Case Study: End-to-End Business Intelligence and Automation Solution for a Banking Client

Project Timeline: March 2020 – June 2021
Client: Financial Sector (Banking)
Technology Stack: Azure Analysis Services, Azure Data Factory, Azure SQL, Microsoft Power BI

Overview

A leading bank sought to implement a comprehensive business intelligence (BI) and automation solution to improve data processing efficiency, ensure high data accuracy, reduce errors, and enable real-time business reporting. The project aimed to streamline data management by automating data workflows, establishing a scalable cloud-based data warehouse, and providing robust security for sensitive financial data.

Challenge

The bank faced several operational challenges that hindered effective data utilization:

• Lengthy Data Processing Times: Manual processes and outdated systems led to delays in data processing, impacting decision-making timelines.
• Data Integration Errors: With data sourced from multiple systems, the client struggled with integration errors, which affected data accuracy and reporting reliability.
• Slow Reporting and Analysis: The absence of preconfigured data sets and real-time capabilities meant report generation was time-consuming and lacked up-to-the-minute accuracy.
• Security Concerns: Managing access to sensitive data across teams required a secure, role-based solution to prevent unauthorized access.

To address these issues, the client required a robust BI solution with automated workflows, a cloud data warehouse for scalable data management, and a secure reporting environment.

Solution

SQL Orbit developed an end-to-end BI and automation solution that transformed data processing, reporting, and data security through the use of Azure’s cloud infrastructure and Power BI analytics.

Key solution components included:

• Automated Data Processing: Leveraging Azure Data Factory, SQL Orbit built automated data pipelines that processed data quickly and accurately. This drastically reduced data processing times, allowing for faster insights.
• Scalable Cloud Data Warehouse: An Azure SQL-based data warehouse was deployed to consolidate data from various banking systems, enabling real-time data analysis with high accuracy. The scalable architecture allowed for future growth and expansion of data sources.
• ETL Flows for Accurate Data Integration: A streamlined ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) flow was designed to pull data from various sources, transform it, and prepare it for analysis, reducing data integration errors and enhancing data quality.
• Optimized Reporting with Preconfigured Data Marts: A set of preconfigured data marts tailored to specific reporting needs was developed. This allowed for fast, customized reporting and reduced report generation times.
• Enhanced Security: A role-level security model was implemented with Azure Active Directory (AAD) for centralized, secure access management. This ensured that only authorized personnel could view sensitive information, meeting strict security and compliance requirements.

Outcomes

The implementation of this BI and automation solution led to substantial improvements across multiple operational areas:

1. Drastically Reduced Data Processing Time
   • Automation of data processing workflows reduced processing times by 98%, enabling prompt and reliable data warehouse updates and faster availability of insights.
2. High-Accuracy Real-Time Data Analysis
   • With the cloud data warehouse solution in place, the bank achieved 99% accuracy in real-time data analysis, supporting faster and more reliable decision-making.
3. Significant Reduction in Data Integration Errors
   • By building an efficient ETL flow, the bank reduced data integration errors by 90%, ensuring clean, consistent data from diverse sources.
4. Improved Report Generation Efficiency
   • Preconfigured data marts allowed for 95% faster report generation, significantly improving productivity and enabling timely insights for the management team.
5. Enhanced Security and Compliance
   • The role-level security model and Azure Active Directory integration resulted in a 100% improvement in data security, protecting sensitive financial information and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.

Benefits

• Real-Time Data Access and Insights: The solution provided instant access to reliable, real-time data, supporting proactive decision-making across the bank.
• Optimized Data Accuracy and Integration: Automated ETL processes minimized errors, delivering clean, integrated data from all source systems.
• Scalable and Secure Reporting Environment: With Azure’s scalable infrastructure, the bank could securely expand data and reporting capabilities as business needs evolved.