Adjacent to the semantic layer.
Three engagements drawn from 25+ years of analytics leadership. Deliverable by a one-person consultancy, frequently bought alongside (or before) the semantic-layer work.
When the conversation isn’t (yet) about the semantic layer
Sometimes a mid-market operator needs the semantic layer but doesn’t know it yet. Sometimes they need something else — an honest assessment of an underperforming analytics function, a cloud-warehouse design done correctly the first time, or fractional senior leadership during a transition. These three offerings address those situations. Each is sized to be deliverable by a single principal without subcontracting, and each commonly creates a natural lead-in to the semantic-layer engagements on Our Services.
What we deliver
Each is scoped from a complimentary 60-minute discovery conversation.
Analytics Transformation — Stabilize → Improve → Leverage
Who this is for
- A retail, food-service, or multi-unit operator whose BI function is underperforming relative to investment.
- A new CDO, VP of Analytics, or CIO who has inherited an analytics organization and needs an honest assessment plus a roadmap.
- A PE-backed company that has acquired a business and needs to rapidly assess and upgrade data capabilities.
- An organization that has recently implemented a new ERP, POS, or cloud data platform and needs to build the analytics layer on top of it.
What we deliver
- Phase 1 (Stabilize, weeks 1–6): current-state assessment, top-10 data-quality audit, SLA establishment, 2–3 high-visibility quick wins.
- Phase 2 (Improve, weeks 7–16): architecture redesign, governance and standards, team capability development, platform rationalization.
- Phase 3 (Leverage, weeks 17–24): self-service enablement, executive KPI framework, predictive use cases, Center-of-Excellence model.
- Final deliverables across the three phases: Stabilization Report, Improvement Roadmap and Architecture Blueprint, and Leverage Playbook.
Investment
Phase 2 (Improve): $40,000–$75,000
Phase 3 (Leverage): $30,000–$55,000
Full engagement: $85,000–$165,000 · Flexible phased payment structure available.
Pricing is indicative. Final scope determined after a complimentary 60-min discovery call.
Data Architecture & Platform Design
Who this is for
- A retail or food-service operator building or rebuilding its data warehouse or lakehouse on a cloud platform (Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Redshift).
- An organization migrating off a legacy on-prem warehouse and needing a modern architecture designed correctly from the start.
- A company that has built a data platform but is hitting scalability, governance, or usability ceilings.
- A technology team with strong engineers but no senior data architect with business analytics expertise.
What we design
Data Acquisition & Ingestion Layer · source inventory and integration strategy; ELTL pipeline design (raw landing before transformation); CDC, incremental loads, scheduling; data-quality gates.
Data Storage & Modeling Layer · cloud-warehouse selection guidance; schema layers (raw → reconciled → reference → dimensional → reporting); Kimball-style star schemas; Data Vault for compliance-heavy or rapidly-changing source environments; MDM approach for key entities.
Semantic & Presentation Layer · metric definitions, governed measures, certified datasets; Tableau Published Data Sources or Power BI Semantic Models on top; row-level security and SSO.
Investment
Full Architecture Design: $35,000–$65,000
Design + Implementation Advisory: $65,000–$110,000 (includes oversight of build phase)
Fractional BI Leadership Advisory
Who this is for
- A mid-market retailer, restaurant chain, or distribution company ($50M–$1B) that needs a data strategy but isn’t ready to hire a full-time CDO.
- A PE-backed portfolio company where the deal thesis depends on analytics capability being built quickly.
- An organization in transition — new CEO, merger, platform migration — that needs experienced data leadership to navigate the change.
- A company with a capable data team but no leadership-level voice to translate their work into business value.
Three engagement models
Model A — Strategic Advisory Retainer · 4–8 hrs/month · $3,500–$6,000 / month
Monthly strategy session + async access. Best for orgs with internal leadership but who want a senior thought partner.
Model B — Fractional VP / Director of Analytics · 2–3 days/week · $12,000–$18,000 / month
Active leadership: team meetings, stakeholder engagement, hands-on strategy and delivery oversight. Best for orgs without a current analytics leader, or interim leadership during search.
Model C — Board / PE Advisor · quarterly cadence + on-call · Custom
For PE operating partners and boards needing independent analytics-maturity assessment of portfolio or target companies.
What fractional leadership delivers
- A clear data strategy aligned to business objectives — not a tech roadmap disconnected from what the business is trying to accomplish.
- Stakeholder confidence: an executive voice that can represent analytics at the leadership table.
- Team direction and coaching: clear priorities, development conversations, accountability.
- Architecture governance: ensuring decisions made today don’t create problems in year three — including semantic-layer decisions.
- Vendor and tool guidance: independent perspective on what to buy, build, or postpone.
Engagement comparison
| Engagement | Best for | Duration | Investment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Analytics Transformation | Broken or underperforming analytics function; PE-acquired company; new analytics leader inheriting a mess. | 12–24 weeks (phased) | $85K–$165K |
| 2. Data Architecture & Platform Design | Cloud-warehouse build or rebuild; modernization off legacy systems; team strong on engineering, light on architecture. | 6–12 weeks | $15K–$110K |
| 3. Fractional BI Leadership | Need senior leadership but not ready to hire full-time; interim coverage during search; PE portfolio company. | Monthly (90-day min) | $3.5K–$18K/mo |
Or talk semantic layer.
Many of our engagements start here and end up in the semantic-layer practice. Either way, a 60-minute discovery call is the place to start.