We’re talking about… Real-Time Data with Ángel Briceño | Luce IT and Northgate
It is now available on “Hablamos de Tecnología”, the Luce IT podcast about technology successes. In this latest episode, we dive deep into a concept that is transforming the rules of the game for modern companies: Real-Time Data.
To address this exciting challenge, we are joined by Ángel Briceño, project manager at Northgate, and our Director of Industry, Logistics, and Health, Ana Isabel Giralda. Throughout the interview, both experts reveal the keys behind Northgate’s latest major success story, detailing how the right technology not only optimizes internal processes but also drastically reduces the time-to-market and generates immediate cost savings.
If you have ever wondered how large mobility companies manage thousands of operational variables without their systems collapsing, this talk is for you.
Why is “Real-Time” the engine of efficient companies?
Traditionally, decision-making in the business world has been like driving while looking in the rearview mirror. Organizations collected information on their sales, customer service activity, or financial operations, and analyzed them at the end of the day, week, or even month.
In today’s dynamic market, that model has become obsolete. Operating in real-time means capturing the data at the exact millisecond it occurs. As Ángel and Ana Isabel explain well in the episode, having information instantly allows for:
- Absolute anticipation: Detecting inefficiencies or business opportunities before they disappear.
- Automated processes: Connecting different business areas so they react autonomously to a change in data.
- Cost savings: Optimizing the use of technological infrastructure, avoiding massive queries that saturate main servers.
How Northgate unified its complex ecosystem
Northgate, a giant in vehicle management and mobility solutions, handled a massive volume of sensitive information. The great technical challenge consisted of seamlessly synchronizing multiple information sources that lived in separate silos: from pure operations data and customer service interactions, to sales metrics and the most critical financial information.
The core of their infrastructure depended on their current ERP, a proprietary system on Progress databases. Running continuous queries directly on this central engine to feed business reports slowed down daily operations and increased the risk of unforeseen events or system crashes. An urgent change was needed to relieve the technological pressure.
The solution: Our Operational Grid Layer (OGL)
To solve this technological puzzle without altering or overloading the source system, the comprehensive solution was based on the conceptualization and deployment of our Operational Grid Layer (OGL).
Explained very simply and away from hyper-complex jargon, the OGL acts as an intelligent middleware; that is, an intermediate layer that interacts and interconnects all the organization’s systems (such as ERPs and CRMs).
And as they explain in the interview, how does this apply to Northgate’s reality? Instead of every department, analysis tool, or external service accessing the system’s core directly to request information (which caused crashes), the OGL continuously collects, translates, and makes the data available.
The Results: Efficiency, scalability, and significant savings
Implementing the OGL not only solved a technical problem, but it transformed the way Northgate operates and monetizes its information, achieving extraordinary results. Discover them in the interview.
If you want to discover all the details about how these impressive results were achieved and hear firsthand about the team’s experience, we invite you to enjoy our latest episode of Hablamos de… Tecnología.
Frequently Asked Questions about Data Governance
What does it mean to implement data replication using CDC?
CDC (Change Data Capture) is a technological technique that exclusively identifies and captures changes (insertions, updates, or deletions) made in a source database. This allows replicating the information in real-time to another homogeneous system without the need for massive or heavy reads that slow down the main system.
How does a layered architecture benefit business analysis?
Organizing data in layers (Bronze for raw data, Silver for clean and unified data, and Gold for business-ready analytical views) ensures that information is governed, accurate, and of high quality. This prevents record losses and allows Business Intelligence tools to run much faster and more optimized.
What is an Operational Grid Layer (OGL) and what advantages does it offer?
It is an abstraction layer or middleware that interacts and interconnects the different systems of an organization (such as ERPs, CRMs, or proprietary databases). Its main function is to make available and distribute all business information in real-time to external applications or reporting systems, ensuring scalability and protecting the company’s core from performance impacts.
Why is it risky to query an ERP database directly?
The ERP is the transactional heart of a company, where day-to-day operations are recorded. If massive data queries are made directly on it to extract business reports, the system can slow down or even crash, affecting customer service and operations. The OGL avoids this problem by extracting data invisibly and securely.
