CLIENT STORY

From data uncertainty to clarity

How Veikkaus found the missing piece of their data governance puzzle

 

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Recordly helped Veikkaus choose the right data catalog provider; saving time, avoiding pitfalls, and ensuring long-term usability

 

The challenge: great data, but hard to find

Veikkaus, a Finnish gambling company, handles an enormous volume of data every day, from customer behavior patterns to transaction analytics and responsible gaming compliance. This data fuels critical operations like fraud detection, player insights, and regulatory reporting.

But despite having powerful data solutions, one major challenge remained: finding and accessing the right data was harder than it should be.

The problem was that there was no self-service data discovery, meaning business teams often relied on data specialists to find, retrieve, and make sense of the data they needed. This led to bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and underutilized data resources.

To break down these barriers and make data easily accessible across teams, Veikkaus set out to find the right data catalog tool, one that would complete its data governance model and truly support data democratization.

But how do you choose the right data catalog provider when the market is filled with options, each claiming to be the best? That’s where Recordly stepped in.

Market dialogue: cutting through the noise to find the right fit

To find the most suitable data catalog for Veikkaus, we started with a defining market dialogue, engaging with nine leading data catalog providers.

We uncovered:

  • Tools that are part of data ingestion tools or cloud platforms 
  • Lightweight by design, easy-to-use tools
  • Enterprise-grade solutions for large, complex environments.

Through demos and in-depth vendor workshops, we assessed must-have functionalities, real usability, and long-term scalability - ensuring that the final choice would fit seamlessly into Veikkaus’ data ecosystem.

Why using a data consultancy for market dialogue made the difference

Many organizations handle market research and vendor selection internally, but for complex solutions like data catalogs, the risks are high:

  • Knowledge gaps can lead to misinformed decisions
  • Vendor bias makes it difficult to get an objective comparison
  • Inefficiency means teams spend months on research instead of execution.

By choosing data consultancy Recordly as their procurement partner, Veikkaus ensured:

  • Faster, more structured decision-making 
  • A competitive vendor selection process 
  • Access to industry experts and real-world benchmarks 
  • Reduced long-term risks and cost overruns.
From data uncertainty to clarity how Veikkaus found the missing piece of their data governance puzzle

The decision: selecting the right data catalog provider

After deep-diving into the market dialogue, vendor demos, and workshops, we built a comprehensive requirements list - both functional and technical - and crafted a detailed service description for public tender.

What really mattered?

  • Easy data discovery for everyone: the catalog had to be intuitive, ensuring that both technical and non-technical users could effortlessly find and understand the data they needed
  • Smart categorization and organization: the system needed to automatically categorize and group datasets, helping users quickly navigate to what’s relevant. The more automation, the better
  • Built-in collaboration: Veikkaus needed a platform where teams could discuss data assets, leave comments, and ask questions
  • Seamless integration: the data catalog wouldn’t exist in isolation. It had to be a connected ecosystem, allowing new data to flow in and insights to flow out, making it a true enabler of data-driven decision-making.

The most critical factor was usability.

Veikkaus didn’t need just another tool that would gather dust; they needed a solution that employees would actually use, empowering business teams to access and utilize data without IT dependencies.

This all resulted in Veikkaus selecting the best-fit data catalog provider from its own perspective, ensuring that its data assets are finally discoverable, usable, and actionable.

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The impact: from frustration to self-service data insights

With Recordly’s support, Veikkaus successfully:

  • Selected the right data catalog provider, not just the biggest name
  • Implemented a tool that boosts data accessibility and usability
  • Enabled business teams to find and use data independently
  • Eliminated long wait times for data requests
  • Accelerated data-driven decision-making across the company. 

“Working with Recordly significantly sped up our procurement process for our data catalog solution. Initially, we were not clear of the number of options and needed to align vendors with our specific needs. Recordly’s structured market dialogue, in-depth understanding, and insights gave us a clear, unbiased view of the best-fit tools. Their support made all the difference.”

– Petteri Lindfors, Group Manager, Data Governance & Reporting, Veikkaus

Why would your organization need a data catalog?

A data catalog is the bridge that connects data experts, business users, and your entire data management framework. It creates a shared language around data, making it easier to discover, understand, and collaborate.

The first wave of data catalogs was all about listing available datasets but today, the landscape has evolved dramatically. With more tools than ever and an explosion of new use cases, data catalogs have become a must-have for modern businesses. Now, it’s not just specialized vendors offering these solutions. Cloud providers and major tech companies have also jumped in, integrating data catalog capabilities into their platforms.

A data catalog isn’t just about knowing what data you have, it’s about making data accessible, actionable, and valuable, enabling collaboration between different stakeholders - technical and non-technical - across your organization.

Need to find the right data solution without the hassle?

Let’s talk!

Entering a procurement process but not sure which vendor to choose or what to ask for?

  • We handle the research, market dialogue, and evaluations
  • You get a structured, transparent selection process
  • Your teams get started quicker - with the right tool from day one
  • Let’s simplify your procurement journey. Get in touch!

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