Success Story - University of Barcelona

01 — Identified Needs

Identified Needs

The University of Barcelona (UB) needs to make available to the university community and the UB group the various datasets generated by the university itself in its daily operations. The need for a data management platform becomes evident — one that enables the transformation of data into knowledge for strategic decision-making and digital transformation projects, within a data democratisation framework.

The platform must cover the different aspects related to the data lifecycle, data access and compliance with current security regulations. Furthermore, it must guarantee:

User experience that is attractive, intuitive and friendly, so that any user feels comfortable using the platform.
Interoperability, sharing and exchanging data by interconnecting different types of systems through connectors and the use of standards following the API-first principle.
Horizontal scalability as data volume increases, thanks to a microservices-oriented architecture that maintains stable performance.
Adaptability to adjust to the needs and reality of the UB over time, allowing any change to the initial parameterisation.
Automation of most processes (functional and technical) to reduce the workload and manual tasks of users.

02 — Use Case

Use Case

The first use case, called “Academic-Teaching”, aims to govern data assets related to students and the subjects they study. Anjana Data is the support platform as a SaaS service on infrastructure managed by Anjana Data, backed by the DAMA International methodology.

Pillar 01

Centralised data catalogue

Metadata inventory that makes available to the UB community all the information defining the university's activities.

Pillar 02

Business glossary

Agreed indicators defining UB's activities, available to the entire university community.

Pillar 03

Governed data access

Facilitates the exchange of governed, quality information between producers and consumers in a controlled environment. Simplifies sharing processes.

Pillar 04

Data contracts

Automated controlled access through the signing of a contract in which the user commits to complying with terms and conditions.

03 — Goals

Goals

The use case selected and developed in Anjana Data aims to provide the UB with a platform that enables:

Operationalising the governance programme aligned with business objectives and the most relevant data management and analytics requirements.
Implementing the team structure of governance appropriate to the data and analytics to be governed, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
Implementing the defined procedures to enforce the protocol, governance policies and drive adoption of governance initiatives.
Guaranteeing the democratisation and federation of data at the UB.
Tracing the data lifecycle governed with Anjana Data, obtaining metrics and indicators for subsequent iterations and use cases.
Managing quickly and securely the provisioning of data to the different authorised elements of the UB, with the established quality conditions.

04 — Functional and Technical Architecture

Functional and Technical Architecture

The architecture is deployed as a SaaS service on a private cloud compliant with GDPR. The data platform consists of a DWH on Oracle Cloud with several star models, integrated with an Oracle Plugin for authentication, sampling, automatic metadata import and active governance. It includes an SSO identity manager with OAuth2 and LDAP groups, DNS customisation and Power BI reports.

Architecture: Oracle Cloud UB → Anjana Data (SaaS) → UB CPD Resources · Oracle Plugin + LDAP + SSO OAuth2

05 — Benefits Achieved

Benefits Achieved

Once the objectives are achieved, the Anjana Data platform delivers the following benefits to the University of Barcelona:

Centralised access policies

Agile definition and enforcement of data access policies and procedures.

Governance over critical processes

Governance established over the data supporting critical processes, decisions or outcomes of the UB.

Single view of information

All UB information available in an organised manner for processing and consumption.

Governed interoperability

UB systems communicate by exchanging information in a governed manner.

University Data Marketplace

Signing of data contracts to join entities and execute access flows, like a “shopping cart”.

Proactive governance with graphs

Monitoring relationships between entities to manage impacts from structural changes.

Multilingual

Platform simultaneously operational in Catalan, Spanish and English.

06 — Challenges Overcome

Challenges Overcome

Both technological and strategic challenges have been overcome:

Lack of resources to effectively govern assets. Management resistance due to lack of clarity about the advantages of data governance. Anjana Data has served to drive governance initiatives, being considered a key and user-friendly component by business units.

Generating a “data culture” within the university organisation.
Aligning technical and business concepts, seeking a common language.
Identified data ownership and accountability in data-driven decisions.

Inventory of dimensions, facts and indicators used in the first use case, establishing the basic rules for governing UB's information.

Customisation of functional, organisational and technological requirements.
Technological implementation: connectivity and integration tasks adapted to UB security policies.
Multilingual platform operational in Catalan, Spanish and English.

Oracle Plugin for authentication, sampling, automatic metadata import and active governance. SSO identity manager with OAuth2. DNS customisation.

Integration with DWH on Oracle Cloud with star models.
Identity management delegated to Anjana and managed as LDAP groups on Oracle Cloud.
Power BI reports with partial data copies and governed access.

The platform must adjust to the continuous functional, legislative and technological changes of the UB, guaranteeing scalability and adaptability over time.

Microservices-oriented architecture for horizontal scalability.
Adaptability for any change in the initial parameterisation.
Ongoing compliance with the Organic Law and the European General Data Protection Regulation.