Unifying Disparate Data Sources for Faster Insights with Atlan
The Active Metadata Pioneers series features Atlan customers who have completed a thorough evaluation of the Active Metadata Management market. Paying forward what you’ve learned to the next data leader is the true spirit of the Atlan community! So they’re here to share their hard-earned perspective on an evolving market, what makes up their modern data stack, innovative use cases for metadata, and more.
In this installment of the series, we meet Hans Howard, Senior Data Engineer at ChargePoint, a company which operates hundreds of thousands of EV charging stations across 14 countries, delivering 269 million charges and avoiding 2.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Hans shares how ChargePoint transitioned from navigating multiple data systems to using Atlan as a one-stop shop for questions about their data.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself, your background, and what drew you to Data & Analytics?
I first recognized the power of data in high school. There was an after-school program where we repaired out-of-warranty computers to be reused. After logging enough hours, you could earn a computer. My main task was to inventory every part, like motherboards and video cards, recording serial numbers and descriptions in an Excel sheet. I spent several days putting all of this data together until I handed it off and forgot about it.
Months later, my teacher told me the data I gathered helped the police investigate a classmate for stealing hardware. Not only was he expelled, but he also faced legal consequences. It was a sad story, but that really opened my eyes to the power of data.
My career was built on that moment. Good, accurate data can drive serious, impactful events.
Could you describe ChargePoint, and how your data team supports the organization and mission?
ChargePoint was founded out of concern for the state of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, with the goal of making electric fueling easy and widely available, a mission I fully support. But, I didn’t start out in Data and Analytics, not by a long shot. I began in a fledgling support organization in Arizona.
ChargePoint was still private, then, and many processes in the support organization were in a state that would not scale. I naturally began pulling metrics from our phone and ticketing systems, making connections. Before long, I was managing the support team, and later running a metrics and reporting organization for Support and IT.
In my current role in ChargePoint’s dedicated data and analytics group, our mandate is to help individuals across the company understand the data coming from various systems and make it work for them.
This is why I enjoy working at ChargePoint. While there’s an overall mission, each group has its own specific goals. There are countless opportunities to contribute, and the environment is constantly changing. It’s dynamic and fluid, with shifting priorities and new challenges. As issues arise, our team works with others to identify their needs, define the problem, and use data to find solutions.
Why search for an Active Metadata Management solution? What was missing?
I wasn’t involved in the original decision to adopt Atlan, but spoke with the person who was, at the time; An exceptionally intelligent person.
His team struggled with requests that required matching and understanding data from disparate sources, spending countless hours pulling data from phone, sales, manufacturing, and quality control systems, each tracking different information.
Before Atlan, finding the needed data was a challenge. They had to figure out which system it was in, who owned it, and raise tickets for access, which slowed everything down. This drove his team to adopt Atlan, and I remember him being super excited about it.
Could you share your experience with Atlan so far?
Atlan became our one-stop shop. You can simply search for a field name, table topic, or system in one search box, and it provides tables, fields, lineage, and more. All ChargePoint data is accessible and searchable by everyone. You can query and join it all in one place, which has been incredibly helpful. I was sold.
Atlan acts as a force multiplier, and is the answer to almost any data question a team might have. For example, “I want to combine session, alarm, and ticket data to feed a machine learning algorithm,” or “We have a large language model and need to analyze certain things. How do I bring that data together?“
Atlan puts together a query for you and guides you to sanitize your data. If you have a data question, the answer is Atlan.
What’s next for you and your team? Anything you’re excited about building?
ChargePoint recently announced our industry-first AI solution to improve operations. Drivers can take a picture of a malfunctioning station, and while that’s rare, it poses a problem when it happens. Instead of going through back-and-forth calls with Support, the AI analyzes cloud data to diagnose the issue, identify needed parts, and streamline repairs, reducing downtime and contact rates.
With AI proven to save money and enhance customer experience, we are actively exploring new applications for even more innovative solutions. Atlan will play a key role in these AI-powered initiatives, starting with discovering available data, assessing its size and quality, and helping build datasets for various use cases.
Anything else you’d like to share from your experience with Atlan?
Support organizations have been my bread and butter throughout my career, so I tend to notice when I interact with one. My interactions with Atlan Support have been limited, which is a good sign that things are working, but every experience I’ve had has been world-class, and I truly appreciate that.
Photo by Michael Förtsch on Unsplash
