Self-Service Data Platform Delivered in 12 Weeks

Our client, the government's principal advisor on Māori wellbeing and development, needed to decouple their data capability from a shared platform managed by another government agency. The existing arrangement was not oriented towards their specific data needs, and they had less control than they required.

With a team of twelve data analysts serving the data needs of hundreds of advisors, service delivery staff, and executives, the agency needed a new platform with all data operations and capabilities provided as a service, including six initial data product use cases, available within twelve weeks.

The engagement required close collaboration with a third-party infrastructure provider and the client's internal teams, working through the complexities of a larger organisation while maintaining strict implementation timeframes.

DataSing were successful bidders in a closed RFP process involving an incumbent supplier. We designed and developed a data engineering architecture and configurable data ingestion framework on the client's own Azure tenancy, deploying key components from our own platform.

We created scalable pipelines for six key data sources and implemented a front-end, configurable interface for ongoing data ingestion and file transfers. We embedded ourselves with the client's data team early in the engagement, understanding their pain points and operating model to anticipate configuration requirements and streamline user acceptance testing.

We worked with numerous stakeholders, including the third-party infrastructure provider, the client's CIO, data analysts, and information security teams, obtaining approvals for our technical designs and supporting independent security and penetration testing before go-live.

We attended the client's stand-ups, established governance using our proven framework, and maintained close alignment with their strategic planning. All risks and issues were managed to a 'no surprises' principle, with early visibility and resolution without executive escalation.

All major scope was delivered on time and within the agreed fixed-price budget, with six initial data products in production within twelve weeks of contract signing.

DataSing's UI-based ingestion tool has made a real difference. The analyst team can now perform ad hoc data engineering in self-service mode, rather than relying on sporadic and expensive services from the previous provider. Our data catalogue tool has allowed the agency to progress data discovery without the deployment costs associated with enterprise solutions, so analysts can efficiently identify available data products, usage restrictions, and data provenance.

The agency is now in control of its own data platform, capability, and costs. Our fixed-price approach gave them budget certainty, and this has been reflected in an agreement to continue services through to mid-2026.

We have also developed automated pipelines processing data from over 30 source systems, implemented data quality frameworks, and delivered self-service analytics through Power BI and automated reporting, supporting evidence-based decision-making across the organisation.