim app to assist pool owners in monitoring the conditions that contribute to pool water health.

As part of their weekly maintenance routine, pool owners use test strips that, when dipped into pool water, display colors indicating the levels of various chemicals. To assist its customers, the company launched an app to simplify the water testing process, offering a "Match Your Color" functionality. The app, however, still relied on users to interpret the test strip colors, which was often subjective and could vary based on the user's perception of the color guide.

Solenis partnered with Slalom to enhance the HTH™ Test to Swim app's capabilities. Slalom's team leveraged Google Vision AI to develop an AI model that could accurately read the colors on HTH™ 6-Way Pool Test Strips, eliminating the need for manual input and guesswork. Now, consumers can simply take a picture of the pool test strip with their phone and upload it to the app, where it’s compared against a color guide. Consumers are then provided with their pool chemistry results and product recommendations. “Slalom’s meticulous project management ensured that everything was executed according to precise timelines and with great attention to detail,” notes Gina Menicucci, global digital and e-commerce marketing manager at Solenis, Pool Solution Group. “Their ability to navigate the project smoothly and efficiently was key to the success of the new AI model for our HTH™ app.”

This innovation significantly improved the user experience, providing pool owners with precise product recommendations for maintaining water quality. The AI model's ability to interpret test strip results with high accuracy ensured that users received tailored advice, promoting optimal water conditions and reducing the likelihood of costly mistakes or equipment damage.

The integration of the AI model into the HTH™ app yielded several key benefits for Solenis and its customers:

• Enhanced accuracy: The AI model's ability to accurately read test strip results reduced the risk of human error, ensuring that consumers received the correct chemical advice for their pools.
• Increased customer satisfaction: The simplified and accurate testing process empowered consumers to maintain their pools with greater confidence and ease, saving them time and effort. The improved user experience fostered trust in the HTH™ brand and contributed to higher customer satisfaction.
• Cost savings: By preventing errors in chemical balancing, the app helped customers avoid costly mistakes that could necessitate expensive corrective treatments or even lead to equipment damage. This translated into potential savings of thousands of dollars for pool owners.

When Solenis sought to expand the app's reach to European markets, the company encountered challenges due to the deprecation of key features in the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) that were essential for supporting the existing code. Slalom stepped in once again, this time to modernize the AI model by migrating it to the latest Vertex AI platform on GCP.

This modernization effort not only ensured the continued functionality of the app in the US but also unlocked several additional advantages:

• Global scalability: The migration to Vertex AI enables Solenis to seamlessly replicate the AI model across different regions, facilitating the app's expansion into European markets and beyond. This scalability empowers Solenis to reach a wider customer base and provide its innovative pool care solutions to users worldwide.
• Enhanced maintainability: Vertex AI's model registry provides a centralized repository for tracking different versions of the model, which helps to streamline maintenance and guide future improvements. This centralized management system simplifies ongoing development and allows Solenis to iterate on the model more efficiently, ensuring its continued effectiveness.
• Future-readiness: By leveraging the latest AI platform, Solenis has positioned itself to take advantage of new features and capabilities as they become available. This forward-thinking approach enables Solenis to adapt to evolving technologies and customer needs so it can remain at the forefront of the pool care industry.

Slalom's expertise in machine learning and cloud technologies has been instrumental in Solenis' journey to simplify pool care for its customers. “The Slalom team has been truly exceptional to work with,” says Menicucci. “Their professionalism, deep expertise in the field, and collaborative approach have been invaluable to our marketing team. From the very beginning, they brought fresh ideas and innovative solutions, helping us address complex challenges with the right technologies.”

Looking ahead, Solenis is excited about the potential to apply AI—and specifically Vertex AI technology—to other areas of its business, such as the spa market. With Slalom's continued partnership, Solenis is well-equipped to leverage these cutting-edge technologies to further innovate and provide even greater value to its customers.

Diego Garcia-Lopez, a director at Slalom and leader on the project, believes that the key takeaway from this success story is the transformative power of AI in enhancing user experiences and driving business growth. "By injecting AI into your apps, you can achieve smarter, faster, and more efficient processes," he says. "This can make all the difference in delivering exceptional value to your customers and staying ahead of the competition."

The collaboration between Solenis and Slalom exemplifies how strategic partnerships and technological innovation can revolutionize an industry. “Without Slalom’s expertise and partnership, we would not have achieved the level of innovation and functionality that the AI model now offers,” explains Menicucci. “Their contribution has been instrumental in modernizing our app and delivering a greatly improved experience to our customers.” By embracing AI and machine learning, Solenis has not only simplified pool care for its customers but also strengthened its position as a leader in the market, demonstrating its commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions that enhance the pool ownership experience.