The 4Data Approach to Consultancy
We have a unique approach to Splunk consultancy.
4Data and Splunk
- EAt 4Data, we know how to get the most from Splunk for your infrastructure, service management and business intelligence needs and how to communicate and work with stakeholders at all levels of the organisation - from C-Suite decision makers focused on business outcomes to systems engineers and security managers focused on code.
- EWe actively seek to employ service leavers and veterans, support the Better Business Act and only employ local staff in the UK and Germany (we never offshore work).
Our unique approach comprises four phases – Discover, Design, Deliver and Develop. This approach serves to architect the best design of Splunk to meet your infrastructure, service management and business intelligence needs.
DEVELOP
Our commitment to your success doesn’t end at delivery; we offer ongoing support and development services to guarantee the continued performance and evolution of your Splunk solution. We make it our job to review, learn and improve things further so you can evolve and innovate your Splunk implementation to deliver even more value.
DESIGN
An upfront Design Workshop brings together all the stakeholders who will be impacted in some way by the Splunk solution. In it, we translate the goals and aspirations learned in the Discover phase into where the data sits, how we can collect it, and what reports are required to deliver the desired outcomes.
DISCOVER
We start by understanding the business needs so we can ensure the design of the solution delivers those needs. This involves asking the right questions, based on years of experience, to gain insights into the customer’s requirements so that we can build the most effective and useful Splunk deployment.
DELIVER
Apart from our unmatched experience working with some of Splunk’s largest customers, it can be difficult to differentiate between Splunk partners. 4Data tends to attract customers who have complex requirements, or who operate in highly regulated industries, or who have specific requirements, often around integrating with other technologies.
Discover
Our Discover phase comprises of asking the right questions and offering suggestions based upon our unique and extensive experience.
Our Discover phase has two essential elements:
#1
4Data asks the right questions to gain insights into the customer’s requirements to be able to build them the most effective and useful Splunk deployment we can.
#2
- We start by asking:
- EWhat are the high-level goals of the organisation, the project and the team?
- EWhere is the data we need to achieve these goals?
- EHow are we going to get that data?
- EWe also stress test viewpoints to ensure we offer the best guidance and value, and check if other approaches have been considered, asking questions such as “why is that data important?”, “what will that report help you achieve?”, and “who needs this information?”.
- With goals clearly understood and knowledge established around the data – and the machines, devices and methods to get it – we are then in position to create the design.
- As an independent Splunk reseller, we are ideally placed to suggest complementary technologies and solutions where we think they would help.
Design
After all the exploration work has been undertaken in the Discover phase, we move to the Design phase.
We gather all the stakeholders who will be impacted by the Splunk implementation for a Design Workshop.
During the Design Workshop, we:
Explain the concepts, key features and the benefits provided by Splunk and the different ways we can use it to approach the challenge and the associated pros and cons.
Suggest what we believe is the best way forward for the customer – i.e., our recommendation for the best methods to deploy.
We then agree it all with you, the customer, ensuring you are happy and sign off on the design approach.
We hand over to you and the assigned Splunk consultant a high-level design document capturing the workshop outputs (the business drivers, number of data centres, indexers, search heads, users etc., and how we will implement Splunk to deliver most value).
This design document gives both you and the consultant implementing the project complete clarity on what’s been agreed and what will be implemented, and includes answers to all the questions that the consultant will have when doing the job, so that all they have to do is turn up, read the design doc and know what has to be done*
*This applies to greenfield Splunk sites. Where a customer already has Splunk in place, we create a simpler Statement of Works e.g., where the client is adding apps or making changes and improvements.
However, you may have specific industry sector or company culture-related needs (for example, you may be in a highly regulated industry or have ethical partner measures in place) or be required by your sector or organisation to tick boxes when finding an implementation partner.
- At 4Data, we:
- EOnly employ local staff in the UK and Germany
- EActively employ service leavers and veterans, and work closely with TechVets
- EHave strong working and business ethics and are signed up to the Better Business Act
- EAre very experienced in highly regulated industries – defence, finance, healthcare, energy and retail – with detailed knowledge of the relevant legislation and regulatory compliance in each.
Develop
Our support and partnership approach doesn’t end when Splunk has been deployed.
We also recognise that you need to stay vigilant when it comes to spend and encourage you to work with us only exactly where we can add value and you can’t easily do the job yourselves. We therefore focus on transferring our knowledge and skills so that you continue without us – only leaning back into us for the necessary support and health checks going forward.
We employ the proverbial “teach a man to fish” philosophy, whereby we equip you with the expertise to be able to run your own Splunk deployments where this is desirable.
Our Consulting Approach
We start by understanding the business needs so we can ensure the design of the solution delivers those needs. This involves asking the right questions, based on years of experience, to gain insights into the customer’s requirements so that we can build the most effective and useful Splunk deployment.
An upfront Design Workshop brings together all the stakeholders who will be impacted in some way by the Splunk solution. In it, we translate the goals and aspirations learned in the Discover phase into where the data sits, how we can collect it, and what reports are required to deliver the desired outcomes.
Apart from our unmatched experience working with some of Splunk’s largest customers, it can be difficult to differentiate between Splunk partners. 4Data tends to attract customers that either have complex requirements, or who operate in highly regulated industries, or that have specific requirements, often around integrating with other technologies.
Our commitment to your success doesn’t end at delivery; we offer ongoing support and development services to guarantee the continued performance and evolution of your Splunk solution. We make it our job to review, learn and improve things further so you can evolve and innovate your Splunk implementation to deliver even more value.