Case Hansel - Unlocking new heights with SaaS migration

A longstanding partnership, built on trust

When it comes to public procurement, efficiency and data are the roadmaps to success. For Finland’s leading public procurement organisation, Hansel, staying ahead in their mission to support the public sector meant evolving their approach to data analytics.

The collaboration between Hansel and AFRY Data Solutions began in late 2000’ through a public technology competition. AFRY initially supported Hansel’s Business Intelligence (BI) development, laying a strong foundation for analytics that could keep pace with the evolving procurement landscape. Over the years, Hansel has retendered the service to ensure quality and competitiveness, and AFRY has consistently performed well in these competitions. AFRY’s role has evolved alongside Hansel’s needs, offering technical expertise and platform maintenance while supporting the development of Hansel's in-house analytics team.

The leap to a cloud-based future

The most significant technological leap in the partnership came as Hansel left behind their traditional, on-premises analytics tools, QlikView and Qlik Sense, for a fully cloud-based solution, Qlik SaaS. The migration redefined how they leverage data to drive smarter decisions while creating a smoother, more scalable infrastructure. It also freed them from regular service updates and compatibility checks, saving valuable time. AFRY oversaw key aspects of the migration, from designing the architecture to managing platform support.

“The Qlik SaaS environment has completely transformed the way we approach development work. It’s a much more streamlined and governed process now, without the need for separate development or test environments. This efficiency allows us to focus on delivering impactful insights faster and with greater confidence.”

- Joonas Kainulainen, Analyst, Hansel

Driving future-proof decisions with data

Hansel is now realising its vision of data-driven decision-making. The accessibility of real time data in the SaaS ecosystem enables Hansel to better leverage actionable insights. In turn, this has optimised their operations and supported growth strategies.

“With the solution, the long-awaited ability to use alerts is now available. It provides an efficient way to notify users when key business criteria are met or not, ensuring timely actions and better decision-making across the board.”

- Jaakko Keltto, Analyst, Hansel

Hansel has begun to identify new business opportunities using data analytics, a trend they aim to fortify in the future. They continue to improve their BI environment continuously, ensuring it supports their growth strategy more effectively.

Partnership in brief

Partnership benefits

The partnership between Hansel and AFRY is an excellent example of how technology partnerships can evolve and flourish over time. AFRY’s role has adapted according to Hansel’s needs, but its impact has remained critical, primarily in the technological transitions and the development of external BI services.

“AFRY's consultants know our operations almost as well as our own employees. This understanding has a huge impact on the efficiency of development work and the achievement of business benefits.”

- Mikko Saavalainen, Chief Digital Officer, Hansel

Together, Hansel and AFRY are aiming to take Hansel's BI development further, ensuring Hansel can more effectively support its growth strategy with data. The partnership has already resulted in several success stories and the future looks promising for further development.

Hansel in brief

Hansel is a leading Finnish non-profit limited company, and act as a central purchasing body for central and local governments in Finland. Its purpose is to reduce public expenditure by increasing productivity in public procurement, as well as to drive and develop it. Hansel invite tenders for products and services, establish framework agreements based on the tendered items, and offer tender consultancy services to the customers.

Is your organisation ready for a data-driven future?

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