Data Platforms

Move beyond fragmented reporting and disconnected systems with a data platform partner that helps you build trusted foundations and turn data into business value.

Summary:

A modern data platform brings business-critical data together in a trusted, governed and scalable environment. Columbus helps organisations design, build and operate data platforms that support reporting, analytics, AI and everyday decision-making. Our expertise covers data strategy, platform architecture, engineering, governance, data modelling and visualisation.

Make more confident data-driven decisions

Many businesses want to become more data-driven, but the reality is often more complicated. Data is stored across multiple platforms and legacy reporting tools that don’t talk to each other. Reports can be slow to produce, definitions are inconsistent and teams spend too much time manually reconciling and checking numbers instead of acting on insight.

A modern data platform helps organisations bring data together, improve quality, apply governance and make information easier to use. It gives teams a shared foundation for reporting, analytics, automation and AI, while reducing dependence on manual extracts, duplicated logic and uncontrolled spreadsheets.

Turn fragmented data into business value with the right data platform partner

At Columbus, we work with you to understand your business goals, current systems, reporting challenges, operational processes, governance needs and data maturity. We combine business process expertise, industry knowledge and technology experience to identify the most valuable use cases and define a platform approach that is scalable, secure and practical to operate.

Whether you’re migrating to the cloud, consolidating legacy systems or creating a new analytics foundation, we help you build a platform that’s technically sound, trusted by users and connected to business outcomes. Our delivery approach can start with discovery, maturity assessment and roadmap development before moving into platform design, engineering and adoption. We help you strengthen the capabilities needed to scale, including data architecture, pipelines, governance, semantic models, reporting standards and operating practices.

As a Microsoft partner, we help organisations make use of Microsoft data and analytics technologies including Microsoft Fabric, Azure, Synapse, Data Factory, Databricks and Power BI. We also connect data from wider enterprise systems including ERP, CRM, commerce and industry-specific applications, so the platform brings together the data that matters most.

Build the foundations for a scalable data platform

Our approach brings together four areas that help organisations get more value from their data platforms:

  • A data platform should support business priorities and not be built as a standalone technology project. We help your organisation define the outcomes the platform needs to support, prioritise use cases, assess maturity and create a roadmap that balances early value with long-term scale. We also help shape the operating model needed to manage the platform over time, including ownership, governance, ways of working and adoption across business and technical teams.

  • The right architecture makes data easier to integrate, model, govern and reuse. We design and build scalable platforms that can support cloud migration, legacy consolidation, new analytics capabilities and AI. This can include data ingestion, pipelines, data storage, lakehouse or warehouse design, transformation logic, semantic layers, deployment practices and integration with business systems.

  • People need to trust the data before they can use it confidently. We help your organisation put the right controls in place for access, ownership, lineage, definitions, data quality and lifecycle management. This improves confidence in the data, reduces risk and makes it easier to scale reporting, analytics and AI safely.

  • A platform creates value when people can use the information it provides. We help turn raw data into reports and dashboards that are clear, responsive and tailored to how teams work. This includes Power BI dashboards, reusable data models, report design, embedded analytics, performance tuning and adoption support so business users can move from static reports to trusted, decision-ready insights.

Our partners

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Applying data platforms to real business challenges

See how modern data platforms can help organisations create measurable value:

  • Organisations relying on spreadsheets, legacy reports and manual extracts can struggle to maintain a consistent view of performance. A modern data platform brings data together from core systems, standardises key definitions and creates trusted data models for reporting. This helps reduce rework, improve confidence in the numbers and give teams faster access to decision-ready insight. 

  • An organisation moving from legacy ERP to a modern ERP environment also needs to modernise how reporting and analytics are delivered. A cloud-based data platform can provide governed data models and Power BI reporting while reducing dependence on direct SQL queries and spreadsheets. It can also bring together current and historical data to support a more complete view of performance. 

  • Businesses with sustainability and regulatory reporting requirements often need to bring together data from multiple operational systems. A governed data platform creates a consistent, auditable foundation for data, KPIs and reporting, helping teams respond to reporting requirements with greater confidence and control. 

  • Manufacturing and asset-intensive organisations can use data platforms to combine operational, IoT and maintenance data. With the right architecture, teams can monitor equipment performance, detect anomalies and support predictive maintenance use cases that help reduce downtime and improve asset availability.

  • Many organisations want users to explore data themselves without creating uncontrolled reports or conflicting versions of the truth. By building curated datasets, semantic models and governed Power BI reports, teams can support self-service insight while keeping ownership, definitions and access under control. 

  • AI use cases depend on reliable, accessible and well-governed data. A modern data platform gives organisations the foundation to scale from reporting and analytics into machine learning, automation and AI agents using trusted data, clear security controls and reusable data products. 

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Frequently asked questions

  • A data platform is a governed environment that brings together data from multiple systems and organises it for reporting, analytics, automation and AI. It combines technology, integration, governance and data models so information can be used consistently across the organisation. 

  • Businesses need modern data platforms when data is fragmented, reporting is slow, manual effort is high or teams cannot agree on a single version of the truth. A modern platform helps improve data quality, strengthen governance and give people faster access to consistent reporting and insight. 

  • A modern data platform can support cloud storage and processing, structured and unstructured data, real-time or near real-time analytics, governed self-service reporting, automation and AI. It should also be scalable, secure and practical to manage as requirements change. 

  • No. A customer data platform focuses specifically on bringing together customer information from systems such as CRM, marketing, commerce and customer service. It helps create consistent customer profiles for segmentation, personalisation, analytics and service. A wider data platform supports information from across the organisation, including finance, operations, supply chain and customer systems. A customer data platform may form part of this broader environment. 

  • AI needs trusted data, clear definitions, secure access and reusable data models. A modern data platform helps prepare, govern and connect data so AI use cases can be developed and scaled with greater confidence. 

  • A data warehouse is typically used for structured reporting data. A lakehouse combines elements of data lakes and warehouses to support broader data types and scalable analytics. A data platform is the wider environment that brings together architecture, technology, governance, pipelines, models, reporting and operating practices. A warehouse or lakehouse can form part of that platform. 

  • Choose a data platform partner that understands your business priorities, existing systems, data maturity and reporting needs. They should be able to support strategy, architecture, engineering, governance and adoption while helping you prioritise realistic use cases and develop the platform over time. 

  • The timeframe depends on the scope, complexity of your systems, data quality and the use cases you want to support. If you’d like to discuss your plans, we can assess your requirements and current data environment before giving you a more specific view. 

  • Start with business outcomes. Identify the decisions, reports and use cases that matter most, assess the current data landscape and prioritise a practical roadmap. From there, build the foundations incrementally so the business can realise value early while scaling over time. If you’d like support getting started, we can help you assess your priorities and identify practical next steps. 

Key takeaways: 

  • Modern data platforms create value by bringing fragmented data into a trusted, governed and scalable foundation 
  • Successful platforms connect business outcomes, data quality, governance, architecture, reporting and adoption 
  • Columbus helps organisations design, build and operate data platforms that support reporting, analytics, AI and long-term business value 

Get in thouch

Claes Reinholdt Kongsdam
Claes Reinholdt Kongsdam

Head of Data & AI

LinkedIn