RAI Amsterdam: becoming data-driven and well-connected

For an event organization like RAI Amsterdam, data plays a crucial role in optimizing internal processes and thus providing a seamless experience to customers, suppliers and exhibitors. Using advanced integration technology, HSO has built an innovative data platform that enables RAI Amsterdam to not only create a complete customer view, but also transform communication with all key stakeholders. Find out in this story how this partnership has positively impacted the way RAI Amsterdam facilitates connection for its diverse audience.

Multiple departments, multiple truths

In 2018, RAI started a process to move toward a "single source of truth" for the Marketing and Sales Teams. This was not what the IT landscape looked like at that time. Lloyd Tan, Data Architect at RAI Amsterdam, explains: "We had different applications with different truths, which were maintained by different departments, and silo formation occurred. This created confusion for upper management, where directors were all getting different input from each other."

On the customer side, this structure created a scenario where exhibitors communicate with six different departments of RAI Amsterdam, sometimes with different messaging. Something that negatively impacted customer experience and created a lot of internal confusion."

The Marketing department wanted to be able to provide uniform information to (potential) customers. Building on this, they wanted to apply smart technology such as AI, which would allow them to benefit from new developments.

Breaking down silos with integration

To start with, HSO came up with a new integration solution in the Azure Cloud in 2022. By linking separate applications together, silos are broken down and a structure is built that facilitates a single source of truth. Lloyd says: "The strategy we used was to be 'loosely coupled', which means that there are few to no hard integrations between the different applications, but as much as possible is done in the middle layer, the layer where the control takes place to send information back and forth. On the IT side, this reduces the number of integration connections that need to be maintained and gives more control over the data landscape."

Value from real-time data

The newly built integration platform is the basis on which RAI Amsterdam can land its data platform. HSO renovates the outdated and unusable structure and sets up a fit-for-purpose data platform. The previously built connections are reused to fill the new data platform. However, this time, the real-time data that becomes available is not only used to look for a sustainable solution for Marketing and Sales, but for all departments of the organization.

"We wanted to set up an analytics platform that would enable us to make valuable analyses based on real-time data and we wanted to build a marketing database with one correct record per customer or relationship, for the entire organization. This ensures, among other things, an up-to-date picture of contact moments, the status of affairs and customer data for everyone at RAI Amsterdam who needs it, which means that we can communicate with customers in a more targeted and efficient way."

By breaking down the silos that kept data separate, RAI Amsterdam employees are now able to work together in a targeted manner. This is one of the first steps towards becoming a data-driven organization, in which everyone is on the same page because a unified structure of data and insights is available.

Making data available is not the end of the job. After this project, HSO will map all data sources and take the first steps to make real-time insights available to RAI Amsterdam management in a user-friendly way.

Using a 'user centered design' approach, HSO designs and builds the new Management Dashboard. With this dashboard, directors of Finance, Housing and Human Resources have an accurate and up-to-date overview at a glance, on which important decisions are based. New KPIs, a single source of truth and detailed insights and comparisons result in a crucial step for strategic decision-making within the organization.

New tools require new ways of working. To ensure that the Management Dashboard is fully utilized by those who can get the most value out of it, HSO Change Consultants are assisting RAI Amsterdam employees in the change process. This creates clarity on how the dashboard can be used, but also how it can be refined for end users.

“Ultimately, the goal of our digital transformation is to have a positive impact on RAI's management, employees, exhibitors, suppliers and visitors. The customer journey and different ways of working within the organization need to be taken to the next level each time. With the rapid developments taking place in the field of IT, it is quite challenging for a non-IT company to keep up. Nevertheless, it remains a great challenge. We want to create more meaningful relationships between people, and IT helps us do that.”

A learning organization

With the steps that have been taken, RAI Amsterdam has a platform in place that can be built upon. Looking to the future, there are clear ambitions. “In the coming years, we want to build up the competencies to maintain our organization's integration landscape and better utilize existing applications,” says Lloyd. “This must be aligned with the customer journeys that have been mapped out, but also provide material for continuous learning. For us, being a learning organization is not only about training, but also about evaluation and constantly looking for improvement.”