iMiDiA
Kindling the Next-Gen Data-Driven Programs

The central helpdesk phone is ringing relentlessly at a major golf and country club. It’s a Saturday morning, and everyone wants to reserve tee-time at the golf course. Unfortunately, the club didn’t have an online or mobile-based reservation system in place that would enable patrons to preview golf courses or check the available privileges. “The only option the members had was to pick up the phone and dial in the country club’s number,” says Neil Cowburn, the CEO of iMiDiA. The quandary at hand needed immediate attention, but the CIO at ClubCorp recognized that a lot of the data was not systemized or available to change the status quo.

He engaged a partner iMiDiA to build a data foundation using state of the art Cloud data management technology so that he could position the company for a digital transformation. iMiDiA set about moving all of the company’s master data (clubs, members, memberships and benefits), into a clean foundation from over 200 legacy systems. Once that phase was complete, the standardized data was made available for review by business functions such as marketing, and they immediately saw the vision and sponsored a further phase focused on the digital transformation of the company.

By moving the club’s customer data to a Master Data Management (MDM) system and building a business rule engine on top, iMiDiA provided a reservation engine, enabling members to choose different privilege and golf course options, leading their digital transformation journey. Further, iMiDiA delivered a proof of concept that encouraged the golf and country club to build a mobile application as well. Founded on the core principles of data management, the firm integrates data management strategies into their customers’ cloud, social, and mobile workflows. iMiDiA delivers customer projects through an agile approach, which in turn drives quicker value-to-business for them.

On the IT front, organizations today are faced with an ever-increasing demand to provide services, which reduce operating costs and contribute to growth without compromising their longer-term strategy.

Cowburn mentions, “Our MDM model not only meets the objectives of cost reduction and growth with stability but also elevates the partnership that IT has with the business, providing a solid foundation for the future.” iMiDiA leverages an iterative approach to effectively shorten organizations’ data management lifecycles that span from strategy to implementation. The methodology is carried out in two steps. At first, iMiDiA initiates data transfer from legacy systems to the cloud and comprehends the data to gain valuable business insights. Through this methodology, iMiDiA identifies the most cost-effective approach to manage information and support both the strategic and tactical goals of an organization.

The firm’s extensive experience in both single and multi-domain cloud implementations coupled with their change management methodology allows them to accelerate the customer’s journey significantly. Further, iMiDiA’s emphasis on cloud services integration endows them with an industry-leading capability in the data management arena. Adding to their information management practice, the firm also delivers information delivery and analysis by partnering with other companies and leveraging their technology. “We’ve partnered with a company that is using graph technology, which allows organizations to run data analytics on the consolidated data that comes from a number of disparate systems,” mentions Cowburn.

iMiDiA supports its client base’s MDM and big data programs in an enhanced manner by partnering with different solution providers. In a recent endeavor, iMiDiA partnered with Paxata, a provider of an Adaptive Information Platform that enables business analysts with an enterprise-grade, self-service data preparation system. This partnership will accelerate the processes of exploration, cleansing, and preparation of new data sources for iMiDiA’s clients and will improve the quality of information and insights.

Having carved a niche for itself in the data management space over the years, iMiDiA aims to grow rapidly in the times to come. “Down the lane, we will be placing extra emphasis on the sourcing strategy and vision of the company to tread the global MDM waters,” concludes Cowburn.