HSO's Data-First Playbook

As the ultimate digital transformation partner, we enable our clients to leverage their data to its maximum potential.

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, data is the most valuable resource that most organizations fail to harness effectively. As the ultimate digital transformation partner, HSO leverages our profound expertise of business processes to enable our clients to leverage their data to its maximum potential.

With our team of knowledgeable data experts, you can benefit from increased innovation, better problem-solving, higher levels of productivity, reduced costs, and so much more.

Our Vision for Data

HSO empowers organizations to harness the full potential of their data, driving innovation, efficiency, and competitive advantage through expert integration of advanced analytics and data technologies.

Connect with our Data Experts

Becoming a data-first organization

Today’s environment requires organizations go beyond data-driven to become truly data-first. But what does that mean?

Becoming a data-first organization means organizing your data to empower innovation and problem-solving throughout your entire organization. It transforms every employee from merely an operator into an innovator, setting the stage for true disruption through transformational (AI) projects and other advanced technologies.

Why do you need to become data-first now?

In the past, it was easy to deprioritize data projects in favor of more “urgent” business needs. For businesses that wish to remain competitive, deferring data projects is no longer a possibility. The time to start the journey to becoming data-first starts now.

Start now to differentiate yourself... or be forced to catch up due to competitive pressure.

It’s clear that data is the engine of any AI application. With the rise of advanced AI capabilities and tools like Copilot, businesses that adapt a data-fist approach will quickly optimize processes, enhance client relationships, and achieve substantial cost savings. Those who don’t will be forced to play “catch-up” as competitors outpace them.

The good news is that an investment in your data platform is evergreen, as your organization’s data outlasts any single application used within your business.

The democratization of data

Moreover, managing complex data workloads has become more affordable than ever, allowing even smaller organizations to reap the benefits. This is an exciting time where the data collected over the years, both structured and unstructured, can be quickly transformed into actionable insights using advanced technology. The return on investment is swift, making data projects worthwhile for any business.

Did you know?

Costs of non-quality data*

While postponing data projects may feel like a cost-saving measure, the research is clear that organizations are (often unconsciously) bearing tremendous costs due to poor-quality data.

The figures are astonishing, but what drives these high costs? Although a wide range of factors (such as increased workloads and lost opportunities) contribute to these expenses, two major cost drivers emerge in the category of digital transformation:

IT investments that treat the symptom rather than the cause

We often see businesses try to solve data problems with other expensive IT projects. Frequently, legacy data issues are the real culprits, and attempting to solve these problems with new process systems (e.g. ERP or CRM) without proper data cleansing is an expensive exercise that leads to frustration, as the problems will continue.

Sub-optimal IT projects

Inefficient IT projects, as a result of poor data quality, are a less obvious way that non-quality data drive business costs. A lack of strategic thinking around the influence of data leads to inefficient IT projects. Without thoughtful insights from data and data technologies, businesses lose the opportunity to improve processes and gain insights into back-office applications.

The HSO Data-First Methodology

Becoming a data-first organization is necessary for organizations to stay competitive, keep up with the new era of digital transformation fueled by AI, and reduce costs of non-quality data.

To enable HSO clients to maximize ROI and reduce time to value for their data projects, we have developed our data-first methodology. This model is grounded in decades of experiences working with enterprises around the world and serves as the foundation for our data-first approach. By connecting business needs to different levels of data maturity, we build a practical roadmap to becoming a data-first organization.

This roadmap balances short-term wins against long-term investments and considers all elements of data management, including:

  • Platform maturity:
  • Data maturity: including data quality management, data strategy, the integration of advanced analytics tools, and more.

We utilize this Data-First Methodology to empower our clients to understand where they’re beginning their data-first journey and visualize next steps.

Our methodology consists of:

1. Inspire: Begin with a clear understanding of what it means to be a data-first organization, from gains to be won, to challenges to avoid, and how it all connects to larger business needs. Take the first step towards embedding a data-first mindset throughout your organization. 

2. Strategize: Connect inspiration to action. Start to map how data strategy can contribute to overall business strategy by translating business plans and KPIs into a data strategy and roadmap. Bring it all together by making plans for organizational change and adoption planning to promote success.

3. Proven platform: Set yourself up for success with a cutting-edge platform that scales with the goals and capabilities of your organization. Microsoft Fabric builds on the success of Microsoft’s ongoing data platform engagement, providing a single place for all of your data.

4. Data security by design: In every HSO project, we ensure that data protection measures are embedded into the design and implementation of systems, services and business practices from the very beginning. Leverage our proactive approach to comply with regulations, safeguard individual rights, and mitigate risks.

5. Accelerate time to value: Tie use cases to business outcomes. Start with quick wins in data optimization to demonstrate the value of data projects swiftly. Realize value from data projects even faster with HSO’s proven DNA Accelerator.

6. Improve efficiency and decision making: Gain even more control over your data and extract greater value from your data with a comprehensive Master Data Management (MDM) approach, supported by best-of-breed MDM technologies.

7. Differentiate with custom AI: Leverage investments in your data platform and maturity with custom AI applications. Truly differentiate your business and start to build a competitive advantage.

For each phase in this model we have a specific Data Offering: 

Following our Data-First Methodology

HSO Data Offerings

The relationship between data and AI

Although the landscape around AI is ever-changing, one truth remains constant: good quality data fuels. Furthermore, as AI applications become more advanced (and therefore more transformational for the larger business), the importance of the data estate grows exponentially.

Going deeper, we at HSO believe that the relationship between data and AI will fundamentally transform how we interact with data.

Looking ahead, a robust data estate sets up organizations to maximize the following benefits from AI:

Productivity

With AI playing an increasingly large role in connecting users to data, businesses can earn major wins in productivity. With an enhanced user experience, accessing complex data models will become easier than ever before, even resolving logistical issues such as language barriers and insufficient documentation.

Furthermore, it allows data engineers and scientists to reduce their manual workload and instead become supervisors of an automated process. This shift improves employee satisfaction as more of their time is allocated for meaningful work that calls upon true data intelligence. At the same time larger organizations benefit from increased efficiency and productivity.

Accessibility & democratization

Currently, accessing and consuming data requires a high level of expertise and inside business knowledge. As AI increasingly serves as the connector between people and data, it will make the process of accessing and reasoning over data much easier, thereby lowering the threshold to making insights from data actionable.

The result is that insights will become more actionable by more people within the organization, across a range of skill levels. At the same time, this increased accessibility decreases the financial investment required to extract insights from data. Organizations of all sizes will be able to access and consume their data in a first-class experience.

Innovation

As outlined in our AI Enablement model, the most transformative and differentiating AI applications typically require the higher levels of data maturity and a truly out-of-the-box approach to solving business challenges. Custom AI solutions, fueled by a robust data estate, have the potential to unlock new competitive advantages.

Explore our perspective on transformative AI applications here.

“I think AI is going to be more and more what connects data to people. The interface is going to be AI because data is very hard to read, you need to translate it to interpret it.”  

Jasper Hillebrand Service Line Director Data Platform
Understanding your business end-to-end

Why choose HSO as your partner for data & analytics?

HSO’s unique combination of technological expertise and deep industry knowledge enables us to serve our clients as a superior data partner and complete digital transformation partner. In addition to our technical expertise, our clients choose to work with HSO for our:
  • 1

    Deep Industry Knowledge

    Our thorough understanding of your business processes at the operational level, combined with our industry expertise and strong implementation abilities, enable us to serve your business end-to-end. With 30+ years of experience delivering both standard solutions and our own IP in your industry worldwide, HSO can work alongside you as a true business transformation partner.

  • 2

    Expertise in Business Processes

    With decades of experience in business transformation delivering ERP and CRM solutions to enterprises around the world, we understand what it takes to enable true business transformation.  We have extensive knowledge of where your data originates—meaning we deeply understand your data. By following the data from origin to output, we gain a comprehensive understanding of the connection between data and the business. This crucial context enables us to support meaningful a data modelling practice and even connect with other source systems outside of the Microsoft ecosystem if need.

  • 3

    Specialization in Microsoft Technology

    Our 100% commitment to the entire Microsoft platform makes it possible for us to help you leverage the full advantage of your entire Microsoft ecosystem. Additionally, it makes HSO a true expert in Microsoft technologies, as proven by our status as Microsoft Inner Circle partner for over two decades, our 26+ Partner of the Year Awards, and our and advanced AI and analytics specializations.

  • 4

    Effective Change Management

    At HSO, we go beyond technology to support an often-overlooked ingredient to success: organizational change management. In current wave of digital transformation, it is more essential than ever to support adoption throughout an organization. Our proven people-centric approach to change management focuses on ensuring that any new initiative becomes embraced and therefore fulfills its true potential.

  • 5

    Large enough to serve, small enough to care

    As a large organization, HSO has the resources, expertise, and global reach to tackle complex challenges and deliver comprehensive solutions. At the same time, we pride ourselves on our close-knit, customer-centric approach. This unique combination allows HSO to provide the best of both worlds: the capabilities of a big company with the care and dedication of a small business.

Deep business understanding and technological expertise

"We know what type of data you collect, what type of insight that provides you, and what kind of proactive insight it can provide you. We know what sort of signals that you should be looking into in the data to truly be a data-first organization... We understand your business end to end."

Wilfred Noppers, Global Lead Cloud Services HSO

What are the benefits of Microsoft’s data platform?

Becoming a data-first organization requires the right technologies, and Microsoft leads the pack with its cutting-edge advancements and integrated platform. HSO is 100% committed to the Microsoft platform, because we’re confident in the technology’s ability to drive transformative data projects. The main advantages of the Microsoft data platform include:

Leading technological advancements

Microsoft differentiates itself with revolutionary developments, such as Copilot, AI, Machine Learning, Synapse Analytics, Fabric, and their strategic partnership with Databricks. The introduction of Fabric especially marks a pivotal moment, where Microsoft now truly leads the market with the most comprehensive (and source agnostic) solution for data analytics, AI, Machine Learning, and platform services. Additionally, these innovations are fortified with best-in-class security and responsible AI principles, on the world's most innovative cloud platform.

The power of the platform

Just like any Microsoft technology, the data capabilities are enhanced by the deeply integrated structure of the entire Microsoft ecosystem. Microsoft’s true end-to-end suite addresses a massive array of business needs, enabling organizations to leverage remarkable efficiency and productivity. Microsoft’s integrated suite of applications brings additional advantages, such as:

  • Industry-leading solutions for almost any workload
  • Simplified data extraction from a unified source
  • Unbeatable innovation, supported by Microsoft’s extensive in-house research and development and external partnerships
  • Capability to scale the platform with business growth and ambition

Accelerated time to value

The integration and compatibility within the Microsoft ecosystem guarantee a quicker time to value for organizations. Companies who have made the investments to be cloud and platform-native are able to quickly and cost-effectively take advantage of any new Microsoft advancement.

Additionally, innovations such as Open AI and Copilot further accelerate this process, making Microsoft technology the best choice for businesses embarking on their data journey.

"Being cloud, platform native means that anything Microsoft launches is already ready to be connected from day one. So you can plug and play, meaning the return on investment is very quick."

Touseef Zafar, Cloud Services Director, HSO UK

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