Customized reporting platform

As a leading European software provider with a global client base and multiple divisions, the company faced growing complexity in managing and analyzing operational data. Their existing reporting setup, based largely on customized Excel files, was no longer sufficient.

Key challenges included:

• Lack of real-time insights into financials, sales, and service delivery.
• Difficulty in standardizing metrics across departments.
• High risk of human error due to manual data entry and inconsistent formatting.
• Limited scalability and traceability in reporting processes.

To support continued growth and streamline operations, the company needed a robust, cloud-based Business Intelligence (BI) solution.

We partnered with the client to design and implement a scalable BI platform using Azure, focused on improving data quality, consistency, and accessibility.

Key steps:

Discovery phase to map the data landscape and identify relevant sources.

Integration of data sources into a centralized Azure data warehouse via APIs.

Data cleaning and standardization, including:

• Agreement on key metrics (e.g., headcount, attrition rate).
• Documentation of processes for cross-team clarity.

Automation of data sourcing:

• Excel exports from business systems are cleaned and sent to a database.
• Power BI dashboards pull from this database, ensuring traceability.

Error reduction through Power Apps:

• Replaced Excel input with
• Power Apps to enforce data validation rules.
• Enabled prepopulation using a single ID across systems.

Custom dashboard development:

• Initial dashboards integrated HR and time management tools.
• Later stages added CRM and financial systems for sales, service delivery, and P&L reporting.

Transparent ETL processes:

• Avoided black-box ML models to ensure explainable data flows, especially for finance stakeholders.

The new BI solution delivered significant improvements:

• Improved visibility into operations and financial performance.
• Verified data quality, enabling confident, data-driven decisions.
• Reduced manual workload through automation and standardized inputs.
• Minimized error rates, thanks to Power Apps validation and centralized data handling.
• Faster reporting, with real-time dashboards tailored to stakeholder needs.
• Scalable infrastructure, ready to support future growth and evolving business needs.

Ongoing impact

The initial solution was delivered in four months.

We continue to support the client with new reports and data integrations.

Their enhanced BI capabilities now serve as a foundation for strategic growth and operational excellence.