Competitive Reporting for Marketing Activities

Business Objective
Our client was collecting competitive data from numerous resources and engaged eSage Group to automate their data integration and reporting process to more quickly respond to targeted marketing opportunities. For example, if the client wanted to approach Company X about purchasing their Product Y, they could learn that Company X was actually using a competitor’s Product Z and, with this knowledge, tune their sales approach for a higher conversion rate.
Solution
eSage Group achieved faster competitive data collection by leveraging the .NET framework and the Azure platform.

Internal and external data sources were consolidated into a SQL Server data warehouse. eSage Group leveraged Azure Data Factory v2, Azure Virtual Machines and SQL Server Integration Services for data ingestion, transformation, and clean up.

eSage Group also built an ASP.NET Core / React website for publishing competed reports and delivering competitive insights. This website used several key Microsoft technologies, including:

  • Azure SQL Databases – Cloud-based relational storage
  • Azure Active Directory – Secure Authentication via External Provider
  • ASP.NET MVC – Website layout and functionality
  • Azure App Services / App Insights – Hosting and Diagnostic Services
  • Azure Data Lake – Enabled storing large amounts of raw data in an organized and accessible schema
  • Azure Key Vault – Securely maintains client credentials and information

Front end dashboards were stood up using Power BI, Excel, and PowerPivot to provide end users with decision making tools and to also collect feedback from the field.

Results
  • Consolidated information and enabled more relevant reporting and insights.
  • Enabled automation on tasks and data validation to avoid human error and delays due to manual processing.
  • Streamlined Azure resource spending.
Deliverables
  • Slide decks for monthly business reviews
  • Power BI reports and dashboards
  • Cooked Excel files with detailed results
  • Data warehouse tables and views for company’s internal consumption
  • Customized data investigation based on specific client needs