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As organisations grow, so too does the complexity of their data landscape. New systems are added to manage finance, operations, customer relationships, and programme delivery. External data sources from partners, regulators, funders, or public repositories become increasingly important. Managers and executives, in turn, expect timely, accurate, analytics that answer their specific questions and guide both day-to-day and strategic decision-making.
At this point, many organisations confront a difficult reality: their existing data and information management systems (DIMS) are no longer fit for purpose. What worked well in the early stages, manual processes, spreadsheets, or a patchwork of standalone tools, cannot deliver the reliability, integration, speed and cost-effectiveness at scale. Designing, building, and deploying a new DIMS is therefore not just a technical project, but a strategic, organisation-wide challenge.
Why there is no Add To Cart button
In an ideal world, there is a single, off-the-shelf solution that can address the organisation’s needs. In practice though, few organisations can simply adopt a pre-packaged platform. The difficulty lies in the uniqueness of each organisation:
- Source systems and the ways to extract data from them vary widely.
- Data volumes, velocity, and complexity differ by sector and stage of growth.
- Analytical and reporting needs depend strongly on the exact objectives, KPIs and programme activities of the organisation.
- Existing technology stacks and cloud presence create constraints on where and how a new DIMS can be deployed.
- Budgets and urgency levels affect scope, sequencing and the choice between free versus paid and off-the-shelf versus bespoke tech components of the DIMS.
- Human resources and internal expertise determine the extent of support and training required.
- Regulatory requirements, which impose additional layers of compliance and governance depend on geographical location and the sector that the organisation is working in.
In short, every DMIS must be tailored to its organisational context, making full commoditisation nearly impossible. The task is therefore less about finding a perfect product, and more about architecting a system that balances competing demands, using existing components. In a way, it is similar to building a house. While the design and choice of materials is typically bespoke and tailored to the location and the owner’s requirements, most of the individual building blocks are highly commoditised.
The job of a good architect is to help the owners articulate the vision for their house and give them the information needed to make well-informed decisions about materials, size and quality grade for each of the components of the house. Similarly, systems architects must propose the most sensible suite of tools and cloud services and show the client organisation how these will come together to meet the client’s needs.
Mapping the present and the future
One of the most important steps is to invest time upfront in understanding both the current state and the desired future state. This involves technical discovery, i.e.cataloguing data sources, formats, flows, tools and platforms, but also listening to the people who will be instrumental during design, build, deployment, and transition. Their roles, hopes, and concerns all matter.
Equally, clarity around business requirements is essential. A system designed to satisfy compliance reporting alone will look very different from one optimised for near-real-time operational dashboards. Without a shared understanding of purpose, projects risk drifting into scope creep or misalignment.
Navigating trade-offs
Designing a DIMS is a process of optimisation in a multi-dimensional space. Rarely is one option superior across all relevant dimensions. A system may be highly scalable but costly; user-friendly but limited in features; highly customisable but with an outdated user interface.
This is where organisations must confront trade-offs and articulate priorities. What matters most in the short term? What capabilities must be in place in three years? Where is it acceptable to compromise, and where is it not? Without explicit discussion of trade-offs, disappointment, frustration, and reversal of previously made decisions are very likely, with undesirable consequences for budgets and timelines.
Supporting adoption
Even the most technically sound system can fail if users are not equipped to work with it. Building in sufficient time and resources for support and training is therefore critical. Staff need to feel empowered, not burdened, by the new system. When adoption is low, the temptation is to fall back on old habits such as spreadsheets and manual workarounds. These undermine the value of the investment.
Testing and validation
A new DIMS should never be deployed without a clear methodology for testing and validation. The basic question is straightforward: is the system doing what it is supposed to do? Yet answering it requires structured processes, test cases, and metrics.
Equally important is measuring performance relative to the old system. Is the new platform producing more accurate outputs? Are reports available faster? Has the need for human effort decreased? These questions matter both for internal confidence and for demonstrating return on investment to funders, boards, or other stakeholders.
The hidden cost of inaction
The effort required to scope, design, build, test, and deploy a DIMS should not be underestimated. It involves significant planning and financial outlay. Yet the cost of inaction may be greater.
Relying on slow, manual, or faulty systems imposes hidden costs: staff time, delays in decision-making, errors in reporting, and missed opportunities. Over time, these inefficiencies can outweigh the cost of building a fit-for-purpose DIMS. Having clear projections of the return on investment, based on expected effects, is therefore not only useful for justifying the project, it is essential for monitoring and evaluating the performance of the new system..
A sustainable system for sustainable growth
The journey to a well-functioning DIMS is intricate. It demands careful mapping of present and future states of the system and organisation it is embedded in; thinking through the various trade-offs and making decisions based on priorities; integrating rigorous testing and validation into the building process and providing organisation-wide support during onboarding and deployment. But for fast-growing organisations, the alternative is worse: fragmented systems that cannot keep pace with growth, leaving decision-makers without the information they need.
The challenge, then, is not to search for a one-size-fits-all product, but to find an experienced systems architect who brings pragmatism and helps the organisation choose between the various options, based on their priorities, internal capabilities and vision for the future. In this way, organisations can build a custom DIMS with commoditised building blocks that not only meets their immediate needs but also provides a foundation for sustainable growth.
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