Rescuing a data platform migration for a global fashion brand
When an ambitious move to a cloud-native data stack faltered, I was asked to stabilise ingestion, simplify tooling, and get stakeholders trusting the numbers again, fast.
- Fast-tracked platform stabilisation without a full rebuild
- Consolidated ingestion tooling and added observability
- Restored confidence for stakeholders ahead of seasonal trading peaks
Retail & ecommerce · Global footprint
Where things were slipping
A vendor-led migration had left the brand with an expensive new stack that stalled under real-world usage. Business teams hesitated to switch over, and seasonal trading deadlines were looming.
Key pain points
- Minimal documentation meant reverse-engineering how pipelines were intended to run.
- Over-complicated tooling footprint created fragility and high operating costs.
- Real-time orchestration was misaligned with mostly batch-based sources and consumers.
- Zero observability meant silent failures and eroded trust in data outputs.
What I delivered
With only a few weeks before key campaign launches, the goal was to make the existing architecture workable rather than rebuild from scratch.
What I focused on
- Focused triage on ingestion reliability rather than a lengthy audit.
- Mapped quick wins to stakeholder pain points to rebuild trust quickly.
- Moved to a centralised orchestration pattern, improving visibility and management.
- Removed redundant tooling to simplify operations and curb spend.
- Partnered closely with internal engineers to hand back a maintainable platform.
Impact for the client
The stabilised platform gave merchandising, trading, and leadership teams confidence to lean on the new data stack during peak trading, with clear next steps for future enhancements.
Results at a glance
- Durable ingestion platform capable of multiple refreshes per day.
- Consolidated monitoring introduced immediate insight into pipeline health.
- Resolved long-standing data quality tickets, unblocking adoption of the new stack.
Facing something similar?
I can help evaluate your options, whether that's remediation, a rebuild, or augmenting your team for a critical delivery window.