Bringing Technical and Enterprise Groups Along with Atlan
The Energetic Metadata Pioneers sequence options Atlan clients who’ve accomplished a radical analysis of the Energetic Metadata Administration market. Paying ahead what you’ve realized to the subsequent information chief is the true spirit of the Atlan group! In order that they’re right here to share their hard-earned perspective on an evolving market, what makes up their fashionable information stack, modern use circumstances for metadata, and extra.
On this installment of the sequence, we meet Kevin Nutbrown, Senior Information Analyst at International Excel Administration, a medical price containment and claims administration firm, processing over $1.9 billion in medical claims yearly throughout greater than 90 nations. Kevin shares the historical past of how his group has grown, and the way Atlan will play a key function in driving Information Governance and interesting with their enterprise colleagues.
This interview has been edited for brevity and readability.
May you inform us a bit about your self, your background, and your workforce at International Excel?
I’ve been at International Excel for 28 years, and I’ve seen the corporate develop from a small operation dealing with claims for Canadians touring outdoors of the nation to the worldwide chief it’s right this moment. After we had been simply beginning out, leveraging information as an asset was a comparatively new idea, and our methods had been fundamental. I acquired inquisitive about how we may higher handle our information, so I began determining how tables linked and pull the data we would have liked, which led me into the world of Information & Analytics.
I finally went again to high school and picked up a Certificates in Laptop Science to enrich my enterprise diploma. That gave me the inspiration to assist construct our data methods as the corporate grew.
Our workforce is now divided into two elements: the Information Workforce, which pulls information from completely different sources and units it up for reporting, and the Analytics Workforce, which makes positive that information is offered in a method that’s simple to know.
My function is type of within the center. I’m not a programmer, but when there’s a challenge that requires information alternate between shoppers, for instance, I’ll help with that in addition to different tasks, comparable to implementing a knowledge catalog.
Why seek for an Energetic Metadata Administration resolution? What was lacking?
As International Excel grew, the necessity for a extra structured and built-in method to information administration grew to become clear. We lacked a unified system to doc and handle our information, resulting in inefficiencies and inconsistencies ensuing with these of us who’ve been right here for a very long time up being a useful resource.
As an example, we’ve a desk known as ‘Declare’ in a single system, and one other desk known as ‘Declare’ in a special system, however they’re not the identical factor. Consequently, completely different groups may use the time period ‘Declare’ otherwise, relying on the system they’re working with, which creates confusion and discrepancies in reporting.
When completely different groups pull information and get completely different outcomes, it’s irritating and time-consuming to determine why. That’s why we began in search of an answer; a strategy to deliver every little thing collectively in a single place, so we’d all be on the identical web page.
We would have liked a strategy to deliver every little thing collectively in a single place and enhance our Information Governance, so we knew who was accountable for what. Our objective was to make sure that everybody, from technical groups to enterprise customers, had a shared understanding of our information property to enhance accuracy and confidence within the information.
Did something stand out throughout your analysis course of?
What stood out was Atlan AI, the best way lineage is offered, and the overall “intuitiveness” of the device.
Particularly for individuals that aren’t technically oriented, or not on the information workforce, if you wish to know what “Declare” is, Atlan provides you with Google-style outcomes. The glossary permits the enterprise to work together with information and is an effective method to make sure we’re talking the identical language in relation to our metrics and phrases.
This ease of use and concentrate on collaboration between technical and non-technical groups was a key differentiator. It was clear that Atlan wouldn’t solely assist us handle our information extra successfully but additionally foster higher communication and understanding throughout the group.
How have you ever carried out Atlan, to this point? What’s subsequent?
Atlan is built-in with Snowflake and MSSQL, permitting the information workforce to shortly discover lineage, entry any doable influence of modifications and effectively navigate our information panorama. This integration has considerably streamlined our onboarding course of for brand new workforce members, who can now shortly acquire visibility into our information platform with out sifting by way of advanced SQL queries or a number of tables. Instantly, that was a key win.
Concerning Information Governance, we see Atlan as a device that we will construct on high of. We now have a a lot clearer understanding of who can entry what information, particularly in relation to delicate data like PII. It’s not only a theoretical dialogue anymore, it’s one thing we’re actively managing.
What’s forthcoming is getting extra readability round enterprise definitions and information possession. It’s necessary for us to know who’s accountable for what, and to verify everybody agrees on the which means of our information property. It will assist us keep away from confusion and make it simpler for our enterprise customers to unravel issues on their very own, with out all the time having to show to the tech workforce for solutions.
It’s encouraging to know that we’ll have individuals accountable for sure information, and that it will likely be easy for the enterprise to know what it’s and who to ask about it. It signifies that if any person sees a quantity go up or down, they’ll know what it means and the place it got here from through the use of Atlan, relatively than asking us first. Downside-solving can be of their palms, and that’s extra of a “individuals” than tech downside, however requires a little bit of setup to allow it. It’s serving to us shift among the accountability to the enterprise customers, which is precisely what we would have liked.
We’ve accomplished lots of work to unravel ‘information points’, and I’m hopeful that Atlan will give us the leverage to shift to a extra data-driven company tradition.
Picture by Martha Dominguez de Gouveia on Unsplash
