Sand in the gears: every application its own integration
Historically, every data integration was built differently, and at some point that goes wrong. Every new source means new custom work, a new script and more external hours. With a growing application landscape, that becomes a maintenance burden that only increases. Exactly the kind of complexity you can’t use during a migration.
“We used to set up every integration differently. That cost time and made us dependent on external capacity.”
Yres as the central layer within Azure
Paragon chose to deploy Yres, part of Plainwater, as the central integration layer within its own Azure environment. No more loose scripts and custom work, but standard integrations managed from a single place.
New sources are connected in a standardized way. Existing integrations stay clear, even when the underlying systems change. And because everything runs in its own Azure environment, Paragon stays in control.
Faster onboarding and less custom work
The effect is immediately noticeable. New applications are connected faster, with less custom work per source. Logging and error detection are built into the platform, so problems become visible earlier. And because the team can manage a lot itself, Paragon is less dependent on external capacity.
“The fixed costs of Yres quickly pay for themselves in the hours we no longer spend on custom work.”
For Nick Massa, as Technology Director ultimately responsible for applications and IT, that mainly means more control over the integrations. For the organization: reliable data for reporting and invoicing, and new systems that go live faster.
A standardized environment makes the next step easier
The cloud migration was not an end point for Paragon, but the start of the journey toward a truly future-proof organization. New applications were added afterwards (and still are), systems change, and themes such as AI and the further development of reporting tooling are on the agenda. With a standardized Azure data environment, the data foundation moves with the organization, without complexity piling up every time.
After ten years of working together, the relationship with Plainwater has also shifted: from supplier to strategic sounding board, with regular consultation on data strategy and innovation.
“Plainwater is no longer a supplier to us, but a partner. We think together about where we want to go.”
