The Challenge

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• There were several issues facing this company in the data sphere. Not only did they recognise their data platform required modernisation if they were to maintain their financial aspirations but that the lack of trust in the current data was breeding a culture reduced employee confidence.

• One of the greatest challenges was the lack of rules around data governance. Not only was data being stored in multiple locations, but they also had numerous views of what the data meant and were unable to manage large volumes of it.

• It was taking inordinate amounts of time to refresh their models which in turn led to poor quality data and inconsistency. As a result there was a lack of trust in the data, opportunities were being missed, and poor financial decisions were being made.

 

 

Our Solution

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• With one of our Novus associates at the helm as the Programme Director, an extensive Data Modernisation was put in place to deliver non-federated data products for Underwriters and Regulatory Reports. The core of this 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. Firstly a clear data strategy was established that aligned with the company's financial and business goals as well as their long term vision. Upon this a strong data foundation was formed, establishing policies and standards, defining data architecture and ensuring data quality. 

• Another member of the Novus team worked on this programme as the Senior Technical Project Manager and created a Delivery Assurance Framework, supported the transition to a SAFe methodology, 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. 

• The adoption of a Modern Data Platform (data mesh) gave business areas their own teams to work autonomously alongside their existing subject matter experts resulting in faster and higher quality business value being delivered.

• The Data Platform Technologies employed across this extensive programme included: Snowflake (Data Warehouse – real-time), ADLS (Azure Data Lake – real-time), Kafka Connect (event streaming), Confluent Cloud, Manta (Lineage), Data.World (Catalogue), Stibo (MDM).

 

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Key Outcomes

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• This 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 including versatile data processing platforms and methods to suit any need and modularity so new capabilities could be added with ease.

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