SA Home Loans, which positions itself as a leading player in the South African mortgage lending market, partnered with Keyrus to upgrade its legacy data environment that could no longer keep pace with the business’s growing demand for timely, accurate and actionable insights.
The challenge
With increasing volumes of structured and unstructured data from multiple sources, reporting cycles became longer, data quality inconsistencies crept in and operational teams lacked the agility to make real-time decisions. To remain competitive, SA Home Loans set out to build a modern data architecture that would enable scalability, streamline reporting and empower teams with trusted data insights. The organisation required a solution that could not only integrate and cleanse disparate data sources but also future proof its technology landscape against evolving business needs.
As Riaan Vermeulen, Head of Data Architecture at SA Home Loans, put it: “We knew we had to move beyond traditional reporting and invest in a data architecture that delivers both agility and trust. Partnering with Keyrus meant we could tap into proven expertise in designing scalable, future-ready solutions tailored to our unique needs.”
The solution
SA Home Loans partnered with Keyrus, a global leader in data strategy and analytics, to design and implement a robust cloud-based data architecture. Leveraging its deep experience in data engineering and modern platforms, the Keyrus team worked closely with SA Home Loans stakeholders to build a secure, high-performance environment for end-to-end data management.
The deployed technology stack included:
- dbt – Enables SQL-based data transformation and modelling with version control and testing.
- Apache Airflow – Orchestrates and automates data pipelines, handling extraction, loading and scheduling with minimal maintenance.
- Snowflake – A secure, scalable cloud data warehouse for storage and advanced analytics.
- Denodo – A data virtualisation platform that provides unified access and real-time data views for seamless visualisation and reporting.
This combination created a fully integrated pipeline, from ingestion to storage to visualisation, ensuring that SA Home Loans could derive insights quickly and reliably.
Nathi Xulu, Head of Data Engineering at Keyrus, explained: “Our approach was to design a flexible architecture that balances governance with speed-to-value. By leveraging automation and cloud scalability, we’ve equipped SA Home Loans with a platform that supports both today’s reporting needs and tomorrow’s innovation.”
The benefits
The collaboration between SA Home Loans and Keyrus has delivered significant improvements across the organisation:
1. Improved data quality and consistency
Automated ingestion and transformation processes reduced manual intervention, ensuring cleaner and more reliable data for decision-making.
2. Faster time-to-insights
The new architecture shortened reporting cycles, enabling business teams to move from static monthly reports to near real-time insights.
3. Scalability for growth
With cloud-native infrastructure, SAHL can easily scale its data operations as volumes increase or new data sources are introduced.
4. Empowered business users
Through interactive dashboards, teams will be enabled self-service insights, reducing reliance on IT while improving agility in daily operations.
5. Future-proof data environment
The flexible design ensures SA Home Loans is well positioned to adopt advanced analytics, machine learning and AI initiatives in the future.
As Vermeulen reflected: “Keyrus didn’t just implement a technology stack; they provided a roadmap for sustainable data maturity. Their expertise has accelerated our ability to deliver value from data, which will allow us to use analytics as a true enabler of business growth.”
A model for modern data architecture
The success of this project demonstrates how forward-thinking organisations like SA Home Loans can unlock competitive advantage by investing in a modern data foundation. For potential customers considering similar deployments, this story is proof of how expert consultancy and the right technology stack can transform reporting, governance and business agility.
By combining best-in-class tools with a strategic vision, Keyrus continues to position itself as the trusted partner for enterprises seeking to harness the full potential of their data. Contact Keyrus at sales@keyrus.co.za.
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