A warehouse worker reads a label on a box A warehouse worker reads a label on a box

ABCloudz and Azure Databricks cut retailer's report time: hours to minutes

Microsoft partner ABCloudz migrates retailer’s enterprise data warehouse from legacy SQL Server 2014 infrastructure to Azure Databricks, transforming the retailer’s ability to manage and analyze data.

Legacy data warehousing infrastructure hinders progress

A global retail client of Microsoft partner ABCloudz needed to update its on-premises enterprise data warehouse, which was delaying decision-making processes as a result of slow data processing, storage constraints, and difficulties integrating with modern tools.

Modernizing with Azure Databricks for scalable data processing

ABCloudz migrated the client’s enterprise data warehouse from legacy SQL Server 2014 infrastructure to Azure Databricks, implementing a scalable, cloud-based solution with a three-tier data structure.

Real-time analytics and report generation in minutes

Azure Databricks transformed the retailer’s ability to manage and analyze data. This improved data processing speeds by 60%, reduced infrastructure costs by 30%, and cut report generation time from hours to just minutes.

A partner empowering businesses to manage data, apps, and more

ABCloudz is a full-service technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington, with more than 20 practices and close to 300 employees worldwide. Its mission is to help customers manage their data, applications, and infrastructure anywhere, with a focus on automation, security, and cost-effectiveness. ABCloudz is part of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program and regularly utilizes Microsoft products and services to enable clients to manage data and optimize their infrastructure.

The company’s certified solution architects, IT operations team, and developers can provide short-term help through professional services available in the Azure Marketplace, such as a four-week Azure migration assessment and a two-week migration implementation.

Delivering the advantages of modernization

The on-premises enterprise data warehouse of ABCloudz’s retail client had struggled to keep pace with the demands of modern data management, causing delays in retrieving data for reports, particularly when analyzing historical trends.

To overcome these limitations, ABCloudz migrated the client's enterprise data warehouse to Azure Databricks, which offers a scalable architecture, real-time data processing, and seamless integration with modern analytics tools. Implementing a structured bronze, silver, and gold data layer ensured that raw data remained available for future analysis while optimizing the data pipeline. Key Microsoft products used in this solution included Azure SQL Database, Azure Data Lake, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Factory, and Power BI. These tools helped create a unified, seamless data pipeline that improved the client’s data integration and analytics capabilities. Azure Data Factory was employed to orchestrate the data flow, ensuring smooth transitions between the bronze, silver, and gold layers, while Power BI provided advanced analytics and reporting functionalities.

System architecture before the migration

System architecture before the migration

The migration to Azure Databricks transformed the retailer’s ability to manage and analyze its data. Data-processing speeds increased by 60%, enabling faster insights and decision-making. Infrastructure costs were reduced by 30%, thanks to cloud-based, scalable architecture that allowed the client to handle significantly larger data volumes without additional hardware investments.

One of the most impactful improvements was the reduction in time required to integrate new tools. Previously, this process could take several months because of the limitations of the on-premises infrastructure. With the new Azure environment, the client can now implement new tools within a few weeks, significantly accelerating the adoption of advanced analytics and AI-driven solutions.

In addition, real-time data-processing capabilities were established, reducing the time required to generate reports from hours to just minutes. This has empowered teams across the client’s global operations to make quicker, data-driven decisions, improving overall business agility. The ability to access and analyze historical data, preserved in the bronze data layer, further enhances the client's capacity for long-term strategic planning and trend analysis.

Overall, the new solution provided the client with a modern, scalable platform that supports future growth and innovation while maintaining cost efficiency and operational excellence.

Enhanced architecture on Azure Databricks after migrationEnhanced architecture on Azure Databricks after migration

“Leveraging Microsoft Azure technologies, we delivered a solution that not only addressed the client’s immediate needs but also set them up for future growth. Azure Databricks played a key role in helping our customer seamlessly integrate modern analytics tools, significantly cutting down the time required for their adoption.”

—Adam Robertson, Director of Solution Management at ABCloudz

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