Data was, is and will be more and more relevant for all business activities. A dynamic market requires businesses to adapt quickly, change and innovate faster than ever and that would not be possible without reliable data insights. In fact data drives new business models and we therefore consider it a strategic asset to the company.

Microsoft keeps growing and improving their Azure Data Services (proposition with more options and capabilities that enable all types of organizations and industries to be more data-driven. That also means that the Microsoft data & analytics offering is becoming more complex to navigate for all organizations. 

What is the best tool for extracting, transforming and loading data? How can you be sure you are using the appropriate components for the size of your data? Are your architecture choices fit for purpose? These are all valid questions and represent only a part of the challenges organizations are faced with when implementing a Microsoft Data Platform.

The choices made by organizations regarding architecture have a direct effect on cost, efficiency and effectiveness of their Microsoft Data Platform and, therefore, they have a direct effect on the business value of the platform and solutions built on top of it.

The complexity of the Azure Data Services landscape and the necessity for data insights often result in out-of-scale, expensive, unreliable and unfit for purpose Microsoft Data Platforms. The KPMG Azure Data Services team has developed in depth technical capabilities and a very sharp business acumen that allows them to be the perfect partner for any organization implementing or utilizing an Azure Data Platform. 

The KPMG Azure Data Services team consists of highly skilled professionals who are specialized in different components of the Microsoft technology stack but that also differentiate for their business acumen. Besides our KPMG One Data Platform proposition our team is focused on the use of Microsoft Azure Data Services and can help with:

Design & Implementation of Microsoft Data Platforms

As mentioned above the components and scale of Microsoft Data Platforms is key to ensure valuable results and solutions. These choices can also be made based on the current necessities of an organization but also as part of a growth path for data as the maturity of the data organization grows.

Designing the appropriate architecture for your Azure Data Platform and correctly implementing it are the first key steps to successfully starting your journey to Microsoft Data & Analytics. The KPMG Azure Data Services team has a broad skillset and Azure architects that can help you in these first two key steps. Our team has extensive knowledge of all Microsoft Dynamics data models but can of course also support you in reviewing and optimizing any type of pipeline or ETL you might already have in place for other data sources. 

Besides supporting you with your own architecture the KPMG team has developed a Microsoft Data & Analytics Powered solution. Seeing that many organizations are dealing with similar data sources the KPMG team has built a standard Microsoft Data Platform with standard ETLs, pipelines, data models and reporting. This solution can serve as an accelerator for organizations that want to implement a state of the art Microsoft Data Platform with quick results and while reducing the implementation costs and timelines.

Power BI Administration & Adoption

Power BI is the main BI tool provided by Microsoft and also market leader in this field. Due to its intuitive interface and the many automation possibilities, it enables, not only corporate level analytics, but also a lot of self-service BI for the day to day use of your employees. The biggest strength of a tool like this is that it enables organizations to become data-driven by making data accessible in a safe manner to anyone in the organization.

But with such flexibility also comes a lot of responsibility. How can you ensure that only the right users are utilizing the data? What functionalities should be available to the users? How should they share datasets and reports ? How to best utilize your Power BI Premium capacity ? All these are risk challenges to be addressed when adopting Power BI and therefore the administration of the platform is key.

Power BI also brings a very big change within any organization. Users are all of a sudden asked to be more data-driven and to use this new tool rather than doing manual analysis in Excel. That brings an adoption risk, a lot of organization do struggle to ensure a successful adoption of this tool by the users. Are the users utilizing the reports ? Are the users utilizing Power BI for their ad-hoc analysis ? Our KPMG Azure Data Services team has developed a Power BI adoption roadmap utilizing the information provided my Microsoft, the KPMG change management framework and their own experience with client. Utilizing such roadmap allows organization to answer these questions and to make their Power BI adoption a success.

Power BI competence center

Azure Data Services and Power BI, like any other technology, require the right competences and governance to strive and generate benefit for an organization. Roles, responsibilities, target operating model, change management, support, administration and cost management are just a few of the many topics that organizations need to address in order to ensure their BI or Data & Analytics competence center is fit for purpose.

The KPMG team has developed several frameworks to help any kind of organization build and setup their Microsoft Power BI competence center efficiently. 

If you are interested in Azure Data Services, but still struggling with the right approach, we are here to help you. During our tailormade Azure Data Services inspiration sessions we will show the latest trends and developments within cloud and Azure Data technology. In addition we share some thoughts on how an Azure data transformation could look like including different scenarios. Our KPMG Azure Data Services team has developed a standard Azure data platform that can help you accelerate your journey to Azure Data & Analytics. Contact our experts directly to request a tailormade Azure Data Services Inspiration Session.

Our KPMG Azure Data Services team has developed a standard Azure data platform that can help you accelerate your journey to Azure Data & Analytics. Contact our experts directly to request a tailormade Azure Data Services Inspiration Session or a KPMG One Data Platform Demo.