Enabling Enterprise Data Analytics
Re-envisioning and rearchitecting our client’s core foundation to improve data synchronization, stability and time-to-insight.
The Client
A value-based healthcare services company specialized in workers compensation claims and case management. They solve catastrophic, complex healthcare challenges while putting the lives of injured workers and their families first.
The Business Objective
Our client’s business intelligence and reporting departments are led by various data analytics groups, each with their own on-prem data marts and processes. They had customized a series of reporting applications over time to meet the unique needs of their business, however this caused data silos, making it more difficult to manage and maintain over time. To scale data analytics across the organization in the future, the client was looking for a solution that would consolidate their data, standardize dashboard development and enable self service.
To unlock growth and business intelligence (BI) capabilities in the present and future, a new cloud-based solution was the best step forward. This single-platform solution would house their data analytics units, enabling more collaboration, efficient data sharing and streamlined reporting.
The Business Impact
On the surface, our client seemed to be undergoing a standard cloud migration project. However, due to their complex data structures and desired accelerated development timeline, this project was more challenging than a typical data modernization. They needed an agile partner to evolve their data environment and enable data synchronization.
Our solution would improve:
- Consistency & Accuracy
Ease of data management, quality and governance.
- Data Ingestion
Data conformance and synchronization frameworks.
- Operational Efficiency
Streamlined reporting, data sharing and self service.
- Data Privacy & Compliance
Accurate, secure and compliant data at scale.
The Work
Data Architecture and Flow
X by 2 was engaged to assess the technical gaps in the client’s current state, propose an alternative data architecture to improve data ingestion and develop a working proof of concept for their modern, cloud-based data platform.
Key to an agile development cycle was organization-wide collaboration. Working closely with our client’s BI users and IT, X by 2 completed a comprehensive vendor analysis — targeting data synchronization and consumption capabilities — and established the best technologies to integrate their on-prem systems with Azure data factory, their preferred host. Once reaching a conceptual solution, X by 2 developed a future state vision and proof of concept.
Due to the success of this project — and our ability to align our client’s analytics teams on a single solution — X by 2 was then tasked to lead the platform implementation. Leveraging an agile, phased approach, X by 2 continued involving business and IT stakeholders to complete the implementation efficiently and quickly. This process went in 2-month long increments, allowing thorough time to adjust and see the positive impact of the cloud foundation. The project completed one month ahead of schedule, and X by 2 performed at approximately 70% of the projected budget.
The Business Outcome
This cloud-based solution significantly reduced time-to-insight, allowing our client’s multiple business units to access data in a timely manner. Though this could have become a multi-year project, X by 2’s agile approach, lean team structure and understanding of the client’s business and IT needs allowed them to quickly improve data availability while building a foundation for long-term stability.