Data Blueprint
Data Blueprint (operating as Anything Awesome) is a solo-practitioner data management consulting firm founded by Peter Aiken in 1981, advising large enterprises and government agencies on data strategy, governance, and CDO advisory through multi-year immersions and educational content.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1981
- HeadquartersGlen Allen, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Data Blueprint does
Data Blueprint is a privately held data management consulting firm, operating under the legal entity Anything Awesome, that advises large enterprises and government agencies on data strategy, data governance, Chief Data Officer (CDO) positioning, and data literacy. Founded in 1981 by Peter Aiken, who holds a tenured faculty position at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Business, the firm has completed ten multi-year immersion engagements with marquee clients including Walmart, Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Nokia, and the US Army, claiming cumulative client savings of more than $1.5 billion USD. The firm is partially owned by VCU.
The firm's core 'products' are human-delivered consulting engagements and proprietary educational frameworks, including the Data Doctrine Framework, Data Readiness Assessment, House of Structure, and the Seven Sisters Video series. These are complemented by nine or more published books (e.g., Data Literacy, Data Strategy, CDO Journey, Case for the Chief Data Officer, Monetizing Data Management) and the monthly DataEd webinar community. The underlying technology is content- and framework-based rather than software-based; the firm does not maintain a software product, API, or mobile application, and there is no disclosed AI/ML capability.
The business model is professional services anchored by multi-year, quote-based consulting contracts with large enterprises and federal agencies, supplemented by executive education delivered through VCU and the Data Strategy Master Class, plus book royalties. The go-to-market is community-led, relying on thought leadership content, LinkedIn presence, conference speaking, mentoring, and referral-based enterprise sales. Headcount is reported in the 11-50 range, though source material describes the operation as a solo-practitioner practice supported by an extended collaborator network, underscoring key-person concentration risk.
Data Blueprint firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Data Blueprint
- Legal name
- Anything Awesome
- Website
- https://datablueprint.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1981
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Data Blueprint (operating as Anything Awesome) is a solo-practitioner data management consulting firm founded by Peter Aiken in 1981, advising large enterprises and government agencies on data strategy, governance, and CDO advisory through multi-year immersions and educational content.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Data Blueprint industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Data Management Consulting
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Strategy & Governance Services (BPAEAHAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Data Platforms & Modern Data Stack Services (Lakehouse, DW, MDM) (BPAEAHAC), Data Governance Platforms (Policies, Stewardship, Workflows) (HDAEADAB), Data Monetization & Data Products Services (BPAEAHAL), Data Science & Analytics (Data Literacy, SQL, Visualization) (EDAMACAF)
Keywords
Where Data Blueprint is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Glen Allen
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Data Blueprint business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Data Consulting Services: Professional consulting engagements helping organizations with data challenges and data leadership. Services include collaborations, speaking engagements, and mentoring.
- Executive Education: Educational programs including Data Strategy Master Class and executive education at Virginia Commonwealth University
- Publications and Books: Revenue from published books on data management topics including Data Literacy, Data Strategy, CDO Journey, and others
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom Consulting Engagements |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Data Blueprint product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Data Blueprint (d/b/a Anything Awesome) is a data management consulting and education practice that helps organizations solve data challenges and build data leadership. Offerings include multi-year consulting immersions, executive education (Data Strategy Master Class), mentoring, monthly DataEd webinars, proprietary frameworks (Data Doctrine, House of Structure, Data Readiness Assessment), and a portfolio of 9+ published books on data literacy, data strategy, and CDO topics.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- DataEd: Monthly webinars on data management and data governance topics.
Products and services
- Data Management Consulting Engagements Custom, multi-year data management consulting immersions for enterprise and government clients, addressing data strategy, governance frameworks, CDO advisory, and data leadership transformation. Targeted at large organizations such as Walmart, Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo, HUD, Nokia, and the US Army.
- Data Strategy Master Class An executive education program covering data strategy formulation, taught by Peter Aiken and available via the Anything Awesome resources portal for professionals and executives.
- Executive Education Programs Customized executive education programs in data management and data leadership, including university-affiliated programs delivered at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Business.
- Mentoring Programs Mentoring services for professionals seeking development in data leadership, CDO career paths, and data management practice.
- Office Hours Advisory Sessions Bookable 30-minute consultation sessions with Peter Aiken for individuals and mid-market organizations seeking targeted advice on data challenges before engaging in larger consulting work.
- DataEd Monthly Webinars Monthly community webinars on data management and data governance topics, functioning as both a thought-leadership platform and a community-building program for data practitioners.
- Published Books on Data Management
Quantifiable outcome
- Saved organizations a total of more than $1.5 billion USD
Companies that use Data Blueprint
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Data Blueprint technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Data Blueprint partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)coreAnything Awesome is partially owned by VCU and exists to help organizations connect with data resources. Peter Aiken holds a tenured faculty position at VCU's School of Business, conducting student/class research projects and sponsored research.
- WalmartminorMulti-year immersion engagement in data management consulting
- Deutsche BankminorMulti-year immersion engagement in data management consulting
- Wells FargominorMulti-year immersion engagement in data management consulting
- Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)minorMulti-year immersion engagement in data management consulting for federal agency
- NokiaminorMulti-year immersion engagement in data management consulting
- US ArmyminorMulti-year immersion engagement in data management consulting for military organization
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Data Blueprint competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- BigID: Data intelligence platform with strong data governance and privacy positioning; overlaps with Data Blueprint's governance and CDO advisory buyer segment.
- DATAVERSITY: Education, content, and community platform for data management professionals — analogous to the DataEd webinar community and educational resource library Data Blueprint operates.
- Atlan: Modern data catalog and governance platform targeting data teams; an emerging alternative for enterprises that might otherwise engage boutique governance advisors to set up governance programs.
- Alation: Data catalog and governance platform that increasingly bundles advisory and best-practice content — an emerging player whose platform-plus-content model competes with Data Blueprint's content-driven GTM.
Direct peers
- Earley Information Science: Data management and information governance consulting practice serving large enterprises with taxonomy, metadata, and governance advisory — overlapping service lines and buyer profile.
- Global Data Strategy: Specialist data strategy and data literacy consulting firm serving global enterprises; closely mirrors Data Blueprint's focus on data strategy, literacy training, and CDO advisory.
- First San Francisco Partners: Boutique data management and data governance consulting firm advising large enterprises on MDM, governance, and CDO enablement — the closest direct peer to Data Blueprint's immersive consulting model.
Broad incumbents
- Informatica: Established data integration and governance platform vendor offering consulting services around MDM and governance — represents the scaled incumbent alternative to boutique governance advisory.
- Collibra: Enterprise data governance and catalog platform with a large professional services arm; competes both as a governance tooling incumbent and as an embedded advisory provider to large buyers.
- IBM Data Governance: IBM's data governance practice combines consulting and tooling at scale, competing for the same CDO and enterprise governance engagements that Data Blueprint pursues.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Data Blueprint social profiles
Digital presenceData Blueprint financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Data Blueprint leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Data Blueprint funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Data Blueprint M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Data Blueprint
What does Data Blueprint do?
Data Blueprint (d/b/a Anything Awesome) is a data management consulting and education practice that helps organizations solve data challenges and build data leadership. Offerings include multi-year consulting immersions, executive education (Data Strategy Master Class), mentoring, monthly DataEd webinars, proprietary frameworks (Data Doctrine, House of Structure, Data Readiness Assessment), and a portfolio of 9+ published books on data literacy, data strategy, and CDO topics.
Is Data Blueprint a public or private company?
Data Blueprint is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Data Blueprint founded?
Data Blueprint was founded in 1981. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Data Blueprint based?
Data Blueprint is headquartered in Glen Allen, United States, in the North America region.
How does Data Blueprint make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Data Consulting Services are the primary driver. The others are executive Education and publications and Books.
Who are Data Blueprint's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are BigID, DATAVERSITY, Atlan and Alation. Direct peers are Earley Information Science, Global Data Strategy and First San Francisco Partners. Broad incumbents are Informatica, Collibra and IBM Data Governance.
Does Data Blueprint have an API?
No public API is recorded for Data Blueprint.
What industry is Data Blueprint in?
Data Blueprint's product category is Data Management Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAHAA, Data Strategy & Governance Services, with a secondary code of BPAEAHAC, Data Platforms & Modern Data Stack Services (Lakehouse, DW, MDM). Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7370.