Freelance BI and Data Warehouse Consultant
As a freelance BI and Data Warehouse consultant on Capgemini's delivery to Nortura, I worked fully remote to maintain and optimize a SQL Server-based data warehouse, where stable operations and continuous improvements had to go hand-in-hand with a legacy setup that could not be paused to be "done right." I delivered performance improvements (SQL optimization, stored procedures, and packages) and contributed to the reporting foundation by maintaining SSAS cubes for Excel-based reporting, so the business could obtain consistent figures without everything being manually handled.
The task consisted of keeping Nortura's SQL Server-based data warehouse stable and usable while Capgemini concurrently built a new data warehouse. This meant ensuring both daily operations and data quality while simultaneously making targeted improvements and optimizations without being able to "stop the world" and redesign everything from scratch. The goal was to keep the existing solution robust enough for business needs while performance, transformation logic, and the reporting foundation were improved where it had the most effect, so the business could trust the figures and receive them on time.
Work on the existing SQL Server solution was primarily performance tuning and troubleshooting, focusing on making existing queries and load flows faster and more stable without changing more than necessary. However, there was also an ongoing need for minor expansions, typically additions to facts and dimensions, and when these occurred, changes were coordinated with Capgemini's team to ensure they weren't overlooked in the development of the new data warehouse, and so the business didn't end up with two different truths depending on which solution they looked at.
A significant part of the task was to ensure operations in a legacy setup where load and dependencies were tied to older DTS packages and SQL Agent jobs. This meant that stability and re-execution had to be considered in the changes, so errors could be handled quickly and small fixes didn't create new side effects in an environment where much was built long ago and rarely with easy maintenance in mind.
Load processes were continuously improved through optimization and fixes in existing stored procedures and DTS packages, focusing on making execution more predictable, reducing run time, and minimizing error scenarios without changing behavior more than necessary. It was very much a maintenance track where small improvements gave a large effect because they hit processes that ran often and carried much of the daily data delivery.
On the reporting side, I maintained SSAS cubes used for Excel-based reporting, where changes typically involved keeping definitions consistent, correcting logic when the data foundation changed, and ensuring reporting remained stable and usable for the business. The focus was on making it possible to work with the same concepts and figures over time, even when adjustments were made in the warehouse and load.
Capgemini is an international IT and consulting group providing advice and technical deliveries within system development, integration, data and analytics, cloud, infrastructure, and managed services. The company is French, headquartered in Paris, and was founded in 1967. Capgemini is known as one of the large global consulting houses that can staff and execute major programs across technology areas, typically for enterprise clients and public organizations.
Capgemini works across industries and often delivers in setups where development, modernization, and ongoing maintenance are all included, and where the delivery is carried out by multiple teams with different roles.
Nortura SA is a Norwegian food group organized as an agricultural cooperative, owned by approximately 15,500 to 16,000 Norwegian farmers. Nortura was established in 2006 through a fusion of the cooperatives Gilde and Prior. The company works with slaughtering, processing, and distribution of meat and eggs for the Norwegian market and is known for brands like Gilde and Prior.
As a major player in the food sector, Nortura typically has complex data needs linked to production, logistics, finance, and settlement; therefore, data platforms and reporting are an important part of internal management and planning.