Your agents are only as good as the data you let them see
A unified, secure, governed data foundation on AWS — Lake Formation, governed lakehouses, and access controls fit for regulated industries. The platform every other AI solution sits on.
The Challenge
Data foundation problems split into two shapes — treating them as one is why most projects under-deliver. SMBs fragment data across 20+ tools. Regulated industries know where data is — they just can't prove who's touched it.
Twenty databases — none talking
Data everywhere. Operational systems, CRMs, finance tools, spreadsheets. One overworked analyst holds the institutional memory. Analytics slow, ad hoc, impossible to delegate.
Fix
The fix is a unified data lake — S3 as golden landing zone, Glue crawlers to infer schema, Athena to make it queryable. The analyst stops being a single point of failure.
The data's there. Governance isn't
You know where the data lives. You don't know who's read it, when, or whether the access pattern would survive an audit. AI agents amplify that problem.
Fix
Lake Formation fine-grained permissions, row-level access controls, and a full audit trail are the answer. Every read attributable. The security conversation ends with 'yes'.
Agents can't plug in
Every other AI solution — agentic builds, productivity tools, fine-tuned models — assumes a clean, governed, accessible data foundation. Without one, every build delays on the same data conversation.
Fix
The data foundation is the platform everything else stands on. Build it once, correctly, and every downstream AI project gets faster. Skip it, and every project pays the debt.
How We Deliver
Discovery & architecture design
Weeks 1–3Understand your data landscape, integration needs, and governance requirements. Design the foundation before implementation.
- •Data inventory — what sources, what formats, what quality, what volume
- •Integration assessment — frequency, latency requirements, transformation complexity
- •Governance scoping — regulatory requirements, access control model, audit needs
- •Architecture design — Lake Formation, governed lakehouse, or hybrid approach
Output
Architecture agreed and signed off by your infrastructure and security teams.
Foundation build & integration
Weeks 4–8Lake Formation setup, governed access controls, data ingestion pipelines, and audit trail wiring. Data unified and queryable.
- •S3 data lake structure and lifecycle policies
- •Glue data catalogue and schema inference
- •Lake Formation fine-grained access controls and data permissions
- •Data ingestion pipelines — batch and real-time where needed
- •Athena workgroup setup and query optimization
Output
First queries run successfully and data governance is enforced.
Governance & handover
Weeks 9–12Standing access control framework, data lineage documentation, and operational runbook. Your team owns it.
- •Access control framework — roles, policies, approval workflows
- •Data lineage documentation — where data comes from, how it's transformed
- •Operational runbook — how to add new sources, manage retention, handle incidents
- •Monitoring and alerting — data freshness, pipeline health, access anomalies
Output
Your team can operate the foundation independently. Runbook complete and signed off.
What You Get
Unified data lake: S3 as your golden source. Glue crawlers infer schema. Athena makes it queryable. Your analyst stops being a single point of failure.
Governed access: Lake Formation fine-grained permissions. Row-level access controls. Full audit trail. Every read attributable. The security conversation ends with 'yes'.
Every agent can plug in: The platform every other AI solution stands on. Build it once, correctly. Every downstream project gets faster. Skip it, and every project pays the debt.
No data conversation delays: Your team owns the foundation. Data's clean, governed, and ready. AI projects start with the model, not the data debate.
Choose Your Engagement
Data Lake
Unified lake, data pipeline, and analytics setup. Lightweight governance for growth.
- • Unified data lake on S3
- • Glue data catalogue setup
- • Athena analytics layer
- • Basic governance framework
Cost
Fixed fee
Duration
4–6 weeks
Governed Foundation
Lake Formation, fine-grained access, audit trail, and compliance framework. Production-ready.
- • Lake Formation setup
- • Fine-grained access controls
- • Audit trail wiring
- • Compliance framework
Cost
Fixed fee
Duration
6–10 weeks
Standing Programme
Ongoing governance, monitoring, and optimization of your data platform.
- • Access control management
- • Data pipeline monitoring
- • Governance reviews
- • Optimization recommendations
Cost
Monthly retainer
Duration
Monthly
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Ready to build a data foundation for AI?
Let's unify your data and govern access so every AI project moves faster.
Why talk to us:
Outcome-driven recommendations
AWS-recognised delivery expertise
Risk-aware AI adoption
Clear next step, not a sales pitch
Start with a focused 20-minute conversation about your goals — no pressure, no commitment.