A Global Travel Company | Future Processing

Data architecture, Low-Code apps and DevOps practices enabling data-driven decisions and workplace automation.

Sector: Entertainment
Country: International

Our client is a global sea and inland waters tour operator offering an immersive experience of luxury small ship cruises.

Recognised by both tourism industry and travellers, the company has been honoured with awards for the best river cruise lines, upscale ship and suite designs, as well as first-rate customer service.

The organisation’s mission is to offer a superior experience: from the first website visit and reservation, through the unforgettable cruise, to the post-sale contact with the community of regular customers.

Challenge:

Supporting business processes with Low-code applications and DevOps practices, and enabling in-depth Big Data processing with the most efficient architecture and software.

Approach:

We’ve been providing agile digital solutions, drawing from our experience in both tech consulting and software delivery.

Result:

Our client can now make informed decisions based on Big Data analysis, as we’ve integrated over 30 systems into one coherent Data Lakehouse solution. Our Low-code application saves up to 250 hours of work for department heads and managers who no longer have to manually prepare reports.

Business challenge

The global company’s efforts are fully focused on maximising profits and providing exceptional customer experience. In order to fully concentrate on these goals, our client looked for a flexible partner with capabilities to swiftly introduce digital tools supporting and automating their key business operations, including staff, vendor and fleet management, customer service, and cruise selling.

The organisation’s systems are scattered all over the world. They produce approximately 10 terabytes of disparate data, encompassing aspects like fleet, HR, customer service, and sales. This raised the need for a bespoke data architecture to cleanse, process and manage disparate data to prepare it for future BI reporting and Machine Learning.

Solutions we delivered

Scope of work

By reinforcing the client’s tech team with our experts with both consulting and software delivery capabilities, we have catered the organisation’s technological demands in Big Data architecture and modelling, as well as workplace and business process automation.

Big Data Services

Cloud
Solutions

DevOps

Low-Code

Technical Writing

Our collaboration
in numbers

Approx. 100 million records handled daily by our data solutions in DELTA mode
More than 10 terabytes of Big Data generated, stored and processed every month
Over 30 systems and data sources which we’ve integrated into 1 coherent data architecture
Approx. 250 hours of department heads and general managers saved every full fleet’s voyage with our Low-code app
Over 15 cloud and on-premises technologies used in data solutions
3 Low-Code apps enhancing operational efficiency of ashore teams and ship crews
Up to 10 tech talents reinforcing the client’s team

Unlocking the analytical
potential of Big Data

The global organisation runs its core business processes with a profusion of systems scattered all over the world and generating more than 10 terabytes of Big Data monthly.

In order to design and implement end-to-end data solutions, the company has teamed up with our experts. Together we have aligned over 15 cloud and on-premises services and components to provide Big Data seamless flow, FULL and DELTA processing, cloud storage and modelling.

Thanks to the cost-efficient and safe data storage and processing system, our client’s business intelligence is no longer confined to manual and time-consuming spreadsheet operations. Terabytes of data can be turned into insightful reports with just a simple mouse click.

Data Solutions Consulting. To guarantee that the customer’s data is processed in the fastest and cost-efficient way, our experts have shared their in-depth, A-Z expertise on every aspect of cloud data architecture design and modelling.
Data Architecture. We’ve consulted and developed steadfast data pipelines to enable smooth data flow from over 30 disparate sources (databases, REST API, CSV and JSON flat files) to one efficient repository. We’ve ensured that essential data retains consistent quality for further business analysis and reporting.
Lakehouse Architecture. By laying foundations and developing storage architecture where disparate data is integrated and processed for reporting, we’ve unlocked business intelligence capabilities of client’s Big Data.

Snowflake to Databricks migration. By providing strategy and supporting the platform change, we’ve guaranteed that data is processed in the most time- and cost-efficient way. We’ve also made it ready for future Machine Learning operations.
Data modelling. Our client can make future decisions based on insightful reports generated by our reliable analytical model for complex financial data.
Cloud migration. By overseeing the cloud migration process, we’ve ensured unlimited capacity and abundant computing power for securely storing and processing the exponentially growing amount of data.
Python API. By providing a smart API solution that shares designated data with external systems, we’ve ensured compliance of our client’s operations with the legal requirements of other stakeholders.

DevOps practices for
swift operations and cost savings

We’ve provided efficient and reliable automation of our clients’ bulk operations and data workflows by selecting and aligning over 10 leading-edge elements and technologies. Our Azure and on-premises automation solutions are stable and predictable, thanks to the seamless DevOps practices we’ve brought to our client’s ecosystem.

We’ve introduced timesaving, practical and reliable automated operations based on Azure Pipeline architecture. We constantly minimise the risk of possible Azure Functions errors with Continuous Integration Pipeline and increase efficiency of deployments, as Continuous Deployment Pipelines tackle fast and repeatable deployments of both Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and Azure applications.
We facilitate and accelerate cloud infrastructure management with the use of Bicep, a declarative language-based Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solution. Moreover, with reusable Bicep files, we significantly reduce developer’s workload related to updates.
We minimise applications downtime by predicting and eliminating possible errors. We are constantly improving our software for better stability and efficiency, as we are able to make changes actively and reactively on the basis of the apps’ performance analysis with Application Insights tools for observability.

Application of these DevOps practices has increased speed and cost-efficiency of both software delivery and business operations, enhancing operational agility and market competitiveness of our client.

Enhancing efficiency
with Power Apps

We listen and advise in order to design Low-Code apps which boost our client’s efficiency in daily operations. We decided to kick-off the workplace automation process with an overview of available solutions to meet the organisation’s requirements. Then we recommended the most efficient Low-Code applications to replace the inefficient software and relieve our client’s teams from repetitive and time-consuming manual operations.

We’ve designed and developed three Low-code applications which boost daily operations of onshore teams and international ship crews alike.

With our cruise summary mobile app, all department heads and general managers save up to 250 hours every full fleet’s voyage. The solution boosts our client’s efficiency in cruise reporting, as it frees crew members from writing each report separately in standard desktop spreadsheets and word processing programmes.
Now, with a user-friendly interface and a number of templates, it is possible to enter real-time data straight on shipboard and submit the full report after the cruise’s end. The data shared through the cruise summary application gets stored within SharePoint lists, making it ready for future Power BI reporting.

Our client’s employees can now conveniently submit new project requests, as we’ve replaced the old intractable React tool with a new Power Apps solution. The application streamlines the process of submitting tickets and allows for tracking the project assessment process. Application forms can be easily customised to match various requests.
We’re developing a smart app to organise and increase efficiency of the vendor onboarding process. With the Azure AD guest account system, external stakeholders enter substantial amount of data themselves, with no need of engaging our client’s in-house teams. As there is no need for development of external accounts new vendors, the solution will additionally contribute to cost efficiency.

Technologies

Used in the project

Versatile experts
in digital solutions

For over 5 years, our client has been drawing from the experience of our difficult to source talents who’s brought technical expertise and high-quality delivery of digital solutions.

Our Cloud Data Architect consulted and led Snowflake to Databricks migration. He also designed the robust data flow and lakehouse’s architecture. Cloud Data Engineer crafts and maintains data analytical models. Supported by Cloud Data Base Administrator, our data experts deliver full range of services in the data segment.
The DevOps practices introduced by one versatile DevOps Engineer ensure that automation functionalities are stable, reliable and predictable.
Our experienced Power Platform Developer consults and develops the most suitable Low-Code solutions to propel efficiency in daily operations.
Coherent and extensive descriptions and manuals by the skilled Tech Writer help both tech and non-tech teams to make the most of every digital tool and solution we’ve provided.