Group 1001 Significantly Reduces Data-to-Insight Time with Sigma

We sat down with Gu Xie, Head of Data Engineering at Group 1001, to discuss how this forward-thinking financial services organization transformed its data strategy. Focused on life and annuity products and services, Group 1001 serves a diverse customer base in a highly regulated industry. Gu shared how adopting Sigma has enabled his team to drastically reduce the time from "idea to insight," streamline data processes, and empower business users with real-time, actionable insights – all while maintaining strict data governance and security standards.

Life Before Sigma

Sigma has substantially improved the speed of our data analysis at Group 1001. Prior to Sigma –  though not outside industry norms – transforming a complex business question into actionable insights took months, a timeframe that impacted our to make more timely decisions and support critical operations. Existing tools required extensive setup and challenging processes. These timing hurdles were ripe with opportunity, especially in an evolving industry where real-time data is crucial for customer onboarding and contract management.

We needed a solution that could streamline our workflow and eliminate any setup hurdles. That’s when we discovered Sigma, a platform capable of delivering immediate insights and enabling us to respond swiftly to business needs. 

Choosing a BI Solution 

When we decided to advance our data analytics approach, choosing the right business intelligence platform was crucial. We evaluated several options, all of which I had extensive previous experience with. The primary focus was on finding a solution that would dramatically reduce the "idea-to-insight" cycle time.

Sigma offered what other tools didn’t: a way to accelerate our data workflows without sacrificing accuracy or depth.

Sigma stood out because it offered what other tools didn’t: a way to accelerate our data workflows without sacrificing accuracy or depth. One of the biggest hurdles with other tools was the setup time. We had to deal with a multitude of steps – setting up client applications, creating data models, ingesting data, and then publishing it – all before we could even start building dashboards. With Sigma, we simplified or eliminated those steps. There was no need for a dedicated data modeler, and we reduced our dependency on complex infrastructure. 

This meant we could bypass a lot of the manual data ingestion processes required by other tools. This feature alone made Sigma a perfect fit for our industry, where real-time operational insights are key. 

Life With Sigma

The transformation since we implemented Sigma has been nothing short of remarkable. For example,  when our Chief Operating Officer needed to further optimize the productivity of our operations team, we were able to go from the initial question to a fully functional dashboard in just days. That’s the kind of acceleration that fundamentally changes how a business operates.

What used to take months can now be achieved in days. 

Sigma’s user experience, which feels very similar to Excel, has also played a significant role in adoption. We were able to onboard users who didn’t necessarily have deep technical expertise in SQL or data modeling. This empowered different departments to build their own dashboards, reducing the burden on the central data team and speeding up the overall workflow. 

Sigma’s support environment is another crucial differentiator. In the past, getting help from other tool vendors was a struggle. With Sigma, we have immediate access to support via live chat. This not only improved our ability to deliver solutions but also increased our internal adoption rates. 

What’s Next with Sigma

Moving forward, we plan to methodically embed Sigma even more deeply into our organization. This will create a more unified experience for our users, ensuring that they have access to the data they need,  where they need it.

We’re also looking to leverage Sigma’s capabilities to assist in streamlining AI-driven applications.

We’re not just using it for dashboards and reports; we’re embedding it as an essential component of our core systems, such as our administration platforms and CRM environments. We’re also looking to leverage Sigma’s capabilities for input tables and embedded analytics to assist in streamlining AI-driven applications. By using Sigma to create prototypes and operational metrics quickly, we’ve been able to roll out new applications for our users at a much faster pace than before. 

In terms of data security and governance, we’re integrating Sigma with other key technologies like dynamic data masking and role-based access controls to ensure that sensitive information is protected and accessible to those who need it. This helps us meet the complex regulatory requirements of the insurance industry while still maintaining a high level of operational efficiency. 

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_{The opinions expressed herein are those of Gu Xie and not necessarily those of his employer.}