[Column] Paul Marketos: How to help customers embrace Business Intelligence

Data by itself is useless. For it to have any real, tangible value, one must be able to turn data into information and turn information into decision making. Innovative emerging technology is making this a reality, as associative logic transforms the business intelligence landscape. With this unique logic, insights are presented in a way that wouldn’t be clear from a spreadsheet, empowering users to make informed decisions.

Almost a decade ago – before business intelligence tools were at the forefront of innovation in the industry – IsoMetrix already began seeking insights that delivered real value. As far back as 2011, the business’s leaders realised that business intelligence (BI) would become a key driver of effective business management. This foresight has empowered the business to leverage the latest in analytics innovations, helping its customers to embrace modern BI.  

“We have been quite prescient strategically in this regard. A number of our competitors are embracing commercial business intelligence tools now, whereas we saw a long time ago that it was only going to become more difficult to compete if we continued developing analytics technology in-house,” confirms Paul Marketos, Director of IsoMetrix.

Marketos believes that partnerships breed good business – and if there’s a solution that delivers what customers need, why reinvent the wheel? “We’re at the point where writing your own BI analytics software would be akin to building your own database software. Why would you do that when there is fantastic software out there, ready to use?” he asks. With this in mind, IsoMetrix sought a solution that was commercially available, agile and flexible – and Qlik ticked all of the boxes.              

As a South Africa Qlik Master Reseller OEM Partner, IsoMetrix focuses on delivering software, powered by Qlik, for health, safety and environmental risk management. “Our customers need to understand trends and exceptions within their organisations,” adds Marketos. “They need to know why injuries are occurring; what the leading indicators are; why incidents are presenting in a shaft or on a site. Customers most benefit from the efficiencies that can be gained when the right information is at hand.”  

Transnet, for example, suffered with disparate data systems, most of which were based on paper. Injuries were recorded, but no analysis was conducted. “The data was in the company, but it was not accessible. Once we implemented the IsoMetrix solution, the customer became aware that, for example, they had high instances of hand injuries. As a result, they put processes in place to address this - including training and the use of specific PPE. Without the Qlik dashboards they would not have had this insight, and problems would have persisted,” adds Marketos.

Internally, IsoMetrix also makes use of the Qlik Sense platform. It forms part of the business’s internal quality management system, and is used to track its sales pipelines, helpdesk, and action and project management.

Due to its intuitive nature, implementations are made easy and it takes hardly any time for users to get up to speed. “By effectively associating information, we can understand correlations you would never discover by looking at flat reports – this is what makes it so beneficial,” states Marketos.

Keeping up with Industry 4.0 means a continuous development approach. With this in mind, Marketos is focusing on delivering real self-service, making the full process 100% seamless – while empowering users to be completely self-sufficient in their dashboard creation and maintenance. “We’re also experiencing a strong push for predictive analytics, so we’re watching what Qlik is doing in this space,” concludes Marketos.  

Paul Marketos is the Director of IsoMetrix.