Transforming Sweco's Data and BI integrations for enhanced performance

Sweco is a prominent European consultancy specializing in planning and designing sustainable communities and cities. With a team of 22,000 experts, Sweco addresses challenges related to urbanization, digitalization, and sustainability through various projects across Europe and beyond. The client sought to improve the efficiency of their reports and organize API connections and structures to better support their data-driven decision-making. 

 

The primary challenge was integrating multiple APIs to automate data retrieval from various sources, which was essential for streamlining Power BI reporting. The existing reports suffered from slow loading times, negatively impacting user experience and operational efficiency. Additionally, there was a need to optimize existing reports by enhancing metrics and incorporating advanced functionalities to improve performance and usability. Ensuring that the solution could handle future adjustments with ease was also a critical requirement. 

 

To address the client’s pressing challenges, our team formulated a multi-faceted solution that combined automation with performance enhancements. We aimed to not only resolve the immediate issues but also to establish a robust foundation for future scalability. The following key initiatives were implemented: 

 

• Automated Dataflows: We developed multiple dataflows to automatically extract data from various APIs. The data was loaded into structured tables and transformed to meet specific reporting requirements. By incorporating variables into the dataflows, we ensured that future adjustments could be made effortlessly, supporting scalability and fully automated processes. 

 

• Performance Optimization: To address slow report loading times, we analyzed and optimized slow-performing measures within the reports. This involved refining calculations and improving data modeling techniques to enhance performance significantly. 

 

The implementation of our solution yielded substantial benefits for the client, markedly improving their data integration and reporting capabilities. The key outcomes included: 

 

• Enhanced Scalability: The incorporation of variables into the dataflows allowed for easier adjustments, ensuring the system could scale with the client’s growing needs. 

 

• Improved Report Performance: The optimization of slow-performing measures and the restructuring of the calendar table resulted in significantly faster report loading times, enhancing user experience.

 

• Fully Automated Processes: The automated dataflows streamlined data extraction, loading, and transformation processes, reducing manual intervention and increasing operational efficiency.

 

• Facilitated Future Development: One of the key benefits of the implemented improvements is the ease of accommodating future development and necessary change requests while maintaining the efficiency of the developed solution. 

 

Our team collaborated with Sweco, a leading European architecture and engineering consultancy, to enhance the efficiency and scalability of their data integration and reporting processes. Faced with slow report loading times and the need for a solution adaptable to future adjustments, we implemented automated dataflows, optimized performance, and restructured critical components. The result was significantly faster report loading times, fully automated processes, and a system scalable for future growth.