GIT is the most used version control system in the world, it’s been around for decades. A lot of potential customers we speak to use GIT as a corporate standard, and it’s always difficult to get across that we aren’t competing with GIT, but that we can just help businesses in ways that it just can’t. Look, we’ll show you.
It’s an easy comparison to make, we understand that. GIT manages some of the key things that PlatformManager also takes care of, the difference is – it’s not purpose-built for Qlik or the business environments that Qlik is deployed in. GIT isn’t going anywhere, but we are growing because our solution does things it can’t, and those things are the keys for your business to unlock true control over app development, testing, and deployment.
GIT Isn’t Always The Best Answer
We’re writing this having had far too many meetings with prospective clients who can’t get over the fact that GIT does some of what PlatformManager does. It’s a common roadblock that we have to overcome, and we’ve figured out the easiest way to explain it. GIT is a very professional solution, but it focuses on a different audience than us. GIT is for generic use while we offer a solution specifically designed, and packed with features, for use with Qlik and SAP/BO.
From a functional and technical perspective, GIT basically versions files. GIT doesn’t understand the difference between a Qlik Sense App and a Word document. They’re all just binary files, and GIT can’t ‘see’ the differences. Conversely, PlatformManager reads the metadata in Qlik files so that it can see the differences between new files and old ones, as well as changes in data sources. That is a feature specifically built for businesses using Qlik to make their development, testing, and deployment easier.
GIT also has nothing to do with deployment. If you use GIT for your Qlik setup then you still have to manually manage the deployment of every app and every version, which is massively time-consuming and fraught with the risk of human error.
We’re not trying to bash GIT, it’s a great technology. However, it isn’t purpose-built for businesses using Qlik, but PlatformManager is.
It’s Not All Or Nothing
You don’t have to ditch GIT throughout your organization in lieu of making PlatformManager work – far from it, in fact. We recognize that PlatformManager has a very powerful but also specific function, and that’s its potent effect on Qlik setups. We’re not trying to compete with GIT, but we do know that organizations interested in maturing their level of control over development, testing, and deployment in Qlik, benefit hugely from using PlatformManager. In combination with GIT, start with that, you are aware of versioning, but there are some important differences between us.
You can get more from your BI deployment with PlatformManager because it’s the next step up from GIT when it comes to managing your apps – it’s a modern progression. We complement a wider GIT setup and slot in perfectly to make your BI operation more successful. If you aren’t willing to find better solutions to specific challenges, you’ll miss out on collaboration, visibility, change tracking, and traceability – it’s really that simple.
Want to have a better BI setup? PlatformManager is the best place to start.