How One Company Built a Full Data Team Without Hiring One Resource
By Sam Nicholson, 27 June 2023
Introduction
In today’s data-driven business landscape, having a competent data team is crucial. However, for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with limited resources, building and maintaining a full data team can take time and effort. Fortunately, BI:PROCSI introduced a solution in the form of managed services. This article explores the story of one of BI:PROCSI’s clients and how they leveraged managed services to establish a complete data team without hiring a single employee.
Discovery of Managed Services
Our client, a scale-up, was facing the challenge of building a data team within budgetary constraints but was made aware of our managed services offering. This offering provided access to a pool of data resources across multiple areas, including Business Intelligence (BI), Data Warehousing (DW), Data Engineering, and Data Science. By subscribing to the managed services, the company gained the flexibility to access the skills and expertise they needed when required.
The Benefits of a Resource Pool
One of the key advantages of managed services for our client was the access to a scalable and flexible subject matter expert resource pool. This pool consisted of professionals proficient in 57 technologies and ten programming languages, covering a wide range of data domains. Whenever our client needed specific skills or knowledge, they could tap into this resource pool and select the most suitable experts for their projects. This eliminated the need for hiring and allowed them to tailor their team composition based on their evolving needs.
Elastic Resourcing for Optimal Efficiency
Managed services offered the client the unique advantage of elastic resourcing. They could optimise their resource allocation based on their changing requirements. Whether they needed additional support for a complex project or scaled down during quieter periods, they could adjust their data team size without the usual constraints associated with hiring and onboarding employees. This flexibility ensured cost-effectiveness and significantly streamlined operations.
Future-Proofing and Technical Debt Reduction
Through BI:PROCSI, our client benefited from future-proofing and a reduction in technical debt. BI:PROCSI continuously stays updated on the latest advancements in data technologies, ensuring that the customer has access to cutting-edge tools and methodologies. This eliminated the burden of constantly investing in new technologies or training employees, allowing the client to focus on their core business goals and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving data landscape.
Quality and Expertise
The resource pool offered by BI:PROCSI consisted of highly skilled and experienced professionals. The client could tap into their collective expertise to address various data challenges. From building robust business intelligence dashboards to optimising data infrastructure, DataWise had access to specialised expertise in diverse data domains. This ensured that their data initiatives were executed with precision and excellence, driving valuable insights and informed decision-making.
Training and Enablement
Our customer utilised the training and enablement part of managed services to onboard new employees but also to make sure that existing teams are kept up to date with developing technologies.
Additional Support and Benefits
Beyond the resource pool, our client got dedicated support from Technical Success Managers and Account Managers. BI:PROCSI conducted bi-annual data landscape health checks to assess the state of the client’s data environment, identify areas for improvement, and offer tailored recommendations. Quarterly business reviews and roadmap reviews helped them to align their data strategies with their business objectives. Additionally, monthly Q&A sessions with data leaders allowed them to seek guidance, share insights, and gain valuable perspectives on their data initiatives.
The story of our customer exemplifies the power of managed services in enabling SMBs to build a full data team without the need for hiring individual employees. By leveraging the expertise, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness of managed services, businesses can unlock the benefits of a complete data team, access specialised skills on demand, reduce technical debt and achieve optimal efficiency. The resource pool provided by the BI:PROCSI ensures access to a wide range of data experts covering various domains and technologies. This eliminates the need for extensive recruitment efforts and allows businesses to tailor their team composition based on specific project requirements.
In conclusion, this story showcases the transformative potential of managed services in building a full data team without the need for hiring individual resources. SMBs can leverage the flexibility, expertise, and cost-effectiveness of managed services to access specialised skills, reduce technical debt, and optimise their data operations. As the data-driven landscape continues to evolve, managed services present a viable solution for businesses looking to harness the power of data without the challenges of traditional hiring processes.
