Executive summary
A mid-sized European enterprise invested in Collibra to improve data governance but recognized a risk: purchasing the software and a standard “Rapid Start” (currently “Ignite”) package was not enough to guarantee long-term value. To ensure the implementation translated into actual business results, they engaged Murdio. We provided a small team of dedicated experts to act as a bridge between technical implementation and strategic advisory, resulting in a robust report certification process, and high user adoption as well as POC of a custom SAP lineage solution.
The challenge
The client faced a critical “trust gap” within their sales department. The organization relied heavily on reports for decision-making, but data quality issues were rampant. The tipping point occurred when a high-ranking executive made a significant strategic decision based on a report that was later found to contain erroneous data.
The organization realized they needed immediate control over their data landscape. Their specific pain points included:
- Lack of visibility: They did not know how many reports existed or which were currently in use.
- Unclear lineage: Users could not trace where data originated, making troubleshooting impossible.
- No quality assurance: There was no distinction between verified, high-quality reports and obsolete, incorrect files.
While the client had purchased Collibra and a “Rapid Start” (currently “Ignite”) implementation – which focuses on delivering 1–2 initial use cases – they needed an expert partner to ensure those use cases could successfully scale beyond the initial setup. Murdio stepped in to drive the specific “Sales Data” use case while acting as a guarantor of broader adoption and long-term value, ensuring the initial implementation translated into measurable business ROI rather than remaining a limited pilot.
The solution
The Collibra Implementation Team service provided a dedicated consultants who integrated into the client’s team, acting not just as an implementer, but as a Data Governance and Collibra Advisor,.
1. Building the governance foundations
Before tackling the specific use case, the Accelerator focused on establishing the necessary groundwork to ensure scalability. This included:
- Technical setup: Configuring Collibra Edge and establishing connections to sources like Power BI.
- Operating model design: Defining the organizational structure within Collibra, establishing roles (e.g., Business Stewards), and creating a RACI matrix to clarify responsibilities.
2. The “Sales Data” report catalog
The core deliverable was a comprehensive report catalog focusing on sales data. The Accelerator team implemented a certification workflow, allowing report owners to mark reports as “certified” after passing a quality checklist.
- Trust indicators: Users can now filter for certified reports, ensuring they rely on validated data.
- Automated governance: To prevent data decay, the system triggers an automatic re-certification task for report owners one year after the initial certification.
3. Innovation: Custom SAP Lineage POC
One of the most complex challenges was tracing data lineage back to the client’s SAP landscape – a notoriously difficult task to automate. The Accelerator team delivered a Proof of Concept (POC) proving that custom lineage was possible.
- By analyzing naming conventions and patterns between SAP objects, the team created a semi-automated method to map data flows.
- This provided visibility from the executive dashboard all the way back to the source data warehouse and SAP layers.
4. Driving Adoption and Change Management
The Murdio team always emphasizes that technology is useless without adoption. The consultant guided the client on best practices for Change Management:
- Communication: A structured email campaign was executed to build anticipation and announce the release.
- Education: Development of self-service training materials and SharePoint pages to ensure knowledge retention after the initial training sessions.
- Leadership coaching: The consultant coached the Product Owner to act as an effective “Ambassador,” ensuring leadership buy-in was visible to the wider organization.
The results
The project, which included a full platform setup and the delivery of the “Sales Data” use case, was completed in approximately nine months. The impact of the service was visible immediately upon release:
- Rapid adoption: Within 1.5 months of the official release, the platform saw ~70 active users starting from zero.
- Restored trust: Over 30 critical sales reports were certified immediately, giving leadership confidence in their data.
- Self-sustaining culture: The implementation of automated re-certification workflows and clear operating models ensured that Data Governance became a continuous, “business as usual” process rather than a one-time project.
By utilizing the Murdio team, the client transformed a software purchase into a strategic asset, moving from a single incorrect report to a fully governed, transparent, and trusted data landscape.
