Q&A: Rethink Your Approach To Business Intelligence

By John Roach, Editor, Retail Solutions Online

Can you instantly analyze in-depth, real-time data for your entire retail operation? If not, says QlikTech's Bob Langer, why not? I visited the world headquarters of BI software provider QlikTech and spent an hour talking with Langer, the company's president of the Americas, about the evolution of the BI industry, what those changes mean to retailers, and how you can reap the benefits.

QlikTech, a Radnor, PA-based business intelligence (BI) software developer, is on a roll. Despite a recession, the privately owned company reported a 50% increase in revenues in 2008 to $120 million, and saw its customer base expand to almost 11,000 in 92 countries.

QlikTech's flagship product, QlikView, was launched in 1997 (as version 3.15) and has enabled the company to team with more than 700 specific channel partners worldwide and to sustain an astounding average growth rate of 14 new customers every day. In its 2009 BI/Performance Management report (February 2009), the Aberdeen Group listed QlikView as its only "Champion" — a vendor that has demonstrated superior proficiency in delivering both real value as well as the ability to serve and support its installed user base.