We started Stellar to fix a huge problem.
Data projects were a costly disappointment that didn’t deliver results.
In 2008, we saw a repeating problem that too many New Zealand organisations faced – millions spent on data and analytics solutions, with little to show for it. Projects ran over budget, dashboards gathered dust, and leaders still lacked the insights they needed to make confident business decisions.
We believed data should do better, so we founded Stellar to make sure it does. Our mission remains the same today – to make data work for people, deliver real outcomes, and transform the way organisations make decisions. That mission still drives us today.
Why so many data initiatives fell short.
The BI boom promised value, but most projects didn’t deliver it.
Back then, business intelligence was the buzzword of the day, but most BI projects failed to deliver value. We saw the same issues repeated over and over, both in New Zealand and around the world. We found a consistent set of factors common to many of them:
- No clear strategy or business alignment.
- Lack of leadership sponsorship and governance.
- Isolated, one-off projects that fail to scale.
- Poor data quality foundations.
- Inexperienced teams and “big bang” approaches that miss the mark.
We knew data could do better – and New Zealand organisations deserved better. Stellar was born to change this story.
A game-changing formula for success was born.
Seven essential capabilities to deliver measurable business impact.
We saw a persistent disconnect between data solutions and the outcomes they were meant to achieve. To change the game, we defined the seven essential capability areas that must be addressed to ensure success.
Stellar’s Seven Essentials of Success is a unique, practical best-practice framework that guides our customers through the complexities of modern data management.
Today, this framework still remains at the heart of everything we do. In a world of cloud data platforms, self-service analytics, and AI / ML, it remains more relevant than ever.
Today, we’re New Zealand’s largest, independent consultancy.
300+ projects delivered, locally owned, and proudly Pakihi Māori.
The data world has evolved since 2008, but so have we. With our unwavering focus on delivering tangible results, today we leverage the latest in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and modern cloud solutions to ensure organisations not only survive, but thrive in our digital age.
Stellar’s founders and leadership team are determined that we’re more than just a service provider. We’ve grown into a team of experts who understand not just data and technology, but how businesses operate, how executives make decisions, and how people adapt to change. We bring this experience to every engagement.
Today, with over 300 successful data projects behind us, Stellar is New Zealand’s largest independent data and analytics consultancy. We’re still 100% locally-owned and operated, and with 50% Māori ownership, we’re proud to be Pakihi Māori.