{"id":10018,"date":"2026-04-14T15:42:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T15:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weareoakland.com\/?post_type=case_studies&p=10018"},"modified":"2026-04-28T08:26:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T08:26:32","slug":"rebuilding-a-data-platform-from-the-ground-up-with-microsoft-fabric","status":"publish","type":"case_studies","link":"https:\/\/weareoakland.com\/case-studies\/rebuilding-a-data-platform-from-the-ground-up-with-microsoft-fabric\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebuilding a data platform from the ground up with Microsoft Fabric"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Our client is one of the UK\u2019s leading transport organisations<\/strong>. Facing increasing business challenges, it needed to take full control of its data.\n<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

The Challenge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The client\u2019s data estate had grown organically over time. Legacy systems and manual processes made business reporting difficult to scale, govern, or trust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, the organisation was navigating complex changes. Systems, processes, and data needed to be untangled and rebuilt in a new, independent environment that meets ongoing operational and regulatory demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This challenge was not just technical. With dozens of data sources spanning ticketing, revenue, timetabling, and operations, they needed a way to bring structure to complexity – fast and future-proof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, they needed strong data foundations built for what was to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Solution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To deliver this, the client needed a partner who could combine strategy, engineering, and analytics and work as an extension of their team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oakland was selected for its specialist data expertise, its Everything Data approach, and over 40 years of experience in data and process excellence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus?<\/strong> Creating a platform that would improve how the organisation operated, not just how it reported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was the starting point?<\/strong> The discovery phase, working across the business to understand requirements, prioritise use cases, and define a clear path forward. Working as a natural extension of the client\u2019s team to make sure the solution reflected the real operational needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once Oakland had this knowledge, the next step was to produce a future state architecture and roadmap, which brought clarity and a solution to a complex landscape of more than 20 data sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Partnership<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This engagement marked one of the first major collaborations between Oakland and Softcat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Softcat brought a strong relationship with the client along with expertise in cloud infrastructure and vendor ecosystems. Oakland brought specialist expertise across data strategy, engineering, governance, and analytics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, this created an end-to-end capability from infrastructure through to insight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The teams worked as one, alongside the client. There were no silos or handoffs. There was shared ownership of both the problem and the outcome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a clear example of Oakland\u2019s Everything Data approach in practice. Focused expertise, delivered in partnership with Softcat, with a clear emphasis on business value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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