Key to Sell Q4biz Business Intelligence Software

Published: June 20, 2006

by Alex Woodie

Business intelligence software maker Q4bis recently announced a deal with Key Information Systems, an IBM system reseller and Microsoft partner, that will see Key reselling the Q4bis business intelligence suite to medium- to large-size iSeries and Windows Server shops.

Q4bis is a Windows-based business intelligence tool that has been on the market for more than 20 years. The software builds on Microsoft SQL Server 2005's core OLAP architecture by delivering an easy-to-learn, easy-to-use Windows interface. The product, which features a DB2/400 connector to pull information from popular ERP systems such as BPCS, J.D. Edwards, and Movex, has been implemented at some OS/400 shops, including the New Zealand office machine company U-Bix Konica Minolta).

Pete Elliot, Key's director of marketing, says Q4bis is attractive for several reasons, including the product's accessibility, its support for a service oriented architecture (SOA) strategy, and how it supports the full lifecycle of data management process supports. "Our clients want BI today that is quickly and easily integrated across their management structure and easy on the budget," Elliot says. "In fact, the short sales cycle and affordable pricing will make the Q4bis BI Suite one of the products that keeps us constantly right where we want to be: in our clients' offices and IT planning sessions."

Meanwhile, Q4bis sees in Key a reseller that can get results. "Their client base is a real Who's Who in large enterprise strategic IT users and will open many doors for our product with large enterprises that can most fully benefit from its superior analytics," says Louis-Philippe Lalonde, vice president of marketing and business development for Q4bis.

The two Southern California companies are hosting a Webinar Thursday on the Q4biz technology titled "Eliminate Your IT Reporting Backlog in Only Two Weeks." The event is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. PDT, and will last about an hour. To register for this free event, go to www.keyinfo.com/Registration/Webinar/2006/Q4bis/house.htm.