A small regional commercial bank found itself increasingly constrained by outdated data infrastructure and vendor-dependent reporting systems. Relying on ODBC connections to a third-party core banking system (Jack Henry) and other limited tools, their reporting process was slow, rigid, and heavily manual. Several key reports required time-consuming spreadsheet work, delaying access to critical insights and hampering operational efficiency.
The client’s primary challenges included a lack of data ownership, minimal reporting flexibility, overreliance on third-party vendors, and an inability to perform timely, in-depth analysis for informed decision-making. Recognizing the need for transformation, the bank turned to Brewster Consulting Group to take control of its data and modernize its analytics capabilities.
The Solution: Building a Self-Sufficient, Automated Analytics Ecosystem
Brewster Consulting Group designed and implemented a fully on-premises data warehouse
tailored specifically to the bank’s architecture and business goals. This modern infrastructure became the foundation for streamlined data operations and real-time insight generation.
At the heart of the solution was an automated ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) framework
capable of ingesting data from Jack Henry and other third-party platforms on daily and monthly schedules. Brewster developed automated data transformations, including calculated fields, table joins, and process workflows, that replaced manual interventions and significantly reduced reporting lag.
To unlock insight and visibility across departments, Brewster created a suite of Power BI dashboards
and custom visualizations built on top of the newly architected data warehouse. These dashboards provided real-time analytics, interactive exploration, and actionable metrics aligned with the bank’s strategic priorities.
Key Deliverables
-Tailored Data Warehouse:
A secure, in-house data warehouse built to store, manage, and analyze the bank’s historical and current operational data, ensuring full data ownership and eliminating vendor lock-in.
-Automated ETL-Processes:
End-to-end automation of data ingestion and transformation, replacing time-consuming manual reporting tasks with scheduled and consistent updates.
-Streamlined Reporting:
Key operational and regulatory reports were automated, reducing FTE workload and enabling faster delivery of accurate insights.
-Power BI Dashboards & Custom Visuals:
Dashboards provided managers and executives with at-a-glance summaries, trend analyses, and drill-down capabilities; empowering faster, data-informed decisions.
Results: Enhanced Efficiency, Ownership, and Insight
With Brewster’s support, the client transformed its data infrastructure from a fragmented, vendor-bound system into a fully controlled and scalable reporting engine. Key outcomes included:
-Significant reduction in manual workloads,
improving operational efficiency and lowering FTE costs
-Full ownership and in-house accessibility
to data, giving the bank control over its most valuable digital asset
-Streamlined, automated reporting
that replaced ad hoc spreadsheets with consistent, trustworthy dashboards
-Empowered decision-making
through real-time visibility into business-critical metrics
This engagement allowed the bank to eliminate operational bottlenecks, unlock new efficiencies, and build a long-term data strategy that supports scalable growth and internal agility.
Conclusion: Data Ownership That Drives Performance
By shifting to a modern data architecture and automated reporting ecosystem, this regional bank gained more than just efficiency, it gained independence. With Brewster Consulting’s solution, the organization is no longer at the mercy of third-party vendors or outdated systems. Instead, it now operates with confidence, clarity, and control.