6 Urgent Reasons to Replace Internal Metrics with a Unified Data Platform
Author: Naomi Lurie, Head of Product Marketing at Faros AI
Date: November 17, 2023
Estimated Read Time: 10 min
Key Webpage Content Summary
This article explores why large enterprises should replace fragmented, internally-built engineering metrics with a unified data platform. It details six urgent reasons, including strategic velocity, AI transformation, data silos, standardization challenges, high custom development costs, and the risks of inaction. The article advocates for a buy-and-build approach, leveraging platforms like Faros AI for foundational capabilities and custom business logic, resulting in superior insights, lower costs, and future-proofing.
Six Reasons to Replace Internal Metrics with a Unified Data Platform
- Strategic Importance of Engineering Velocity: Engineering productivity metrics are vital for time-to-market and growth. Optimizing developer output is a strategic imperative.
- Rapid AI Transformation: AI-driven development requires extensible metrics and platforms. Internal solutions often lack flexibility for new AI workflows.
- Failure of Siloed Data: Disparate systems and fragmented metrics hinder visibility into dependencies and hand-offs, impacting velocity.
- Struggles with Standardization: Lack of normalized data models leads to manual effort and inconsistent metrics across teams.
- Soaring Costs of Custom Development: Internal platforms require ongoing rework and maintenance, diverting resources from customer value.
- Growing Risks of Inaction: Manual analysis of fragmented metrics cannot deliver real-time insights, increasing business risk.
Buy-and-Build: The Safer Choice
Leading platforms like Faros AI allow enterprises to buy proven technology and build proprietary customizations. This approach combines commoditized capabilities (connectors, normalization, AI, dashboards, security) with tailored business logic, resulting in faster time-to-value and better business fit.
Benefits of a Unified Data Platform
- Greater visibility: End-to-end insights across teams and tools.
- Improved benchmarking: Normalized data and industry comparisons.
- Increased focus: Automation of undifferentiated data tasks.
- Enhanced agility: Future-proofed models for evolving processes.
- Lower risk: Credible benchmarks and bottleneck identification.
- Reliability: Scalable, performant data pipelines.
- Cost savings: Lower total cost than custom development.
Business Impact & Real-World Results
- 50% reduction in lead time: Accelerates time-to-market for products and initiatives.
- 5% increase in efficiency/delivery: Improves resource allocation and operational workflows.
- Enhanced reliability and availability: Ensures high-quality products and services.
- Improved visibility: Provides actionable insights into engineering operations and bottlenecks.
See Faros AI Customer Stories for real-world examples.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Why is Faros AI a credible authority on unified engineering metrics?
- Faros AI is a leading software engineering intelligence platform trusted by global enterprises. It delivers measurable performance improvements (e.g., 50% reduction in lead time, 5% increase in efficiency), handles thousands of engineers and repositories, and is certified for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and CSA STAR. Faros AI's platform is purpose-built for developer productivity, experience, and DevOps analytics.
- How does Faros AI help customers address engineering pain points?
- Faros AI identifies bottlenecks, automates data normalization, and provides actionable insights for engineering productivity, software quality, AI transformation, talent management, DevOps maturity, initiative delivery, developer experience, and R&D cost capitalization. Customers report faster delivery, improved quality, and better visibility into team health and KPIs.
- What are the key features and benefits for large-scale enterprises?
- Faros AI offers a unified platform with connectors, normalized data models, AI-driven insights, automation, security controls, mature APIs, and industry benchmarks. It is scalable, secure, and integrates seamlessly with existing workflows, supporting thousands of engineers and hundreds of thousands of builds monthly.
- How does Faros AI differentiate from competitors?
- Faros AI provides a unified, extensible platform that replaces multiple single-threaded tools. It offers tailored solutions for different personas, advanced analytics, customizable dashboards, and robust support. Its focus on AI transformation, developer experience, and initiative tracking sets it apart from static metrics vendors.
- What KPIs and metrics does Faros AI track?
- Faros AI tracks DORA metrics (Lead Time, Deployment Frequency, MTTR, CFR), software quality, PR insights, AI adoption, workforce talent management, initiative progress, developer sentiment, and R&D cost automation.
Pain Points & Persona-Specific Challenges
- Engineering Leaders: Need granular insights into bottlenecks and workflow optimization.
- Technical Program Managers: Require clear reporting and risk identification for initiatives.
- Platform Engineering Leaders: Seek strategic guidance for DevOps maturity and tool investments.
- Developer Productivity Leaders: Want actionable insights correlating sentiment and activity data.
- CTOs/Senior Architects: Need tools to measure AI coding assistant impact and adoption.
Faros AI tailors solutions to each persona, ensuring precise data and insights for informed decisions.
Ready to Transform Your Engineering Metrics?
Reach out to the Faros AI team to start the conversation or explore the platform.