Data platform modernisation
Modernisation programs rarely fail on technology. They fail on sequencing, ownership and funding, which is exactly where an independent architect earns the fee.
Aurora Data helps organisations move from fragmented legacy analytics estates toward modern lakehouse architectures capable of carrying advanced analytics, AI and real-time workloads, without being rebuilt again in three years.
The work starts with an honest account of what you actually have: the reports that matter, the pipelines nobody owns, and the spreadsheet extracts quietly holding parts of the business together. A target-state diagram is easy. Getting an organisation to agree on ownership, funding and sequencing is the work.
What the work covers
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Current-state assessment
What the estate really contains, what depends on what, and which parts are load bearing before anything is switched off.
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Target-state architecture
A design for where the platform is going, with the reasoning recorded so the decisions outlive the project.
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Platform selection
Where Fabric, Azure Data Services and Databricks each fit, where each strains, and what that means for your estate.
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Migration sequencing and decommissioning
An order of work that keeps reporting alive throughout, and a plan for actually retiring what it replaces.
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Operating model and handover
The ownership, funding and day-two responsibilities that decide whether a platform is maintained or merely inherited.
How an engagement runs
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Assessment
A short engagement establishing the current state, the constraints and the risks worth naming out loud.
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Target state and roadmap
Target architecture and a sequenced roadmap, costed in effort and dependency rather than optimism.
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Delivery support
Architectural direction through the build, with review of the work as it lands and correction while it is still cheap.
Questions people ask
Do we have to move everything at once?
No, and it is usually the wrong approach. Sequencing matters more than speed: the aim is a migration where each stage stands on its own and existing reporting keeps working while the new platform is built beside it.
What happens to our existing Power BI reports?
They are part of the assessment. Reports reveal what the business genuinely depends on, which is often different from what the documentation claims, and that shapes the order in which things move.
How is this different from engaging a large consultancy?
Aurora Data is a specialist practice, so the senior architect is the person doing the work rather than the person who appears at the kick-off. It suits organisations that want independent architectural direction without the overhead of a large firm.
Talk it through
Engagements start with a conversation about what you have and what is actually in the way. If that sounds useful, send an email and describe the situation in a paragraph or two.
Background on the practice is on the home page, and on the architect leading it on the profile page.