Data Strategy identifies up to $30M in revenue uplift and over $250k in annual OpEx savings for a Financial Services Leader
Customer's Challenge
A leading financial services company, known for helping small businesses access the funding they need, was preparing for its next stage of growth. To support big goals like an IPO/Acquisition and new partnerships, leadership recognized the need to strengthen its data foundation.
While the company had built tremendous success, it faced challenges common to fast-growing organizations: inconsistent data quality, little trust in data, unclear ownership, and a lack of governance processes. Heavy (ungoverned) reliance on Alteryx workflows and an aging legacy platform also limited auditability and risk modeling. Left unaddressed, these challenges would jeopardize not only audit-readiness but also the company’s ability to scale operations, attract capital, and comply with emerging regulatory mandates.
In an effort to restore trust and build a roadmap for transformational success, the client was looking for a partner to help take them through the next phase of growth.
phData's Solution
phData provided a comprehensive 12-week Data Strategy assessment that delivered actionable recommendations across organizational structure, technology architecture, AI/ML capabilities, and data governance implementation. The engagement produced a detailed 2-year roadmap for transformation while identifying immediate quick wins to build momentum and demonstrate value.
The Full Story
A rapidly growing financial services company had built a successful business providing critical financing to small businesses nationwide, but its data infrastructure had not evolved to match its ambitions.
The organization faced a perfect storm of data challenges that threatened its strategic objectives. Leadership had lost confidence in the data due to inconsistent definitions, manual processes, and ungoverned workflows. The Legal and Compliance teams struggled with inadequate data support, while Risk teams relied on manual Excel processes that couldn’t scale.Â
Most critically, their heavy reliance on Alteryx without proper governance created audit and compliance risks that could derail IPO plans or partnership opportunities.
The company’s core legacy platform limited its ability to implement sophisticated risk modeling, while inconsistent use of critical fields like “product type” and “blacklist” led to inaccurate regulatory reporting. Without proper data retention policies and with sensitive documents overexposed through SharePoint, the organization faced significant legal and compliance exposure.
phData stepped in as a strategic partner, bringing deep expertise in financial services data transformation and regulatory compliance. The engagement followed a structured approach across three phases.
Assessment
During the Assessment phase, phData conducted comprehensive stakeholder interviews across Finance, Risk, Legal, Technology, and Operations teams. The team performed maturity assessments, capability gap analyses, and architectural deep dives to understand root causes rather than just symptoms.
Design
phData did an analysis of reporting speed times correlated to warehouse size. The customer was presently utilizing a 2XL warehouse. Because there were no cases of excessive spillage to a remote disk, and processing speeds were nearly the same, phData recommended that the customer decrease their warehouse size and save the difference.
Mobilization
In the Mobilization phase, phData created detailed implementation roadmaps for specific initiatives, dependencies, and sequencing. The team developed comprehensive tearsheets for the first six months of execution, complete with resource requirements, costs, and timelines.
Why phData?
The client selected phData for its deep expertise in data tools, proven success with Fortune 500 companies, and strong track record in financial services. They valued phData’s ability to deliver tailored solutions, meet strict regulatory requirements, and translate complex technical concepts into clear, actionable business strategies.
Results
phData’s comprehensive strategy delivered four key pillars of transformation that directly addressed the client’s strategic objectives:
Transaction and Audit Readiness
phData recommended migrating critical financial data to governed, version-controlled pipelines using dbt and Snowflake, enforcing historical data preservation and traceability. This approach would provide the audit-ready financial systems essential for IPO preparation or acquisition scenarios.
Legal and Compliance Risk Mitigation
The strategy included implementing robust access controls, data classification frameworks, retention policies, and a centralized metadata catalog and governance platform using tools like Atlan. These measures would significantly reduce regulatory exposure and ensure compliance with requirements like Dodd-Frank 1071 and securitization standards.
Trusted Performance Metrics for Growth
phData recommended standardizing key business metrics, including conversion rates, customer acquisition costs (CAC), and renewal rates within Snowflake, then exposing them through governed Tableau dashboards for executive visibility. This would enable data-driven decision-making across all departments.
AI Value Acceleration
The strategy established a roadmap for implementing a feature platform, starting with Snowflake Feature Store and broader MLOps practices, to reduce time-to-model development and improve consistency across data science initiatives.
Business Value
The business case demonstrated significant financial impact, with phData calculating $1.2 million in annual savings from migrating away from ungoverned Alteryx workflows to a modern dbt-based architecture, which costs only $60-70,000 annually.
Additional value included $30 million in potential revenue uplift from asset-backed securitization improvements and a projected $250k+ in operational efficiency savings.
Reference Diagram
Meet the Team
Linda Lokkesmoe
Principal Program Manager
10+ Years of Experience
Key Skills
Data Strategy Development, Financial Services Expertise, Executive Stakeholder Management
Responsibilities
Led the overall strategy engagement, coordinated cross-functional teams, and delivered executive presentations to drive alignment on the transformation roadmap.
Ben Limegrover
Principal Business Architect
8+ Years of Experience
Key Skills
Business Process Analysis, Use Case Development, Governance Framework Design
Responsibilities
Conducted stakeholder discovery sessions, developed prioritized use cases, and designed future-state governance programs aligned with business objectives.
William Sell
Senior Solutions Architect
12+ Years of Experience
Key Skills
Data Architecture Design, Technology Assessment, Integration Planning
Responsibilities
Assessed current state technology landscape, designed future-state data and integration architecture, and identified technical capabilities required for transformation.
April Fleming
Principal Business Architect
10+ Years of Experience
Key Skills
Organizational Design, Change Management, Process Optimization
Responsibilities
Designed future-state operating models and organizational structures, developed governance rollout plans, and created detailed implementation tear-sheets.
Abraham Reddy
Machine Learning Solutions Architect
8+ Years of Experience
Key Skills
AI/ML Strategy, Feature Engineering, MLOps Implementation
Responsibilities
Assessed current ML capabilities, designed feature store architecture, and developed recommendations for AI value realization and MLOps practices.
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