# Building a long-term data and systems framework

#### Sector

Accountancy Firm

#### Business Size

750 people

## The Client

Our client is a large firm with 750 staff across several UK offices. They have a mature practice management system, with over 25 years of data, and a largely on-premises basis for systems.

There is a large and effective internal IT department spanning “business-as-usual” and innovation, with a considerable development capability as well.

## The Engagement

Over the years the firm had acquired different systems to deal with the varying requirements of different departments. Each of these served their purposes adequately, but in isolation, they were creating silos of information bound to either an administrative function, such as HR, or a single client-facing department.

As a result, data was not being exploited fully and the silos of data were reflected in a silo mentality to client-facing operations as well, resulting in a non-cohesive approach to client service.

The IT leadership team recognised that this could be improved and felt that a common design framework would bind current and future systems together more tightly. The opportunity would also be taken to improve both the quality of data and the processes around its gathering and maintenance.

Our brief was to create a systems and data framework governing development, procurement and customisation, to allow the firm to define and then focus on its own needs – as described in this framework – rather than be beholden to the whims of its suppliers.

The framework would create a reference point against which to measure all future technical work and commercial decisions.

Furthermore, this more formal and documented approach would allow the firm to more easily contract-out some IT services rather than always rely on internal knowledge.

## Our Approach

We reviewed the current use of data in the firm, particularly in the practice management system. Whilst this had been in use for a long time, the structure of the data was sub-optimal and needed work to transform it. This new arrangement of data was more correct, and better suited the wider uses for that data in other systems across the firm.

With the data improvement underway, we worked with the firm to create the framework as described, with three governing principles:

- The first was a common database, drawn from and writing to other systems, designed to serve the data needs of the firm now and in the future. This also had a common data standard with which all future purchases would be expected to comply.
- The second was a common taxonomy and agreed storage arrangement for data, minimising the need for data transformation; this also made it easier for the “professional” side of the firm to describe processes to technical staff. This taxonomy was universal across all parts of the firm, spanning the public-facing website through to service line operations and on to software development.

- The third was a common user interface providing a platform for viewing and editing data, tasks and workflows, which would allow for future developments with a minimum of user interference.

This approach would be used to validate and define future IT development work, process improvement, and procurement. It would consolidate effort and ensure the value in individual projects would extend beyond the project itself. It would also simplify maintenance and adoption, enforce a baseline for operations, and improve comprehension of complex systems by lay users.

As a further benefit, it would avoid monolithic updates and associated disruption and instead provide a common platform and user experience within continuous improvements over time.

## The Result

The firm adopted the framework we proposed. With some input from us, they appointed a senior developer as the lead for the project, who in turn had junior development and data resources in his team.

Using the principles of this framework, they built their own data warehouse to store and manipulate data, presented through an intranet to users.

Within the framework they then first attached their practice and document management systems, then key production systems, their client-facing financial processing platform, and finally key internal systems such as HR and active directory.

Adoption has been excellent throughout the firm and also throughout the client base via their client portal (also attached to this framework). Users quickly and confidently access the data they need, the processes they undertake, and the reports they analyse via the intranet rather than the underlying systems.

Data has been de-siloed, and access to the data, whilst respecting security rights and privileges, has been considerably broadened. The adoption of a uniform framework has also made discussions around IT easier to host, with non-technical users better able to articulate their wants and needs.