When a global life sciences company decided to streamline its data operations, they faced a unique challenge: they already had a Data Marketplace, but it was a “home-made” legacy web application. The goal was to migrate the existing functionality – browsing, shopping for, and requesting data – entirely into Collibra. With support from Murdio’s technical implementation team, the client successfully decommissioned their legacy tool, saving on infrastructure and maintenance costs while providing a superior user experience.
Challenge
The client was already using Collibra but maintained a separate, custom-developed web application that served as their Data Marketplace. This legacy tool allowed users to list “publications” (data products) and purchase access to them. However, maintaining this standalone application required dedicated internal developers and separate infrastructure hosting, creating unnecessary costs and risks.
The organization wanted to consolidate their landscape by migrating this functionality to Collibra Data Marketplace to maximize their return on investment (ROI) on existing licenses. The project presented a specific technical challenge: requirements could not simply be gathered from stakeholders from scratch. Instead, the Murdio team had to reverse-engineer the existing custom application, which had no inherent limitations, and map its functionality to Collibra’s governance framework. The scope involved migrating approximately 300 data publications and supporting a user base of over 100 active employees.
Solution
Murdio deployed a three-person team comprising a Lead Solution Architect, a Junior Consultant, and a Developer. Working alongside the client’s Project Manager, the team delivered an end-to-end migration over the course of approximately nine months.
Key capabilities delivered together with the client’s team:
- Reverse engineering & gap analysis: The Solution Architect performed a deep dive into the legacy application to catalog every feature and user flow. This was followed by interviews with business users to determine which features were essential, which could be improved, and which should be discarded, ensuring the new solution was not just a “lift and shift” but an optimization.
- Metamodel & process design: Murdio designed a Collibra configuration to replace the legacy “publications” with a standardized Data Product metamodel. The team mapped out complex processes, such as the “shopping cart” experience where users select data products and answer specific context-based questions during checkout.
- Workflow implementation: The developer built the backend logic to support the new request processes, ensuring that the transition from a custom app to Collibra was seamless for the end-user.
- Formal User Acceptance Testing (UAT): The team facilitated a rigorous UAT phase. This involved creating detailed scenarios (e.g., adding a product to a cart, verifying question logic, submitting requests) which allowed business users to validate the solution against real-world use cases.
- Adoption & enablement: To ensure a smooth transition, Murdio provided “hypercare” support post-release, including Q&A sessions. Furthermore, the team created self-service training materials with screenshots and guides, allowing users to independently learn the new system.
Outcomes
The migration allowed the client to fully decommission their legacy web application, eliminating the need for custom code maintenance and separate hosting infrastructure.
The new Collibra Data Marketplace provided a more professional, transparent, and user-friendly interface compared to the “clunky” legacy tool. By consolidating the marketplace into Collibra, the client significantly improved their software ROI and established a standardized, scalable foundation for data sharing. The project not only replicated the necessary legacy features but also introduced enhancements that streamlined the user journey from discovery to access.
