These days organizations are drowning in data. Data is being accumulated everywhere—cloud based systems, locally hosted systems, databases, spreadsheets. Data is streaming in from phones, from tablets, even from the tiny devices and sensors that record our environment. Never in history has more data been captured and the growth of data collection is accelerating with no end in sight.
Fifty years ago the quantity of data that any person had to deal with was fairly constrained. Data storage was quite expensive and the means of collecting data were quite limited. Analyzing data was a fairly straightforward process—run some limited reports, maybe aggregate a few numbers. Generating anything beyond the simplest of reports took an enormous effort.
Now every type of organization is looking at mountains of data. Governmental organizations have to deal with data coming in on thousands of programs and initiatives and have to answer questions regarding the effectiveness of those programs. Manufacturing companies have to find ways to combine the enormous amount of data on production and quality assurance and pair it with salaries and unit sales. Financial organizations need to keep track of trends in market data, capital, and risk management. Distribution companies need to keep track of complex supply chains involving inventory, transportation, and warehousing. Charitable organizations need to capture data from various campaigns and public works and report back to donors on the impact of that work.
How do you get a grip on all the data available to you and organize it in a way that you can draw meaning from it? We are here to help.
The name "Synthelize" is a combination of the words "synthesize" and "visualize", the two key processes used to extract meaning from data. According to dictionary.com, the word synthesize means "to form (a material or abstract entity) by combining parts or elements". In your world, your data elements exist in many different places—locally hosted systems, spreadsheets, databases, data files, cloud based solutions. Our first job is to synthesize that information—to bring it together into a new form by combining the pieces from various systems. We have decades of experience in integrating data from various places and combining it into new data stores—data warehouses, cubes, or other structures—to help you make sense of it.
The word "visualize" draws on the idea that once we have your data combined into new forms we can help you to see it in new ways. Data visualization starts with the question—what do you want to KNOW from your data? Then we proceed to the next question—how can we present the data to you in such a way that the answers to your questions are obvious at a glance? This gives us our roadmap for building visualizations of the data that make sense and bring key elements of interest to the forefront.
Why work with Synthelize? You should work with us because we provide a balanced approach between the business and technology concerns involved in data strategy. We know that some organizations take a management consulting approach and will give lots of advice about what you SHOULD do, but will provide little practical help to get there. On the flip side other companies will present you with technology products and consulting that miss the big picture—they focus on the HOW instead of the WHY.
We are able to help you build a roadmap, and then build the car that drives down that road toward success. Our founder has decades of experience building data systems and visualizations, but also as the former owner of a business he understands the key business concerns that drive the collection of data.
We have a wealth of experience in dealing with data systems. This is not our first rodeo, or even our hundredth. We have worked on systems spanning from old client-server technologies to cloud-based systems, all sorts of databases and programming languages. It’s very unlikely you have a technology that we have never seen before, and if you think you do, we’d love to learn it!
Finally, we seek to approach business with a personal touch. We understand that some of our clients are proficient in technology and some are not—it is our job to take away the pain of data integration and analysis. We are not a large, impersonal consulting organization looking to maximize billable hours and impose canned solutions—we want to respond thoughtfully to your organization’s particular needs.
Are you interested in learning more—get in touch and let's start the data journey together.
info@synthelize.com
