Delivering a modern data platform (data mesh) for a leading insurance company

This company faced several data issues. It recognised that its data platform needed modernisation if it was to meet its financial aspirations. A lack of trust in the current data was also breeding a culture of reduced employee confidence.

One of the greatest challenges was the lack of data governance rules. Data was stored in multiple locations, people held numerous views of what the data meant, and the company could not manage large volumes of it.

Refreshing models took an inordinate amount of time, which led to poor-quality and inconsistent data. As a result, people did not trust the data, opportunities were missed and poor financial decisions were made.

With one of our Novus associates at the helm as programme director, an extensive data modernisation programme was put in place. It delivered non-federated data products for underwriters and regulatory reports. At its core was helping to create a Chief Data Office, establishing corporate governance and policies, and fostering a data-driven culture through training and leadership alignment.

The mission was to create a business strategy infused with data and analytics, not an independent data and analytics strategy. First, we established a clear data strategy aligned with the company’s financial and business goals and its long-term vision. On this, we built a strong data foundation: establishing policies and standards, defining the data architecture and ensuring data quality.

Another member of the Novus team worked on the programme as senior technical project manager. They created a delivery assurance framework, supported the move to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), managed the data modernisation Scrum of Scrums and acted as release train engineer. They also created an organisational change strategy, supported by a formal engagement and communications plan.

Adopting a modern data platform (data mesh) gave business areas their own teams. These teams worked autonomously alongside existing subject matter experts, delivering business value faster and at higher quality.

The programme used the following data platform technologies.

• Snowflake (real-time data warehouse)
• ADLS (Azure Data Lake, real-time)
• Kafka Connect (event streaming)
• Confluent Cloud
• Manta (lineage)
• Data.World (catalogue)
• Stibo (master data management)

• The solution delivered a number of benefits: unlocking innovation, reducing IT dependencies and enabling business growth through data.

• The company could now work with a new level of flexibility. It had versatile data processing platforms and methods to suit any need, and a modular design so new capabilities could be added with ease.

• The data modernisation programme was a catalyst for cultural change, enabling rapid development and productivity for business users. Alongside effective data governance and management, it brought a company-wide change in attitude to data, with trust and ownership becoming the norm.