As part of its strategy, HSL, the Helsinki regional transport authority, needed to modernise its data and AI capabilities. Arked led the journey from platform selection through design and onboarding, working alongside HSL’s own architects to build the platform. The platform went live on schedule, with early use cases generating business value from day one.
Scattered data slowed development and was not AI-ready
HSL’s data was scattered across multiple platforms with no coherent foundation. Data usability beyond basic reporting was low, and analysts were largely working in personal tools rather than a shared, governed environment.
At the same time, AI use cases were already on the horizon, and it was clear that realising them would require a solid, secure platform capable of supporting analytics and AI workloads and well-structured data product development.
HSL recognised that the situation was no longer sustainable and decided to invest in modernising its data and AI capabilities.
Finding the right path forward
Together with HSL’s business and technical staff during spring 2025, Arked’s Senior AI and Data Architect reviewed existing assessments and evaluated whether a standalone Customer Data Platform (CDP) or a broader shared data platform would best serve HSL’s customer-related use cases. The analysis pointed clearly toward a new data and AI platform, and the direction was set from there.
With the direction set, Arked’s expert led the platform selection process, evaluating platform candidates against HSL’s needs and guiding the process to a decision by early summer 2025.
The new platform went live during autumn 2025, with Arked’s expert working alongside HSL’s architects to design easy-to-use self-service development tools and templates for data product development and use case deployments.
Arked’s expert led the full user onboarding through winter 2025 and into spring 2026, taking ownership of the entire process, from presentations and demos to hands-on training.
Live on schedule and immediate business impact
The new data and AI platform was delivered on schedule, with early data and AI use cases live and HSL fully operational on the new setup.
Analysts have already built ad hoc visualizations for end-users and moved heavy processing workloads to the platform, saving time and freeing up capacity.
Stakeholder feedback throughout the engagement was outstanding, and the platform is already delivering real value through multiple live use cases.
Client feedback: 10 / 10
”We are extremely satisfied with the results of the project. The expert’s ability to navigate the intersection of business and technology is in a class of its own.”
