Gartner Lee Expands its Use of Quantrix Modeler to Develop Financial Decision Support Models

PORTLAND, ME — Quantrix today announced that Gartner Lee, a Markham, Ontario-based environmental consulting firm, has expanded its use of the desktop quantitative modeling software application Quantrix Modeler. Gartner Lee has used Quantrix Modeler since 2003 to develop financial decision support models, but used to export the data into traditional spreadsheet technology before delivery to its customers. Now the company delivers models directly to customers in Quantrix, and can turn projects around faster, reduce errors, and make client-requested changes on the fly.

Gartner Lee uses Quantrix to develop financial decision support tools for public and private sector organizations, A recent model of a county wastewater system calculates land use growth potential out 20 years, and ties those data to water and sewer requirements. It calculates net cash flow for the 20-year period based on growth rates of the municipality, operating costs, capital costs, and recovered tariffs. Gartner Lee developed the model in Quantrix, and delivered it directly to the customer in Quantrix, bypassing the step of exporting all of the data into a traditional spreadsheet.

“A project that size normally would have taken us two months to deliver,” says Andy Keir, VP of strategic management for Gartner Lee. “Now, we can deliver it in two to three weeks.” In addition, Keir says a huge benefit of Quantrix is its ability to “accordion” the model: “Any time you want to add another variable into a matrix, users just hit the ‘enter’ button,” says Keir. “Clients always ask, ‘can you add this?’ In traditional spreadsheet technology, that is an onerous task; Quantrix is much more adept at this type of expansion.”

According to Keir, purchasing the Quantrix Modeler technology for customers is significantly less costly than developing or exporting models to spreadsheet technology because the company can turn projects around significantly faster. “Expanding our use of Quantrix has already opened up more business opportunities for us, because the project price for clients is considerably reduced,” says Keir. “Quantrix allows us to be much more responsive, to have less error, better quality, faster turnaround, and better client service. Quantrix is providing us with a competitive edge.”

"It’s hard for companies to break away from familiar technology, even when it no longer meets their needs. But once companies start using Quantrix Modeler, they don’t look back," says Chris Houle, Chief Operating Officer of Quantrix. “It’s a tool that was designed for real-world decision making.”

Quantrix Modeler incorporates a unique approach that separates the logic of a model from the structure, which allows users to create and use formulas outside the confines of the cell. Formulas are expressed in words rather than by cell coordinates so they are easy to understand, trace, and audit. Users can make changes, incorporate new dimensions, and view multiple scenarios dynamically without redesigning or reworking their model.

About Gartner Lee

Gartner Lee is a professional services company providing environmental science, economics, planning, and engineering consulting services. Since its founding in 1973, it has established offices across Canada and successfully completed thousands of projects for domestic and international clients in more than 30 countries around the world. A Canadian employee-owned firm, Gartner Lee has earned the trust of its clients by focusing on their needs and responding with high-quality, value-added solutions. For more information, visit www.gartnerlee.com.

About Quantrix
Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Portland, Maine, Quantrix develops financial and quantitative modeling software for professionals pushing the limits of traditional spreadsheets. Through intuitive architecture and a powerful, multidimensional calculation engine, Quantrix software enables users to reach new levels of business insight. Its flagship product, Quantrix Modeler, enables users to explore multiple dimensions simultaneously, define formulas with words rather than coordinates, and easily explore new scenarios without rewriting or restructuring models. Quantrix has customers in more than 20 countries. Quantrix has received funding from several sources, including the Maine Technology Institute. For more information, please visit Quantrix at www.quantrix.com or call 207-775-0808.
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Contact:
Chris Houle, COO
Quantrix
207.775.0808
choule@quantrix.com

or

Alison Harris
Harris Media Services
207.829.4500
alison@harrismediaservices.com