Projects

SILVERCREEK

Data Integration and Analytics

Consolidating disparate business data and presenting to stakeholders in the most effective way possible

To manage the various aspects of its business, our private sector client maintained several on-premises and third-party databases and applications. None of the solutions were connected, and none of the data was integrated. Nevertheless, the client needed an efficient analytics solution to support effective business decisions.

To give them an enhanced view of their business information, SilverCreek defined a new set of reports for our client to track products scheduled for shipping ― along with the total value of the shipment ― as well as reports on raw materials used in product development and the person hours and costs involved in day-to-day operations.

The related data was efficiently integrated in an Azure SQL instance and visualized through Power BI, with dashboards tailored for use on mobile devices and readily available to all appropriate personnel.

Simplifying operational reports, reducing manual efforts and consolidating business data

Operational reporting at a major financial institution had become a manual, labour intensive process, carried out by assembling disparate information from a mainframe system. Significant effort was expended each month to produce standard operational reports. IT resources were required to monitor and manually intervene in complex long running batch processes on evenings and weekends. Significant business involvement was required to validate the reports and process the outputs again into other reports.

SilverCreek led an Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) project for our client, creating a single environment to host the collection of data derived directly from various source systems for business intelligence and other analytical and operational reporting activities. SilverCreek, working in partnership with the client team, designed, architected and built the EDW using data from the new operational system to create an integrated, cleansed, and atomic single source of truth as the foundation for all future reporting initiatives.

The EDW and its subsequent information products allowed the client to decommission complex legacy processes and thousands of old reports. We simplified the report development and ad hoc reporting processes, providing easy access to historical data while standardizing and abstracting the complexity of the data inside the ETL layer.

Knowing where new infrastructure should go

SilverCreek assisted a provincial ministry with a critical BI project. The client sought to use its data on student population and facilities to determine where new schools should be built. They approached our Enterprise Data Analytics team for a visualization tool to support new school location decisions.

Using an Agile development approach, our team rapidly built a 3-D map visualization that showed student population densities to provide a basis for school facility development. Our solution overlaid current population density with anticipated changes and plans for school construction over a 10-year period. Innovative technologies, common MS Excel 3D maps and our efficient project approach delivered the exact outcome sought by the executives – a means to save millions of dollars by deploying schools in the right location at the right time.

Enterprise Business Integration

Consolidating business data, sharing information and supporting strategic plans

Our public sector client needed to develop and sustain a new corporate business intelligence infrastructure and a consolidated data environment to host the collection of information derived directly from source systems for BI and other analytical and reporting activities.

SilverCreek architected and implemented the data staging, dimensional and interfacing web service layers in a new enterprise data warehouse (EDW) for natural resource licensing, approvals and quality monitoring. The EDW provided access to reliable, timely, and relevant data from source systems in a consistent manner. This in turn supported several elements of the client’s Enterprise Data Analytics Strategic plan, including sharing data and reducing its duplication. Our work put the client in a strong position to support their plan, as well as realize analytic opportunities for environmental monitoring.

Application Development

Simplifying and automating customer requests

To support citizen requests (under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act) for general or scientific information, our public sector client sought to transition to a paperless process and be digital by default. SilverCreek designed and developed two websites ― an external site for the public and an internal one for administrators ― and designed and developed the sites’ data models and document-storage databases.

We architected, developed and implemented the requested solution, which allowed users to submit fully digital applications to the agency. The solution also provided an internal workflow component that allowed agency staff to manage all aspects of the request lifecycle.

Improving access to air quality information

Our public sector client needed to improve the efficiency of its air health quality website ― as well as the timeliness in reporting data ― to increase access for mobile devices and report on revised air quality indices.

SilverCreek deployed a spatial analytics tool via a web portal that provides reliable access to air quality information and health messaging for Albertans, including access by mobile devices, and links to air quality advisories and additional tools to analyze data.

Improving flood forecasting for the public

In June of 2013, southern Alberta suffered of the costliest floods in Canadian history. As a result of this event, there was an urgent need to enhance public access to near-live data on water levels, flows and flood forecasting. The objective was to make this information available on multiple platforms and devices.

Developed by SilverCreek, the Alberta River Basins website is a spatially enabled web application that provides flood advisory, river, lake precipitation and snow pillow information in Alberta, along with historical data to the public. It also includes a portal for the forecasting team to interact with community and government agencies, allowing forecasters to post targeted data and information to impacted individuals. Forecasters can also chat and interact through the community portal using several real-time tools. The solution works on both mobile and desktop platforms with a modern responsive design.

Our Clients

SilverCreek

Find out how we can leverage data to fuel business success.