How do you get the right data, to the right place, at the right time and in the right format?

How do you get the right data, to the right place, at the right time and in the right format?

Julien Schmid talks about the getting the right data to the right place at the right time and in the right format, something that is not always easy.

Author: Avanterra – avanterra.com

 

How do you get the right data, to the right place, at the right time and in the right format?

As Client Solution Architect with Avanterra, Julien Schmid spends much of his time talking to our clients about their requirements, mapping their business processes and overseeing the delivery of our solutions, tailored to their needs.

In this article he addresses the frequently asked question, how do you get the right data to the right place at the right time and in the right format?

 

 

Delivering the right data to the right place at the right time is crucial

 

In today’s fast-paced business environment, timely and accurate data feeds are crucial for making informed decisions.  Unfortunately getting the right data to the right place at the right time is not always as simple as it sounds.  Managing the requirements of multiple data feeds from core systems to multiple recipient systems can be a juggling act as there are many different factors that must be taken into consideration.  Different data formats, different frequencies and different temporal requirements are all obstacles to the smooth flow of information.  It is very clear that what works for one, won’t work for the next and this is in fact the crux of the problem that can lead to delays and errors when data is duplicated, re-keyed and re-formatted.

 

 

The problem

 

From a core system point of view, it is of overwhelming importance that the data feed is timely and reliable and that it is pushed out to those who need it.  There is not always an understanding of what recipients do with the data, how they use it and, most importantly, how they need to receive it.

From the users of the core system point of view, the constraints are mainly focused on ease of use and accessibility. The data needs to be user-friendly and intuitive, allowing users to quickly find, analyse and change the data they need.  Users of recipient systems just want to be confident that the data they are working with and basing decisions on, can be trusted.

The problem is how can you manage this?  How can your data feeds be all things to all systems delivering multiple feeds in different formats to different places and yet still remaining consistent and accurate?

 

 

The solution is not a compromise

 

It is often said that you can’t please everyone all of the time and that aspiring for the 80:20 rule is enough.  We disagree.  We know that, at least in the world of data, you can please all of the people all of the time if you have good data governance and if you set up your data feeds properly.

 

This is what Avanterra’s solutions are all about.

 

So, what do our solutions look like in the asset management industry? From a user perspective, it means that users of our solutions publish data at the right point in time in the past (for correction if required), in the present (to act now) and in the future (to plan for known upcoming events).  Based on the data input, the core system will then automatically deliver the information required to give context and meaning to any given change.  For example, a change of “Subscription cut-off time” will be sent as part of a “Subscription and redemption timing” data set which includes a calendar, bank holidays and time zones.  This gives the user meaning and context for the data and provides a consistent data set for a target system to consume.

Leveraging our technology (NoSQL and graph database), Avanterra can easily manage data set and temporality ensuring that data feeds are always fit for purpose and up-to-date.  Additionally, our solution can, based on the needs of the operating model, scale to handle multiple data feeds simultaneously, providing the necessary flexibility to meet the recipient systems’ differing needs.

From recipient systems perspective, priority is placed on compatibility and integration, in other words, ease of use.  Data feeds must be compatible with the recipient system’s software for seamless and efficient data integration.  In practice our APIs provide customised data sets for each target system, translated into the formats recipients require.  Each data set includes a defined scope of data points, and the values are translated from the core system language to the recipient system language thus guaranteeing compatibility.

The last point I will cover, but certainly not the least important, is the criticality of having well-designed data feed architecture that understands and is aligned with business processes. The key questions of, “Is that information I can act upon?” or, “Is this for information purposes only?” must be understood and addressed.  To achieve this, the data feed architecture includes product statuses such as the production status, share class lifecycle or registration statuses answering these vital questions and delivering data in the right place, at the right time and in the right format.

 

 

How does this effect the bottom line?

 

The impact of effective data governance and efficient data feeds cannot be underestimated.  In a recent article the Harvard Business Review stated that knowledge workers can spend up to 50% of their time searching for data, checking its veracity, cleaning it and then reformatting it.  That is a lot of time for highly skilled resources to be spending on something that can be handled by good data governance and reliable data feeds.

At the end of the day, our aim is to ensure that our clients get the right data, in the right place, at the right time, in the right format so if you would like to hear more about Avanterra’s solutions, please reach out to us to book call.

Julien Schmid is Client Solution Architect at Avanterra.  Over the course of his career, Julien has grown teams and launched solutions to structure and streamline investment fund distribution and data dissemination.  At Avanterra he leverages this experience with his passion to connect technology, knowledge and people.

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