Syniti, part of Capgemini, creates enterprise management software for complicated data transformations. Following its acquisition by Capgemini, at the end of 2024, the team will reinforce the Group’s data-driven digital core business transformation services, notably large-scale SAP transformations, such as the move to SAP S/4HANA, Pulse 2.0 interviewed Syniti CEO, Kevin Campbell, to learn more about the company.
Kevin Campbell’s Background
Could you tell me more about your background?
Campbell said: “I have spent over 20 years driving growth and innovation across global Fortune 500 companies and start-ups through efficient data management strategies. Before my current role as Syniti’s CEO, I led the global services and delivery team at Syniti. Previously, I was co-COO for Bridgewater Associates and COO of Oscar Health. I also spent over 20 years at Accenture, serving two terms as the group Chief Executive for Outsourcing and the Group Chief Executive for Technology. At Accenture, I led a team that drove significant growth and innovation in helping deliver value to our clients.”
Helping Prevent Data Quality Errors
Why is data quality critical to business success? How does Syniti help companies prevent and correct data quality errors?
Campbell shared: “Data quality is critical to success because it impacts every business process and directly affects revenue. Every problem is a data problem. Syniti recently released a study, in partnership with HFS, interviewing over 300 Global 2000 business leaders. It found that bad and unusable data creates an opportunity cost of up to 35% – and a staggering 40% of organizational data is unusable!”
“Additionally, 85% of respondents recognize data as crucial for business success, and only a third are satisfied with their enterprise data quality. At Syniti, we provide continuous, proactive data management, tailored assessments and industry-leading data consultant support to combat these challenges and enable businesses to harness the full potential of high-quality data. Syniti’s Data First approach treats data quality as a critical strategy for achieving desired business outcomes, aligning with the practices of today’s most successful companies.”
Future Trends
What future trends do you predict in the data management industry? How is Syniti prepared for these trends?
Campbell explained: “Digital transformations are critical for businesses. Underlying this is data quality. Also, with the potential of Gen AI, people are realizing, “If my data is no good, then my answers will be no good.” Implementing AI requires the basics – data quality, data governance, and good data hygiene. So, data quality will be critical for business success. As organizations continue to adopt new technologies such as advanced analytics, the need for reliable data will be more crucial than ever.”
“That’s where we come in with our tagline, Data First. Every digital transformation needs a data transformation, and that’s what we’re here to help with. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t come easy. This requires hard work—hard work that a lot of people have avoided for years, just like other things we avoid, like yard work or chores. Then you get in a hole, and you go and face it.”
“We help our partners navigate these challenges by aligning their data objectives with their broader business goals, enabling them to drive new business efficiencies and gain valuable data insights. We also offer assistance from our delivery team as companies adopt these new tools. This proactive approach enables our partners to leverage these evolving tools’ potential benefits fully, transforming data quality from a possible issue into a competitive advantage.”
Evolution Of the Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since its launch?
Campbell noted: “Initially, we focused on helping businesses migrate data between platforms, particularly in the context of new system implementation. Over time, we recognized the critical need for broader data and the relationship between cleaning data, keeping it clean and governing data.”
“The reuse of rules in one area is essential for others, so as part of this strategy, we introduced the Syniti Knowledge Platform (SKP). SKP is a cloud-native, enterprise-grade SaaS solution that supports migration and encompasses data quality, governance, replication and master data management. Its design reflects our Data First approach, prioritizing quality from the start. SKP now integrates AI to do things that were labor-intensive or even impossible in the cloud to help businesses manage and govern data as a strategic asset. This supports ongoing data initiatives such as migration, lifecycle data quality, and data replication to lakes and oceans for analytics.”
Customer Success Stories
Can you share any specific customer success stories?
Campbell highlighted: “A great example of our work is our partnership with Bridgestone EMEA. The company faced significant challenges with data migration, achieving only a 10% success rate in their initial load attempts. This complex, large-scale transformation involved 26 countries and a mass amount of siloed, disparate data.”
“The company’s previous efforts had failed, and it wanted to complete the transformation within nine months. Despite these challenges, we successfully facilitated a massive transformation, resulting in a 99% success rate in their first attempted load cycle. Through this partnership, Bridgestone also successfully navigated from SAP ECC to SAP S/4 HANA and established operations to enable the company’s continued growth, automation and innovation. The success of this partnership highlights how our Data First approach significantly enhances efficiency and scalability, leading to tangible business outcomes.”
Differentiation From the Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition?
Campbell concluded: “Syniti differentiates itself with a Data First approach—one grounded in actions, not just words. Our Data First approach prioritizes data quality efforts much earlier in the process and focuses on the quality and context of data. While some view data as an IT issue, we understand it is fundamentally a business issue. We’ve built our solutions with this mindset.”
“Our long-term partnerships with legacy companies also set us apart. It’s important for enterprises to realize that we don’t just provide a one-time fix; we deliver continuous data management and governance services that evolve alongside businesses. Moreover, we’ve designed the Syniti Knowledge Platform to cleanse and manage data and provide actionable insights that directly impact business decisions. Our holistic client partnerships, blended with our robust technology, ensure that partners don’t just have clean data, but data that is usable and transformative for the long term.”
“We are also very pleased to be a part of Capgemini, a business and technology transformation leader. Our organizations have always understood how crucial data is—especially high-quality data—for successful digital transformation. We can’t wait to unlock more value for our clients together.”
