Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to dominate technology discussions in 2024. Many businesses are eager to harness its potential, but the key to realizing this ambition lies in having a robust data infrastructure.
Tejas Mehta, the newly appointed Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Middle East and Africa at Qlik, a global leader in data integration, analytics, and AI, will address these challenges as the keynote speaker at Qlik’s upcoming ‘AI Reality Tour’ in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Scheduled for September 17, 2024, the free event will be held at the Indaba Hotel and Conference Centre in Fourways from 08:00 to 15:00.
Mehta underscores the importance of data in the AI landscape, stating: “The explosive rise of AI has sparked tremendous excitement about its transformative capabilities, comparable only to the advent of the internet. But simply put, there is no AI without data – it’s all about the data. However, it has to be the right data. What this means is that your AI journey should start with getting your ‘data house’ in order.”
He continues, “At Qlik, we believe that wherever there is data, there is opportunity. Empowering your business to revolutionize data handling will enable it to leverage AI effectively, trust the insights, and embark on a path to success.”
Mehta, who brings extensive experience from leading large, cross-functional teams across various regions, including Africa, will be joined by Qlik Chief Strategy Officer James Fisher. Together, they will guide attendees through Qlik’s strategic vision and product roadmap in the era of GenAI.
Fisher will also introduce the latest Qlik products and strategic initiatives, offering hands-on demonstrations of new features and showcasing practical applications that can enhance data analytics and AI-driven insights.
Featured Success Story: Retailability’s Data Transformation
A key highlight of the event will be a presentation by Mary-Anne Botha, BI Manager at Retailability, a prominent South African retail group that includes brands such as Edgars and Boardmans. Botha will share insights from Retailability’s decade-long partnership with Qlik and Insight Consulting, focusing on the company’s data journey.
Based in Durban, Retailability now operates over 600 stores across Southern Africa, including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland.
“Retailability has utilized Qlik solutions for analytics and automated reporting since 2014, when our business consisted of just two brands, Style and Beaver Canoe,” Botha explains. “The real value became evident with our acquisitions of LEGiT in 2017 and Edgars in late 2020, which led to a significant increase in our data volume.”
She adds, “Integrating data from these new brands was facilitated by the secure foundational data structures we had established with Qlik. This ensured we had access to a single version of truth that was clean, secure, and governed. Qlik Data Integration has accelerated our AI journey.”
Botha concludes, “Successful AI is undeniably linked to having the right data from the right sources in the right place. We are excited to explore Qlik’s new AI capabilities at the AI Reality Tour.”
For more information on the upcoming AI Reality Tour, and to register to attend, please click here.