Business analytics companies such as QlikTech International AB are currently engaged in an extensive dialogue with customers around data modernization.

It is a conversation about old versus new and what the future holds for how data will be used in the modern enterprise. More often than not, the conversation Qlik is having with its customers begins with a simple question.

“How do we leverage data?” asked Mike Capone (pictured, left), chief executive officer of Qlik. “Not the old way, which is like blocked up in an old database of a data warehouse, but the new way, which is real time at the moment to improve experiences of our employees and our customers. That’s what our customers are talking to us about.”

Capone spoke with theCUBE industry analysts Dave Vellante and Lisa Martin at the QlikWorld event, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. He was joined by Crawford Del Prete (pictured), president of International Data Corp., and they discussed key trends in the business data analytics market and Qlik’s most recent acquisition. (* Disclosure below.)

AI and applications

Qlik’s business focus on data analytics has positioned it to capitalize on expanding interest in AI brought on by the introduction of open tools, such as ChatGPT, which was extensively trained using large language models. The key, according to Del Prete, will be the linkage between large language modeling and app-driven business applications.

“People think about these large language models as something separate from applications, and I think it’s absolutely the wrong way to think about it,” he said. “The large language models are what’s going to feed better decisions in the applications. And that’s where Qlik having companies be able to present their data (with) better analytics and understand where they can make better decisions — that’s where the power comes in.”

This linkage of AI with application data and decision-making will require businesses to integrate platforms like Qlik into the enterprise workflow. Del Prete envisions that deal closing is one area where this use will become more apparent.

“This is really about making better decisions in the workflow,” he stated. “How do you have a follow-on recommendation to close the deal with a piece of AI that basically says: ‘Look, there is a 79% or 80% chance you are going to close this if you propose this given these conditions.’ That’s where we’re going to start evolving.”

In January, Qlik announced its intent to acquire Talend Inc., a data integration provider. The acquisition will allow Qlik to enhance its analytics capabilities through the addition of Talend’s data fabric and self-service data pipeline development capabilities.

“From the first day I got to Qlik, Talend was on my shopping list of companies that I thought would make an excellent partner for us,” Capone said. “What Talend brings is data transformation, the ability to actually transform data in flight to help make a business great. There’s very, very little overlap between the two organizations, which is the exact kind of acquisition that you want to do to be strategic.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the QlikWorld event:

(* Disclosure: QlikTech International AB sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Qlik nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE