Linking people, data and tech for actionable insights

James Hickman

“In the world of data literacy there are various levels of competency. We have the data doubters, the data dreamers, the data knights and the data aristocrats. When it comes to data doubters, the challenge lies in persuading them to engage with data. To do this, they must fully understand the business value they’ll receive from this engagement. When they can identify the power of insights to drive competitive advantage, the development of literacy will become a natural progression,” believes James Hickman, Managing Director of South Africa Qlik Master Reseller (SAQMR).

Statistics show that user adoption for business intelligence (BI) products or analytics platforms is as low as 51%. “This means that, if your business buys 100 licences, chances are 49 of those licences are going to waste,” confirms Sunil Kenth, Chief Technology Officer at RoxAI. “Research also shows that providing proactive alerts drives more users to their dashboards, reminding them about the features the tools offer. This means they’ll be more likely to look to the tool when they require information, need to make a strategic decision, or want to prepare for a meeting.”

Having recognised this need in the African market, SAQMR has partnered with RoxAI to drive data literacy, digital transformation and user adoption across the continent. As part of this agreement, SAQMR will become the representative of RoxAI in the market, offering its Ping value add product for the Qlik BI and Analytics Platform.

Sunil Kenth

Ping offers Qlik users proactive alerts when their data changes, as well as additional features such as broadcast alerts. It incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) with the RoxBot for Ping bolt on, integrating natural language processing and innovative algorithms. “The alerts don’t only tell users that something has changed, but will also explain why; what caused the change?” adds Kenth. In future, the solution will also feature Ping Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and GEO Ping for proximity-based alerts.

In addition to increased user adoption, Kenth confirms that the intelligent Ping solution will foster data-centric cultures and data literacy. “We seek to ensure that users are more data driven, that they learn how to use real-time data to make informed decisions, and that they contribute to a data driven organisation,” he says. “The ultimate goal is to empower people and their businesses to understand their data – and argue with it. We see an alert as the first step in this process, it’s a trigger that works.”

With a focus on both Enterprise and Mid-market accounts, SAQMR intends to take this solution to all of its current customers – and offer it as a standard service for new implementations. “We are looking forward to watching as Qlik customers across Africa benefit from greater data literacy and user adoption. We strive to link people with data and technology for actionable insights – and this is a vision that RoxAI shares,” concludes Hickman.

To learn more about the Ping solution, join an informative webinar, to be hosted by Sunil Kenth on the 11th of April 2019, at 09h00 (GMT +2). Register here: https://bit.ly/2WJpRxY.