The Yeti Ascent Program

A phased journey to AI readiness for mid-market organizations.

Enterprise-level data complexity. Mid-market reality. We help you navigate the gap with governance-first data management.

The Mid-Market Data Challenge

14%

of mid-market organizations report full data readiness for AI

$150M–$500M

revenue range facing enterprise complexity without enterprise budgets

#1 Blocker

Poor data governance—not AI talent—stalls transformation

AI Infrastructure Debt

The same foundational weaknesses that derail cloud migrations—inconsistent architecture, poor data hygiene, deeply entrenched silos—are the very same deficiencies that prevent trustworthy AI models. Attempting to migrate to a modern data cloud without addressing this underlying debt risks relocating existing problems to a more expensive environment.

An inefficient query against a poorly structured table is a cost issue. Using that same poorly-governed table to train a predictive model propagates dangerously flawed insights across your business.

5 Signals You're Ready for the Ascent

Query performance is killing productivity—reports that used to take 10 minutes now take 45
Storage costs keep climbing but value isn't—most data sits unused
IT spends more time on infrastructure than insights—'We need 3 months to add a new data source'
You can't scale for peak demand—system crashes during critical periods
AI/ML projects keep getting blocked—data isn't in a format that supports it

If you’re experiencing 2–3 of these, you’re in the zone. If you’re hitting 4–5, you’re likely overdue.

Why Governance First?

Most organizations build pipelines, models, and dashboards first—then try to impose governance later. The result is technical debt, inconsistent definitions, unreliable data, and slow adoption.

We invert that sequence.

Before writing a single line of code or developing a data model, we establish:

With these foundations in place, data engineering becomes faster, cleaner, and dramatically more reliable.

Built for Mid-Market

Clear guidance, rapid implementation, and governance that accelerates—rather than slows—your data engineering and analytics. No enterprise bloat.

Grounded in Best Practices

Our team holds CDMP certifications and draws from DAMA-DMBOK, modern governance frameworks, and real-world practitioner experience.

Base Camp: Discovery & Orientation

A fast, fixed-price diagnostic that gives you immediate clarity on where you stand and what you need to accelerate your data and AI journey.

Data Estate Discovery

Comprehensive mapping of your current analytics and data landscape—source systems, integration patterns, warehouse structures, and governance gaps.

Data Maturity Assessment

Structured evaluation across governance, data quality, metadata practices, engineering standards, and cloud readiness—with a quantified maturity score.

Data Strategy Discovery

Forward-looking sessions to identify priority outcomes, operational inefficiencies, high-value AI use cases, and organizational readiness.

Assessment Sizing

Small (S)

1–2 weeks

1–3 systems, fewer than 8 stakeholders, simple analytics environment

Medium (M)

2–4 weeks

4–7 data sources, 10–12 stakeholders, multiple analytics tools

Large (L)

4–8 weeks

8+ systems, 12–15 stakeholders, significant technical debt

What You'll Receive

Fixing the Lines: Modular Implementation

Transform insights from Base Camp into action. Select the specific foundational components that address your highest-priority gaps—activate one, several, or all modules.

Data Architecture & Engineering Foundations

Design scalable multi-layer architecture (raw → curated → consumption), establish modeling standards, and optimize for reliability and cost efficiency.

Operationalizing Data Governance

Define ownership and stewardship (roles, RACI), build glossaries, establish governance processes, and embed governance into engineering workflows.

Data Quality & Reliability Framework

Identify critical datasets, define quality rules and thresholds, implement monitoring, and create team visibility into data health.

Business Intelligence

Standardize KPIs, build executive dashboards, and establish reporting best practices and metric definitions across the organization.

High-Value Use Case Enablement

Deliver 1–2 strategic use cases: automated KPI dashboards, efficiency analytics, early predictive models, or workflow automations.

Roadmap for Scale

Multi-phase roadmap for engineering, governance, and AI with domain-by-domain rollout, skills recommendations, and AI use case pipeline.

Each module is scoped to at least one domain, three critical datasets, and one business unit—then scaled as needed.

The Summit: Ongoing Excellence

Sustain momentum and ensure continuous improvement. Choose the engagement model that matches your internal capacity and maturity level.

Core Expedition Climbers

Embedded Data Governance Consultants

Dedicated governance consulting embedded within your team—daily support, execution of governance processes, and close collaboration with stakeholders.

Expedition Leader

Fractional Summit Strategist

Senior consultant providing leadership, coaching, and oversight—weekly strategic sessions, quality assurance, and alignment with long-term goals.

Mountaineering School

Guide-led Skills Program

Structured upskilling through workshops, hands-on labs, shadowing sessions, and office hours—building self-sufficient internal expertise.

Build Self-Sufficient Internal Teams

Our goal is skill transfer—reducing long-term reliance on external support and building internal expertise that can own and operate governance, engineering, and analytics practices independently.

Ready to Begin Your Ascent?

Start with Base Camp—a fast, low-risk assessment that clarifies your data governance, AI readiness, and the most valuable next moves.