The usual starting point
A mid sized company normally has its data spread across the invoicing software, some management tool, a handful of spreadsheets and somebody's inbox. Every month one person spends two or three days stitching it together by hand to produce a report that gets looked at once and filed.
That work is not analysis, it is plumbing. And it is exactly the kind of work that can be automated away entirely.
What we do
- Source integration. Connecting databases, management software, spreadsheets, files and external services so they stop being copied by hand.
- Modelling. Defining the metrics once and properly, so that "active client" or "margin" means the same thing in every report and in every department.
- Automated load processes. Data that refreshes itself, with error handling and an alert when something breaks, instead of finding out during the meeting.
- Dashboards. In Power BI, designed so management can see in thirty seconds whether something is wrong, and so the people running operations can drill into the detail.
- Training and handover. Documented and explained, so you do not depend on us to change a filter.
The experience behind it
More than a decade in business intelligence, on dashboard projects for public administration, product adoption analytics for a pharmaceutical laboratory, workforce reporting for an energy multinational and management systems for e-commerce. For confidentiality reasons we do not publish end client names, but on a call we can describe the kind of problem and how it was solved.
Three signs of a good dashboard
The first is that it answers a business question rather than showing everything available. The second is that whoever looks at it knows what to do next. The third is that nobody argues about the numbers, because the definitions are written down and are the same for everyone. A beautiful dashboard that triggers a debate about whether the figure is right has failed.
What it costs
Integration of the sources needed, a documented data model, one dashboard with automatic refresh, and training for your team.
For when you already have reports but they are slow, they disagree with each other, or nobody trusts them. Diagnosis and a plan to fix it.
Frequently asked questions
Do you only work with Power BI?
It is where we have the most mileage and where we usually recommend staying if the company already uses Microsoft tools. If you have something else in place and it works, we will not suggest changing it just for the sake of it.
Do we need a data warehouse first?
Not to start. Many projects begin by connecting the sources directly, and a warehouse is considered when volume or the number of sources justifies it.
Who maintains it afterwards?
You do, if you want to. It is handed over documented and with training. We also offer monthly maintenance, but it is optional and we do not lock anything if you skip it.
How long does it take?
A first useful dashboard is usually ready in three or four weeks. The slow part is almost always getting access to the systems, not building it.
Can you work with personal data?
Yes, with the corresponding data processing agreement signed and after agreeing which data are genuinely needed. Many reports can be built on aggregated or pseudonymised data.