Acquisition under control thanks to a clear data model

A software company with scale and ambition

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Our client is an established cloud software provider. With financial management, ERP and HR solutions, they serve hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs who rely on their software every day. At this company, growth is not only in product development. They are also expanding their portfolio strategically by taking over innovative companies. A recent acquisition was one such step. Logical on paper, but in practice, it immediately led to an urgent data problem.

An acquisition that raised more questions than answers

After the takeover, the business controller inherited a situation that is familiar to anyone who has ever struggled with an outdated BI environment. All business logic was captured in one comprehensive Power BI model. Each month end took two full business days to untangle and update the model. Two days in which the team manually puzzled instead of analyzing.

But it became more complex. The BI specialist who managed this model left for another organization, and at the same time, an IT migration broke the connections with the underlying data sources. Suddenly, no one really understood the model anymore. Management missed weekly insights into ARR, MRR and customer movements. Exactly the KPIs that are needed to strategically manage a newly acquired business unit.

The urgency was clear: without intervention, the company would be in the dark again at each month's end.

Take back control step by step

We didn't start with a technical proposal, but with the right questions. What did the team really need? Where was the pain the most? Only when we had that in focus did we choose the approach. And it turned out to be surprisingly sober.

We implemented Microsoft Fabric and the associated ARR model. In targeted sprints, we completely rebuilt the data model, together with the business controller. The unclear whole thing made way for a streamlined data model that unlocked the distributed data sources and made the calculation logic transparent and traceable. We recorded each design choice so that the team could then continue independently. Without remaining dependent on us.

From two days to one hour, and €1.2million discounts visible

The result made itself felt quickly. From now on, the team ended the monthly end, previously a two-day ritual of manual puzzling, in one hour. Daily insights into ARR, MRR and customer movements were available again. It became the basis for every strategic decision concerning the new business unit.

The biggest discovery came while reconstructing the business logic. Hidden in the contract structures was €1.2 million in hidden discounts: contracts that were deliberately set up to bypass sales restrictions by only applying discounts after year three. Logic that no one fully understood anymore, but that had a direct impact on reported turnover.

With that insight on the table, the company focused on the entire revenue streams of the acquisition for the first time. Not on assumptions, but on facts.

“After the takeover, we had no insight into what the new business unit really delivered. In a short period of time, Blis Digital provided structure where there was only uncertainty. They quickly understood what we needed, worked pragmatically within our security requirements and provided a solution that we can manage ourselves. I would never have found the €1.2million worth of hidden discount logic that they uncovered otherwise.”

— Business Controller

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