CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY
Department of Conservation Turns Manual Analytics Reporting into an Automated Data Pipeline with FME
By partnering with Locus to build an FME-powered workflow connecting Google Analytics to their Snowflake cloud data warehouse, the Department of Conservation replaced a slow, manual reporting process with a reliable, automated pipeline, giving a much wider audience across the organisation access to up-to-date website intelligence.
Manual → automated
Ad-hoc, analyst-dependent PowerBI reporting replaced with a fully automated FME workflow
Organisation-wide access
Reliable website data now accessible to a much wider audience across DOC, not just data analysts
Monthly data loads
Google Analytics data loaded into Snowflake on a monthly basis, keeping reporting consistently up to date
Single source of truth
Part of DOC’s Modern Data Platform strategy to unify multiple data sources for business intelligence and investment decisions
With the help of FME and its easy integration with Snowflake, we have been able to overhaul what was a manual, irregular Google Analytics reporting process and transform it into a reliable, accessible source of integrated data.”
– Burcu Cakmak, IT Project Manager, Department of Conservation
The Challenge
Manual, Ad-Hoc Reporting Limiting Access to Website Intelligence
As part of their Digital Strategy Program, the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) is developing the Modern Data Platform (MDP), implemented as a Snowflake-based cloud data warehouse. The aim is to improve business intelligence and reporting by providing a single source of truth, as well as automating updates from a multitude of data sources to help guide investment decisions.
One critical source of data to be integrated with the MDP is Google Analytics, which tracks website traffic and usage. Google Analytics data provides the DOC with insights on the demand, demographics, and behaviours of website visitors such as their online interactions with bookable and non-bookable DOC facilities. These insights can help improve the DOC’s online presence by ensuring that their website is responsive, easy to navigate, and provides visitors with the information they need.
Before the introduction of the MDP, access to Google Analytics data was managed through Microsoft PowerBI, which required data analysts to manually connect to and download data, and run reports on an ad-hoc basis.
The Solution
An FME-Powered Pipeline from Google Analytics to Snowflake
To provide staff with faster and easier access to more up-to-date information, the DOC partnered with Locus to build an automated process powered by FME.
A workflow was created to connect to the Google Analytics Reporting API using a Google service account and a cryptographically signed JSON Web Token (JWT) generated using the PythonCaller transformer for authentication. JSON data downloaded from the API is parsed and re-formatted to be recognisable by Snowflake before being inserted into the target database. The cryptographic functions are provided by a third-party Python module that can be easily installed in FME Form and uploaded to FME Flow. With the built-in Snowflake writer and Automations capability in FME, Google Analytics data can be easily loaded into Snowflake on a monthly basis, keeping reporting data up to date.
The Results
Reduced Overhead, Broader Access, Better Decisions
By automating Google Analytics reporting, the DOC is able to reduce data maintenance overheads and enable a much wider audience within the organisation to access reliable website data to support cross-platform analytics and reporting.
Why it Matters
For organisations managing large public-facing digital platforms, website analytics are a critical input into decisions about content, services, and investment. When that data is locked behind manual processes and accessible only to a handful of analysts, its value to the wider organisation is severely constrained.
By utilising FME to automate the flow of Google Analytics data into a central cloud data warehouse, government agencies and other organisations can democratise access to digital performance insights, reducing the burden on technical teams, improving data freshness, and ensuring that the people who need website intelligence to make decisions actually have it, when they need it.
Success Stories
Powered by Locus Expertise
Automating Google Analytics Reporting with the Help of FME (and its integration with Snowflake)
By automating Google Analytics reporting, the Department of Conservation is able to reduce data maintenance overheads and enable a much wider audience within the organisation to access reliable website data to support cross-platform analytics and reporting.