Common Data Environment delivers advanced analytics potential for emergency services

Brief

NSW Telco Authority wanted to investigate the feasibility of a common data environment to collect, analyse, and leverage data and drive improved business decisions, efficiencies, and performance for both internal teams and external customers.

The platform needed to provide a capability uplift, delivering the business, systems and data analysis services required to support critical communications for emergency services, first responders, and the telecommunications sector.

Challenge

The key challenge was the complex operating environment, with applications and data spread across multiple secure environments managed by Telco, DCS, and multiple vendor partners.

Access bottle-necks were common.

Low levels of system integration and historically poor data governance practices had created a siloed data environment where data lacked clear lineage and definition. Significant manual work-arounds were in practice creating duplicated effort and eroding trust in data outputs.

Solution

A significant discovery phase unearthed the pain points and opportunities within the current state, and the many potential use cases the common data environment could serve.

A high-level solution design was developed outlining the recommended ingestion, storage, and processing pattern.

A detailed solution design and integration roadmap provided the blueprint to build the envisioned environment, starting with a targeted MVP to demonstrate value.

Outcomes

High levels of mutual trust were built through the discovery process which enabled the high-level solution design and recommendations to be approved by the ARB and eDA authorities with minimal amendments.

The scope of the MVP was quickly agreed based on the urgency, breadth of benefit across the organisation, and the quality of available data sets.

The roadmap also highlighted key enabling capabilities (outside the CDE implementation) which would accelerate Telco’s transformation.