Protiviti helps healthcare non-profit implement Microsoft Power BI solution to give its global members access to quick, current and valuable information Download Globalisation and the internet in recent history have generated any number of benefits for corporations, professionals and job seekers by allowing them to seek collaboration and expansion opportunities in new markets. But this virtual free flow of commerce and cooperation can abruptly hit a dead end at the door of regulators with purview over certain countries or jurisdictions, halting businesses or individuals from pursuing prospects beyond their boundaries. As a result, some industry organisations have begun aggregating hundreds of thousands of regulatory data points and provisions to provide their constituents with the latest and most relevant information from across the globe. This cross-industry effort to facilitate regional compliance extends from rules governing automobile manufacturing to laws concerning the operations of life science companies. Download Change Requested Evaluate proposals to build a database and website portal of certain healthcare regulations from around the world for quick retrieval by users. Change Envisioned Assess the client’s goals to determine the best solution for easy gathering and accessing of data and presenting it in a user-friendly format. Change Delivered Microsoft Power BI and Microsoft Power BI Embedded delivered the desired solution, for a 66% increase in information available to users, and growing. Similarly, to make sure its members could take advantage of global opportunities, a healthcare non-profit organisation decided to collect regulations from around the world and make them accessible through a portal on its public website. To emphasise its appreciation for the longtime support of its worldwide roster of professionals, educators and students, the well-respected organisation wanted to time the delivery of the project with its 40th anniversary. To build the database, the group had conducted thousands of surveys of its global members on local regulations. But it needed to convert that information into a searchable and easily digestible visual format. As the company mulled over a lengthy list of potential solutions, it asked Protiviti for advice on which one to select. Rather than provide an answer immediately, we first worked with leadership to do a deeper dive into the organisation’s objectives and requirements. Those discussions revealed the following goals: Develop a comprehensive online resource for regulation data around the world. The website/portal should have a consistent look and feel with ease of navigation to their focused governing materials. The website/portal should contain various visualisation capabilities and ability to export raw data for self-service analysis. Additionally, the client wanted the web portal to be mobile-friendly, and for users to be able to gather and download data from multiple sources, which would allow for constant and easy updates. The access to the portal would be free, not only for its members, but also for the general public. Protiviti saw the project as an opportunity to help the organisation accomplish its noble mission and welcomed the challenge to build a first-of-its kind product for this client. After taking the client’s objectives into consideration, we determined that a solution utilising Microsoft Power BI and Microsoft Power BI Embedded would deliver the best performance and outcome. As a visualisation tool, Microsoft Power BI would allow users to access, filter and arrange data by location, subject and other variables. Microsoft Power BI Embedded would seamlessly facilitate the interface of the data portal, reports and dashboards with the website and other third-party applications. Additionally, the solution provided a responsive design and allowed instant feedback from the end user. Impressed with the design, the organisation asked Protiviti to develop and implement the solution. Working closely with the client’s staff and executives, including the chief executive officer, chief marketing officer and chief investment officer, the team designed a new-user experience and navigation structure, wrote the application code, and configured the cloud-based server architecture required to support the portal. While frequent updates to the recently launched Microsoft Power BI Embedded platform-as-a-service created some challenges, the team’s ability to stay up to speed on the changes minimised disruptions and ensured that the organisation met its global launch date. Additionally, Protiviti provided end-to-end client training to ensure that it could support the program going forward. Roughly a year after launching the portal, the organisation had collected data on some 320 locations around the world, a 66% increase over the initial number of locales represented. Users can not only drill down into a particular country’s regulations related to governance, licensing, education, research and other subjects, but they also can quickly compare regulations for those metrics across multiple locations. Those features are critical to healthcare professionals seeking work in another country, or to those conducting research for educational or professional purposes, among other objectives. As technology and trade continue to enhance company and worker mobility, the ability to access regulations, laws and other information specific to various sectors is becoming more important for industry groups. While Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Power BI Embedded and other solutions for these requirements are readily available, it’s important for organisations to evaluate their objectives and goals to select the right tool for the job. Often, the smart play is to partner with an expert whose familiarity with and thoughtful analysis of the available solutions can ensure optimal outcome.
