Fontys

Fontys: towards a data-driven organization thanks to modernization drive

Knowledge institute Fontys plays an important role in education and research in the south of the Netherlands. It wants to steer more on data in order to fulfill its social mission: to contribute to a sustainable, inclusive and vital society. To this end, the organization must be able to grow into a "talent-oriented, research-oriented and agile Fontys. In other words: Fontys wants to become data-driven and enlisted the help of Valid to do so.

Challenge: improving information delivery

Not only the corporate management requires high-quality management information, but also the management of the various Fontys institutes, and departments such as human resources and communications. After a market consultation, Valid was asked for support in improving the information provision. Valid was already familiar with Fontys, having previously helped build the existing Business Intelligence environment.

Fontys
Valid - female male workplace
Solution: data housekeeping modernization

Valid started with an inventory of the initial situation. The conclusion was that if Fontys wanted to realize its ambitions in the field of information management, it needed to modernize its data management and reporting. This requires a different platform environment, with more possibilities in terms of privacy protection, scalability and cybersecurity. Switching to Azure was obvious, as Fontys was already familiar with Microsoft technology.

Fontys set the following conditions:

  • The transition had to be done safely;
  • All definitions and business rules implemented in the old environment had to be adopted flawlessly in the new environment;
  • Stringent AVG rules had to be implemented properly;
  • Meanwhile, a change in quality had to be made
  • Function creep had to be avoided.

Function creep is the use of personal data or software for purposes other than those originally intended. For example, the driver's license was once introduced to show that the holder is authorized to drive a vehicle, not as a means of identification.

Collaborative benefits: completed on schedule and within budget

Valid makes the complex migration from an on-premise data warehouse to a data warehouse in the cloud manageable through a controlled, step-by-step approach. This is based on flexible agile methodologies, in which blocks of functionality are delivered each time.

Frans Vermeulen, scrum master at Fontys: "Valid delivered its part of the work on time and on budget as agreed. They are good professionals who are technically and substantively strong, supported by a powerful organization. Real team players, making the distinction between internal and external employees absent."

"They are just good professionals, technically and substantively strong, and supported by a powerful organization."

Frans Vermeulen Scrum Master Fontys University of Applied Sciences
Valid - consultation laptop
Valid - male, female
The result: a modern data platform

Everyone was going for a good end result, Vermeulen says. They succeeded: Fontys now has a standardized and modern data platform, to be used for the provision of information to management, as well as by students, teachers and researchers. For example, reports on study efficiency and enrollment have already gone live in the new environment. This puts goals within reach sooner.

Future: more self-service

The institute now has a secure foundation for the future, which can be gradually expanded to meet users' needs. By offering self-service capabilities, they are less dependent on the BI team.

Fontys University of Applied Sciences
  • 46,000 students
  • 5,000 employees
  • Locations in ten cities in Brabant and Limburg
  • 25 individual institutions
  • More than 100 courses
Added value Valid
  • Knowledge of the data management of Fontys
  • Great knowledge and experience in Azure Cloud migrations
  • Great knowledge and experience in the field of data warehouses
  • Structured, yet flexible approach
  • High handling speed
  • Eye on the long term
  • Result-oriented
  • Teamwork with the customer