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Case study: Rossel’s data transformation journey
Rossel, Belgium’s largest French-speaking media group with around 3000 employees and 73 brands, has a long history of delivering trusted news across print and digital channels. As the media landscape evolved, so did Rossel’s need for a modern, agile data infrastructure. This transformation journey, starting with their collaboration with Beyond Data Group, part of Beyond Data Group, and culminating in a successful migration to the cloud, illustrates how innovation in data management fuels business success.
From financial reporting to enterprise-wide insights
The collaboration between Rossel and Beyond Data Group began with the finance department, which was looking for a way to improve reporting and financial data management. Initially, Qlik was adopted to support financial reporting needs. However, in 2018, Rossel made the strategic decision to centralize business intelligence across the organization. Top management aimed to consolidate reporting to gain access to global performance metrics across all business units. This led to the transition from QlikView to Qlik Sense, along with the implementation of NPrinting for automated reporting.
Beyond Data Group played a key role during this shift, supporting the installation, architecture design, implementation, and the development of the first dashboards. By 2019 and 2020, knowledge sharing within Rossel had matured, and internal teams had become largely autonomous in managing and building their own reports using Qlik. This aligns with one of Beyond Data Group's core objectives: to empower customers to become fully self-sufficient in using their analytics tools effectively.
Transition to the cloud for agility, performance, and scalability
The media industry is fast-paced, and Rossel needed a data infrastructure that could keep up. Migrating to the cloud in 2023 was a strategic move that allowed to enhance cost effectiveness, scalability, security, and operational efficiency. By moving to Qlik Cloud, Rossel gained access to optimal application performance, automatic version upgrades, and advanced features like Qlik Automation and Qlik Alerting, all of which contributed to a more agile data environment.
“With our data now in the cloud, we have access to a more flexible, cost-effective, and high-performing environment,” says François-Xavier Eymard, IT Domain Manager Data at Rossel. “We can deploy new analytics solutions faster, scale as needed, and ensure high availability for our teams. Beyond Data Group played a critical role in this migration, providing the technical expertise and strategic guidance needed to unlock the full potential of cloud analytics.”
Unlocking new insights
With a cloud-based data infrastructure in place, Rossel is well-positioned for future innovation. The migration has not only improved internal operations but also enhanced the company’s ability to leverage real-time insights for better decision-making.
Today, Rossel uses a wide range of dashboards to inform strategic and operational choices. Each editorial unit has access to its own set of KPIs and platform-specific insights, while shared group-wide dashboards track common KPIs such as marketing performance, including subscriber portfolios, user registrations, conversion funnels, and behavioral analytics. Additionally, Rossel leverages dashboards for revenue tracking across its French and Belgian advertising operations, providing clarity on sales performance and enabling data-driven decisions at every level.
“Our transition to the cloud has been transformative,” Eymard concludes. “We’ve moved beyond traditional data management, and now we’re focused on leveraging analytics to drive new business opportunities.”
Beyond traditional data management
With a cloud-based data infrastructure in place, Rossel is well-positioned for future innovation. Looking ahead, the company is also evaluating how to further integrate machine learning and generative AI into its data strategy.
Rossel’s journey exemplifies how modern organizations can harness data to stay competitive in an ever-changing digital world. They have not only embraced cloud technology but also set a new standard for data-driven success in the media industry. By leveraging cloud analytics, they have empowered their teams with the tools and insights needed to navigate the future of digital journalism with confidence.
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