As one of the largest global not-for-profit cooperative pension fund service providers,  various pension funds, affiliated employers, and their employees. Its services include pension management, asset management, and management advice.

PGGM’s teams rely on quality data to inform fund participants and pension fund administrators, improve services, make the right choices in asset management, and implement strategic objectives. To meet the rapidly growing demand for analyses and reports, PGGM needed a modern infrastructure to make data available to users efficiently, quickly, and securely while ensuring strong data governance.

The challenge: Navigating data complexity

PGGM found it challenging to manage diverse data types, including personal data from participants, asset management, and other operational information. As the data volumes grew, its data infrastructure struggled to keep up. Individual departments started to develop their own methods for managing data, creating a lack of consistency throughout the organization. This was exacerbated by confusion over data ownership and authorization, which affected data quality and dragged out processes.

This made integrating, managing, and accessing data extremely difficult and time-consuming. It hindered PGGM’s ability to adapt to changing business needs and stifled strategic objectives.

“Our existing data architecture no longer met our requirements and wishes. We decided that business and IT needed to be bridged through data management, in line with our strategic ambitions and compliance guidelines. We had to start looking at our architecture in a different way—as a means to better support our organization.”

- Marco van der Winden, Manager, Corporate Data Management, PGGM

The solution: User-oriented data architecture

PGGM needed a solution that was oriented to the concept of data mesh. An architecture that enables the different departments to own their data and create data products that can be shared with other teams while maintaining compliance with regulations. Performing analyses and identifying trends through anonymizing or pseudonymizing data was critical.

The goals were clear: The data architecture should serve its users, the technology must support employees, and it should ensure that the organization’s massive amounts of data are put to good use.

PGGM leveraged the capabilities of CData Virtuality, Collibra, Snowflake, and Axians together to help to create a solid data delivery infrastructure (DDI). The combination helped the organization create more value from its data for stakeholders, aligning perfectly with its strategy to improve its services to pension funds and their affiliated participants.

“Data must be easy to find, fully described, and immediately available after approval. The data should be replicated as little as possible and retrieved directly from the original source as much as possible.”

- Arjan Surstedt, Enterprise Data Architect, PGGM

With Snowflake as the underlying cloud database, CData Virtuality seamlessly integrated data from PGGM's multiple sources, optimizing data management workflows and maximizing accessibility throughout the organization. As a result, PGGM successfully navigated the challenges posed by diverse data types and outdated infrastructure, positioning them for improved operational efficiency and data-driven decision-making.

The outcome: Data-driven agility and growth

Implementing CData Virtuality along with Collibra, Snowflake, and Axians helped PGGM streamline its data management processes. Overcoming the complexities of managing diverse data types from different locations enabled the organization to be more agile in its data handling, leading to quicker decision-making and response to changing business needs.

Collibra’s data governance platform ensured that data was accurately recorded, defined, stored, and accessible to authorized users. As the underlying cloud database, Snowflake provided a secure and scalable storage solution for PGGM's data. Consultant and partner Axians facilitated the seamless integration of these solutions, ensuring that they worked together efficiently to achieve PGGM's goals. Now, business users can easily request the data they need and, if granted permissions, access that data immediately to build reports in Power BI and other analytics platforms.

"We significantly reduced time-to-market from weeks or months to several hours or even minutes while ensuring data governance – who has access to what, why do they have access, and is the data used securely.”

- Marco van der Winden, Manager, Corporate Data Management, PGGM

The improved data accessibility made collaboration and sharing across departments more efficient. Equipped with readily available and easily interpretable data products, teams were empowered to make informed decisions and drive innovation forward. This also significantly reduced the time required to bring data insights and reports to market, enabling PGGM to respond quickly to evolving market dynamics and customer demands. Centralized data management ensured high data integrity, enabling PGGM to maintain security standards, adhere to regulatory requirements, and build trust with stakeholders.

Transform data processes with CData Virtuality

CData Virtuality helps enterprises overcome the complexities of integrating diverse data types, improve data governance and compliance, and drive innovation and growth. Unlock the full potential of your data assets, gain actionable insights, and drive informed decision-making.

Discover what CData Virtuality can do for your enterprise. Try it today.