Is your time being held hostage by Excel reports that demand manual assembly? Is your patience threatened by a complex network of folder labyrinths? Well, never fear, because Qlik is here! Manual Labor shakes in its boots at the sight of its automation capabilities. Even the toughest project roadblocks can’t stop the power of Qlik. Don’t believe us? Well, how about we tell you a story. One filled with so much hardship and perseverance that it’d leave you thinking about it for weeks. Do you feel ready for such a tale? Then let’s begin.
“Watch out, it’s the supervillain Manual Labor!”
It was a peaceful day when we heard the alarm ring at our B EYE headquarters. A new client reached out to us. Somebody had taken over their company’s reporting process, and we had to put a stop to it. After the initial status report, we had a clear idea of what was afoot there. All signs pointed to Manual Labor, a devious supervillain that instilled laborious tasks everywhere he appeared.
We first had our suspicions when the client told us they had employees experiencing report creation in Excel by combining the data from two separate systems. The first symptom developed in the form of too much data, which lead to lag spikes and even crashes, forcing the employee to start the process all over again. The second symptom followed soon after – different Excel templates. This was due to the two systems the data was coming from and resulted in loads of mismatches and duplications that needed to be cleared.
We were horrified by the lack of agility that this process had. After all, it took the employee about a day to create that report, and because of this time commitment, it was created only once a month. Manual Labor had gone too far this time, so our developers decided to intervene by piloting the best platform for the job – Qlik.
Qlik’s Specialty – Saving Time
The rescue operation was at hand, and we already had a plan of action based on the client’s briefing. We were going to integrate Qlik within their current setup and automate their reporting process. Unfortunately, Manual Labor noticed our intentions early and made it impossible to get the data from one of the two systems. This immediately put a wrench in our plans. Luckily, our developers noted during the briefing that the sales data came through that system and quickly attempted to counteract this problem with a service account. This initial strategy proved futile, though, because it would only redirect Manual Labor right to them. In the end, they decided to recreate the logic within that system and use it as a substitute in order to automate the reporting process.
Recreating the system’s logic was no easy task since they had to get the data from a general database and manipulate it with the right filters and expressions to correctly mimic the system’s output. A very dangerous maneuver, but with such high stakes at hand, Qlik finds a way. Of course, Manual Labor caught wind of our plans and sent his henchmen to stop us. Such roadblocks are only natural during automation missions like these, though, so we were prepared.
The first henchman tried to stop us by introducing currency conversion issues. Since the client had several centers around the globe, we knew that this roadblock was a possibility and were prepared to deal with it. And just like that – BAM! – the first henchman was dealt with.
The second one tried to stop us by removing cost centers and company numbers from the data we were recreating. It was a tricky encounter, but with a speedy reply from the client we managed to patch things up and proceed with our plan. And just like that – BOOM! – the second henchman was defeated.
Sensing that the automation was coming together Manual Labor fled the company and the grasp he had on the employee’s time. With no more obstructions, our qlik consultants and developers left Qlik to do its thing and went back to report the success of the mission to the client.
Conclusion
And just like that, another company took full control of its processes and even became more agile for it. They could now easily create reports, compare sales, create forecasts and make informed decisions. Unfortunately, the villain managed to get away, but we expect it won’t be long until he pops up again. So, we’ll keep an ear out for our alarm, and if you spot Manual Labor or any other villain in your company, don’t hesitate to contact us and our team of professionals will surely come to your rescue. Stay safe everyone and may the power of automation be on your side.
