Many independent data and BI consultants still email reports as PDF files. It works, but it does not scale, looks less professional and gives you little control over who can see what.
Qnext wanted something better: one secure place where every client can find their own dashboards, invoices and documents. The question was whether to buy or build.
Buying seemed logical, but…
Ready-made client portals exist, but they are often expensive and generic. They can also create vendor lock-in. A small specialist business then pays for dozens of features it never uses.
Why we chose to build
With the right modern choices, a dedicated platform is surprisingly achievable without a large development team. We chose a lean stack that remains under our control, has low fixed costs and does exactly what our clients need.
The most important benefit is not the technology itself but the signal it sends: we apply what we advise. Data-driven, structured and secure.
In the next parts of this series, we explain the choices we made and what they can teach you about your own data and reporting processes.