Who we are
For over 25 years Software for Data Analysis (we call ourselves SDA) has worked with government, LAs and some of the largest social and market research organisations.
Perhaps you've heard of the School Performance Tables? Or the national Pupil Eligibility Checking service? Or maybe the UK Resilience Capability Survey?
Yes, we did those. We've delivered tens of thousands of data collection and reporting projects, from very small to some of the largest and most complex around.
We are safe, secure and compliant. Government trusts us. Industry trusts us.
You can trust us too.
More recently we have consolidated our Survey offering through the development of SCROLL, our professional web-based survey platform and the product of all our expertise and experience in the field. SCROLL is now developed and marketed by GIDE, our sister company specialising in market and social research technology. If this is what you're looking for, head over to GIDE.UK to find out how SCROLL's brilliant data collection, processing and reporting facilities can help you obtain and understand the information you need to develop and progress.
Still here? Great. Because we've got a lot more going on.
Read more
What we do
CONSULT
Making things better isn't straightforward. At SDA we have learned that improvement is all about discovery. It means asking the right questions; exposing and analysing assumptions; understanding and resolving conflicting perspectives; and delivering meaningful insights.
Then we can start the work!
DESIGN
SDA have designed systems and surveys for numerous clients including the Department for Education, Work and Pensions, Cabinet Office, NatCen, Kantar and many more. We are scrupulous about understanding their requirements and leave no stone unturned in delivering them to the highest of standards.
DEVELOP
SDA have developed complex programmes for government and industry: for 25 years we worked on the national school performance tables, using open source technologies and unstinting acumen to continually develop and improve them.
BUILD
From discovery through to live running, SDA use agile principles to understand, collate and prioritise user requirements; build and iterate functional prototypes; optimise and baseline the process; release minimum viable product; then continually improve the service and its delivery.
SERVICE
Steady state delivery? Well, if you insist.
But wouldn't you want to make things better still? SDA provide services based on ongoing monitoring; understanding their evolving requirements (and redundancies); incremental features and frequent iterations - et voila! - continual improvement.
SECURE
The security and privacy of your data is paramount. Data in motion is protected by end-to-end HTTPS. Data at rest is fully encrypted on our UK based servers. All SCROLL survey software assets are ISO27001:2013 certified by UKAS, and have been since 2014. We are registered with the ICO and are fully GDPR compliant.
Testimonials
“...SDA's fully managed service enabled all of (our) service requirements to be seamlessly integrated into the delivery plan...each delivered to time and cost.”
Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Cabinet Office
“We like working with (them) because we know that the team will really get into the details of our project, read it carefully, give us good advice and script it perfectly.”
Ipsos MediaCT
“I realise that our needs were very demanding at times, but you and your colleagues responded magnificently with a high degree of professionalism and technical ability.”
Jon Thompson, Director General of Corporate Services Directorate, DCSF
“All services have been major high-profile initiatives for Ofsted, which have delivered core business services in areas where timeliness, accuracy and responsiveness have been paramount.”
Anthony Boucher, Chief Statistician, Ofsted