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Service

Data Analytics and Business Intelligence

Most organisations already hold the data they need; it simply sits in separate systems, in different formats, with no agreed definition of terms like active customer or completed order. We help consolidate it, define it and present it so that a monthly review starts from facts rather than from reconciliation.

The problem

Situations this service addresses

If more than one of these sounds familiar, this is usually the right place to start.
  • Reports are assembled by hand each month and take days to prepare.

  • Two departments produce different figures for the same measure.

  • Data exists but nobody can query it without asking a developer.

  • Problems are noticed weeks after they occurred.

Capabilities

What we can design, build and support

  • Data consolidation from operational systems, spreadsheets and third-party services

  • Reporting dashboards for operations, finance and leadership

  • KPI definition workshops that produce written, agreed definitions

  • Data visualisation designed for interpretation rather than decoration

  • Data-quality assessment, cleaning and validation rules

  • Decision-support tools and scheduled reporting

Business value

What this work is intended to change

Written as intentions rather than promises. We do not quote guaranteed savings, revenue increases or delivery times we cannot support.

Shared definitions

Writing down what each measure means removes a surprising amount of recurring disagreement.

Faster reporting cycles

Automating collection and calculation is intended to shorten the gap between the end of a period and a usable report.

Earlier signals

Threshold alerts can surface an unusual pattern while there is still time to respond to it.

Typical deliverables

  • Data source inventory and quality assessment
  • Documented KPI definitions signed off by the relevant teams
  • Data pipeline with scheduled, monitored refreshes
  • Dashboards for the agreed audiences
  • Access model describing who may see which data
  • Training session for the people who will use the reports

Security and quality considerations

  • Personal data is minimised, and reporting uses aggregates wherever the question allows it.
  • Dashboard access follows role, so sensitive figures are not visible organisation-wide by default.
  • Pipelines fail loudly. A silent stale dashboard is more dangerous than a missing one.
  • Every metric carries its definition and refresh time in the interface.

Technologies we commonly use

  • PostgreSQL
  • Data warehouse platforms
  • Python and SQL pipelines
  • Metabase and open-source BI tools
  • Power BI
  • Scheduled ETL and ELT jobs

Delivery process

How the work runs

The same five stages apply across services. Depth varies with the size of the engagement; the sequence does not.
  1. 01

    Discover

    Understand the operation before proposing anything.

    • Interviews with the people who perform the work daily
    • Review of existing systems, data and integrations
    • Constraints recorded honestly — budget, timeline, team capacity
  2. 02

    Define

    Turn findings into a scope that can be costed and agreed.

    • Written requirements with clear boundaries
    • Success criteria agreed before development begins
    • Sequenced releases rather than one large delivery
  3. 03

    Design

    Shape the experience and the architecture together.

    • Interface design reviewed with real users where possible
    • Data model, integrations and access control designed up front
    • Security and privacy decisions recorded as part of the design
  4. 04

    Develop

    Build in short iterations with something reviewable each time.

    • Code review and automated testing on critical paths
    • Regular demonstrations instead of a single reveal
    • Documentation written alongside the code, not afterwards
  5. 05

    Improve

    Release, observe and refine based on real use.

    • Monitoring and error reporting configured before launch
    • Post-release review of what usage actually shows
    • Planned maintenance for dependencies and security updates

Questions

Data and Business Intelligence — common questions

No — that assessment is part of the work. We look at what you have, report honestly on its condition, and agree which gaps must be fixed before a measure can be trusted.

Discuss data and business intelligence

Tell us about the process, system or product involved. We will give you an honest view of the options, including the ones that do not involve us building anything.

Direct contact