Case Study: A Leading University Simplifies Data Integration and Reduces Manual Effort with Nexla

Background

Universities manage diverse data sources, including student, faculty, and facilities management data. Facilities management data is particularly crucial to ensure students get enrolled into their coursework of choice. But universities need to be able to plan classroom, lab and workspaces each semester based on enrollments, while also coordinating facilities maintenance and operations. Ingesting data from popular facilities management systems into data warehouses to gain insights on space utilization, occupancy rates, and the required optimization can be a complex task and needs accurate, timely data from divergent sources.

The Challenge

A prestigious research university faced significant obstacles in managing its data integration processes. The institution relied on a combination of tools, including Informatica, Fivetran, and custom scripts, to manage its data. However, these methods introduced challenges such as:

• Time-Consuming Manual Processes: API-to-API integrations required extensive manual effort, delaying data ingestion and increasing workload.
• Complex Scripting Overhead: Custom scripts created to bridge gaps in integrations added significant maintenance complexity.
• Limited Scalability: Existing tools struggled to meet the growing demands for data ingestion into the university’s Snowflake Lakehouse.

These inefficiencies not only delayed access to critical insights but also prevented the data engineering team from focusing on strategic initiatives that could enhance the institution’s research and operational capabilities.

The Solution

To address these challenges, Nexla provided a tailored solution that automated API workflows, unified tools into one platform, and offered scalable features to meet the university’s evolving needs, backed by proven enterprise reliability:

• Automating Complex Processes: Nexla automated previously manual API integrations, significantly reducing the time and effort required to ingest data.
• Unifying Integration Tools: Nexla allowed the university to consolidate its existing tools into a single platform, simplifying the data integration process and reducing operational overhead.
• Enabling Scalability and Flexibility: With features like API orchestration, rate limiting, authentication support (e.g., AD and LDAP), and seamless handling of large data responses, Nexla offered a scalable solution that could evolve with the university’s needs.
• Proven Success Across Industries: Nexla’s track record with enterprises such as DoorDash and Johnson & Johnson assured the university of its ability to deliver enterprise-grade scalability and reliability.

The Impact

With Nexla, the university transformed its data integration processes, achieving faster onboarding, streamlined workflows, reduced manual effort, and significant cost savings, all while ensuring scalability for future needs:

• Accelerated Onboarding of Data Sources: The time required to integrate new data sources decreased from weeks or months to just days, accelerating insights and decision-making.
• Substantial Reduction in Manual Effort: Automating previously manual processes allowed the data engineering team to refocus on strategic priorities, such as creating impactful data products.
• Streamlined API Management: Nexla seamlessly managed complex API needs, including rate limiting, authentication, and pagination, eliminating bottlenecks in data workflows.
• Enhanced Scalability: The institution’s data platform became future-proof, with Nexla’s flexible system adapting to evolving data demands without adding new tools or requiring additional custom scripts.
• Tangible Cost Savings: By automating integration and reducing reliance on custom scripting, the university achieved lower operational costs and a more sustainable data infrastructure.

Conclusion

This leading university transformed its fragmented, resource-intensive data processes into an efficient and scalable system with Nexla. By unifying tools, automating workflows, and addressing scalability needs, the institution unlocked the potential of its data environment, enabling faster decision-making and freeing up resources to focus on its core mission of driving innovation in education and research.