Business Intelligence (BI) software provider QlikView South Africa has expanded its footprint to KwaZulu Natal with the launch of distributor Direct Insight Consulting. Founders Upuli de Abrew and Sean Taylor, both former QlikView clients, were so impressed with the software they decided to quit their corporate careers and go the entrepreneurial route with QlikView.

"I've been doing business intelligence for six years and QlikView is the first tool I've ever seen that doesn't come with a 'but'," says Taylor, previously the BI manager at Unilever and then at Distell. "I've done implementations at two different companies and with QlikView there was a huge difference in the quality of the technology and the value we created. If I was ever going to take the plunge to start my own company, QlikView was the product I wanted to do it with."

"It's the first software tool I've ever seen users say "wow!" about," confirms De Abrew, who was until recently the BI manager at Homechoice. "We did a very extensive and rigorous review and evaluation of different tools at Homechoice, and QlikView very clearly stood out from the crowd. If anything is a sure thing, QlikView is the closest I've ever seen."

Gartner estimates that by 2012 70% of Global 1,000 organisations will be using in-memory data processing technology, on which QlikView is based, for their business intelligence needs. "We believe we're still at least three years ahead of the market on this," says QlikView's Davide Hanan.

QlikView already has major Durban-based customers including Palmer Rubber, Sara Lee and GUD Filters, and Hanan says the company is pleased to have a Durban-based partner for local distribution and support. "There's been huge demand for QlikView in KwaZulu-Natal and a local presence there is somewhat overdue. We're delighted to have found the right people for the job."

"I don't believe there is a single situation QlikView can't add value to," says Taylor. "It can be cost-effective with just one user, or with thousands of users. It can run on top of any source program and there's no need for a data warehouse. It can be implemented in a matter of weeks and it's not specific to any sector or business function; people can use it to analyse and investigate any data from financials through to sports scores.

"It's a tool that actually, for once, puts information truly at the service of the business and very quickly highlights issues and opportunities that can be very hard to spot otherwise. It's the first time I've seen active demand for a software tool that can be used live in management and executive meetings."

"It's incredibly easy and intuitive to use," adds De Abrew. "Users are typically up and running in five or ten minutes, and the most detailed training for advanced users can happen in a single two-hour session. Overall, QlikView delivers more value, more quickly, than any other software tool we've seen."

About Direct Insight Consulting Direct Insight Consulting provides a full range of business intelligence services, specialising in QlikView business intelligence solutions. Consultants help organisations tap their existing data repositories and extract key information elements into QlikView models that are extremely fast, easy to use and allow for rapid, in-depth analysis of critical business information. Direct Insight Consulting's founding members have worked in the Business Intelligence industry for several years and have successfully implemented numerous projects to optimise information delivery across business units.

www.insightconsulting.co.za.

About QlikView

QlikView South Africa is the South African representative and distributor for QlikTech, the Swedish developer of QlikView business intelligence and data analytics software. QlikView is an industry-changing application that is dramatically easier to deploy and use than traditional (OLAP based) Business Intelligence technology. It provides instant, in-memory manipulation of massive datasets on low cost hardware, allowing affordable and widespread deployment of highly sophisticated analytic applications. QlikView South Africa also provides consulting and implementation services to simplify business analysis and to connect more people at all levels in an organisation to the information they need.

For more information about QlikView SA, visit www.qlikview.co.za.

Editorial details

Insight Consulting Upuli de Abrew
Email: udeabrew@insightconsulting.co. za

Sean Taylor
Email: staylor@insightconsulting.co. za

QlikView South Africa
Davide Hanan
Tel: 021 680 9506
Cell: 082 788 5791
Email: davideh@qlikview.co. za

Duo Marketing + Communications
Maria Oosthuizen
Tel: 021 683 8223
Cell: 084 506 7649
Email: maria@duomarketing.co.za