Website: 

https://cayuse.com/

Industry: 

Software and Technology

Location: 

US

Partner: 

Data Clymer

https://dataclymer.com/

Technology Stack:

Snowflake, AWS, Oracle, Postgres, MS SQL, MySQL, and Elastic Search

Data productivity gains

• 50x increase in customers using Report Connector, whilst team-size remained constant
• Decreased customer support calls
• Higher customer satisfaction rates

Challenge

Acquiring companies to meet research administration’s need for a comprehensive solution that serves the full grant lifecycle left Cayuse with varying data structures that complicated reporting and data-driven decision-making.

Solution

Working with Matillion consultancy partner Data Clymer, the team sought to create a unified tech stack allowing for streamlined connectivity of backend data stores, with a complete rewrite of a key application to make it multi-tenant. 

Results

• The ability to load and manipulate data seamlessly helped to increase customer satisfaction
• Daily troubleshooting calls plummeted to virtually zero, signifying the success of the project
• Cayuse experienced significant operational efficiency
• Despite a 50x increase in customers using Report Connector, the team size remains constant 
  • This not only contributed to increased revenue but alleviated any pressure on the bottom line

The Challenge: Disparate Data Dilemma

In 1994, Chris Harker revolutionized research administration by founding Cayuse, a global SaaS company dedicated to simplifying research processes. Initially addressing challenges in grant applications, Cayuse has evolved into the market leader in research administration, serving over 650 customers worldwide, and targeting diverse sectors such as higher education, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and government research.

The research administration industry’s expansion and evolution put more focus on the need for a comprehensive solution connecting the entire research lifecycle. With separate departments and stages of the research process prone to siloes, researchers often face frustrating but avoidable administrative delays. Resource-constrained organizations find vital program growth difficult without the ability to see, process and analyze data across the full research journey.

In order to provide a full, integrated suite of research administration solutions, Cayuse collaborated and partnered with best-in-class companies to integrate select capabilities into the platform. This left Cayuse with varying data structures that needed to be brought together to facilitate data-driven decision-making. 

The Solution: A Unified Tech Stack

The Cayuse Research Suite is used by over 650 research administration offices globally, which means grappling with significant compliance regulations and governance issues. John Nord, CIO at Cayuse, realized they needed a trusted on-shore partner to navigate these issues in real-time. 

Recognizing that data is not just a component, but the backbone of strategic decision-making, John decided to partner with Data Clymer, a consulting firm delivering trusted solutions to help organizations unlock the value of data. They embarked on a mission to standardize over 20 data stores and make their Report Connector application multi-tenant. 

Leveraging AWS, Postgres on AWS, Snowflake, Oracle, MS SQL, MySQL, and Elastic Search, the team sought to create a unified tech stack. The move allowed for streamlined connectivity of backend data stores, paving the way for a comprehensive solution.

Report Connector needed to be multi-tenant and capable of handling the diverse needs of all customers. “The first goal was to unify all data sources under one platform,” John explains. “Matillion's no-code/low-code option stood out, particularly in contrast to the complex usage and licensing of other solutions.” 

The Partnership: A Perfect Trifecta for Success

The synergy between Cayuse, Data Clymer and Matillion was “the perfect trifecta for success,” according to John. Unlike some past experiences, this collaboration was characterized by a shared commitment to addressing inefficiencies. 

“In a world where consulting firms often overlook inefficiencies, Data Clymer stood out by actively addressing challenges and proposing innovative solutions,” says John. The aligned partnership ensures future success, emphasizing continuous open discussions and constructive feedback.

For John, being able to scale technology solutions is key to the success of any project. Matillion’s low-code approach and ease of use eliminate the need for specialized skill-sets that are expensive to acquire and time-consuming to source. And with Matillion’s Unlimited Scalability, customers can run any size workload at the click of a button, while maintaining data security and sovereignty, and keeping costs low. 

Impact: Operational Transformation

The impact goes beyond the Report Connector application and has been noted in other areas. The ability to load and manipulate data seamlessly allows customers increased flexibility and efficiency.

With Report Connector as a key component of its research suite, Cayuse experienced significant operational efficiency and despite a 50x increase in customers using Report Connector, the team size remains constant. This not only contributed to increased revenue but alleviated any pressure on the bottom line.

What's Next for Cayuse

As a market leader in research administration, Cayuse continues to innovate. Their latest offering, Cayuse Analytics, caters to smaller and mid-tier customers lacking the resources for high-end analytics tools and provides an executive dashboard, fueled by data from Matillion and Snowflake.

As Cayuse continues to set the standard in research administration, the journey with Data Clymer and Matillion supports a future marked by operational excellence, innovation, and sustained growth.

About Cayuse

For 30 years, Cayuse has empowered organizations to conduct globally connected research and modernize research administration. Our industry-leading cloud-based research platform powers a suite of applications that maximizes researcher success, improves collaboration, and simplifies work across the entire research lifecycle, including commercialization and tracking of research outcomes. The Cayuse global community includes academic institutions, hospitals and health systems, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, government agencies, independent research institutions, and non-profit organizations.