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Customer Satisfaction
5.4/10
5.4
User Experience
6/10
6
Functionality
6.1/10
6.1
Business Value
6.4/10
6.4

Qlik Sense

What is Qlik Sense?

BI platform for data visualization, set-based (assosiative) and visual analysis, dashboards and analytical applications, e.g. for embedding. Complementary data management products available.

BI, Analytics & CPM
●● Reporting / Dashboards
●● Analysis
● Advanced Analytics
– Planning
– Financial Consolidation

= Function covered, ●● = Functional focus

= Function covered
●●
= Functional focus

About Qlik Sense

The information in this section has been provided by the vendor of Qlik Sense.

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Qlik Sense BARC Review & Rating

This section contains our independent analyst views on Qlik Sense.

Provider and product description

Qlik, originally founded in 1993 in Lund, Sweden, moved its headquarters to the United States in 2005 after raising funds from several venture capital firms. Qlik is currently owned by the private equity company Thoma Bravo after its acquisition in 2016. Since then, the vendor has made a number of acquisitions to create a robust cloud platform that delivers the data integration and analytics organizations need to transform raw data into informed action.

Qlik Cloud® offers a compelling portfolio of data integration and analytics services. It is a full SaaS platform, and customers can also deploy a hybrid cloud by combining Qlik Cloud® with a client-managed Windows-based deployment. In the area of enterprise-level BI & analytics capabilities, Qlik Cloud® includes Qlik Sense®, supporting a broad spectrum of analytics use cases across organizations.

Qlik Sense® is powered by Qlik’s associative engine and offers flexible and fast access to analyzed data. In addition to its mature in-memory analytics engine, the vendor now provides direct query capabilities to query live data from cloud databases, including Snowflake, Google BigQuery and Databricks. Qlik Sense® includes product features that support business users from data preparation to the creation of interactive applications. Data preparation, traditionally script-based in Qlik, can be conducted in a visual interface for most data transformations but still generates code that can be changed directly or optimized by developers if required.

Augmenting the user experience with helpful and guiding functions is at the core of Qlik’s vision to reach more users with well thought-out BI & analytics capabilities. During data preparation, joins and default aggregations are suggested for measures. Qlik Sense® offers further guidance and automation for data visualizations to benefit data consumers by actively recommending suitable visualizations to users based on fields selected and their metadata.

ML powers the suggestion of insights for consumers in ‘Insight Advisor’ and NLQ. Insight Advisor is an assistant that auto-generates insights with advanced analytics, assists with analytics creation and supports natural language interaction including search-based discovery and conversational analytics. Qlik AutoML® supports the automated creation of machine learning models, predictive analytics and scenario analysis, specifically designed for analytics users and teams that want to apply ML to a broad set of use cases. In addition, third-party data science and ML platforms can be integrated to allow decision-makers to explore calculations in real time through visual dashboards. Recently, the vendor acquired Kyndi to grow its GenAI capabilities.

Strengths and challenges of Qlik Sense

BARC’s viewpoint on the product’s strengths and challenges.

Strengths
  • Qlik Sense® is a business-user-oriented platform for BI & analytics covering interactive dashboards, highly customizable and embeddable analytical applications, visual analyses and reports
  • Dashboards, analytical applications and data stories are Qlik’s clear hallmarks, all powered by fast and responsive queries and interactive, mobile-ready interfaces
  • Data preparation is very powerful. Features such as join detection based on field content are not common among competitors and speed up data preparation decisively.
  • Strong features and APIs to customize and embed not only the analytics applications but parts of (or the whole) product if needed in any target application
  • Qlik sets itself high expectations regarding query performance and hardly ever falls short of them thanks to its mature in-memory engine
Challenges
  • Limited built-in functionality for data governance to align KPI definitions and ensure consistent use of master data across multiple applications
  • Advanced layout options for page-oriented reports in the cloud are still limited compared to leading vendors despite the enhanced capabilities of the web UI (roadmap item)
  • Differing functionality in Qlik Cloud and Qlik Sense on-premises portfolio – customers should evaluate carefully which functions they need and therefore which product to license
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Qlik Sense User Reviews & Experiences

The information contained in this section is based on user feedback and actual experience with Qlik Sense.

The information and figures are largely drawn from BARC’s The BI & Analytics Survey, The Planning Survey, The Financial Consolidation Survey and The Data Management Survey. You can find out more about these surveys by clicking on the relevant links.

Why users buy Qlik Sense and what problems they have using it

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Full user reviews and KPI results for Qlik Sense

All key figures for Qlik Sense at a glance.

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Individual user reviews for Qlik Sense

Role
Head of a separate BI/analytics organization unit
Number of employees
100 - 2.500
Industry
Transportation and logistics
Source
BARC Panel, The BI & Analytics Survey 25, 05/2024
What do you like best?

The ability to bring data together from various systems and the flexibility in the data transformation.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Additional flexible pricing offers to allow for unlimited self-hosted pricing for embedded solutions.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

If you are implementing from a previous system, you can use queries to get your dashboards up and running much quicker.

How would you sum up your experience?

Great product, easy to use but a bit on the expensive side.

Role
Head of business department
Number of employees
100 - 2.500
Industry
Process industry
Source
BARC Panel, The BI & Analytics Survey 25, 03/2024
What do you like best?

Bisher konnte jeder Use Case mit Qlik Sense umgesetzt werden. Eine Software mit der wir ein DWH, ETL-Strecke und Dashboarding umsetzen können: Eine Plattform.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Bei dem Designen von Apps behalten die Objekte beim Verschieben nicht ihre Größe bei.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Gleich Qlik Cloud nutzen und nicht die on-premise Variante mehr verwenden.

How would you sum up your experience?

Sehr gut. Gute Community und Support. Gutes Ecosystem in der DACH-Region.

Role
Project manager for BI/analytics from IT
Number of employees
More than 2.500
Industry
Banking and finance
Source
BARC Marketing, The BI & Analytics Survey 25, 05/2024
What do you like best?

Ability to source and connect data from many different data sources, centralize and reuse data by many different business areas with capabilities of the associative engine and almost unlimited ability to create visualizations and functionality needed with their extensive network of vendor extensions, add-ons and individual customizability.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Lack of pixel perfect design that it's predecessor QlikView had.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Have a good idea up front of why you want to use Qlik Sense over other tools. It's breadth of usage is far superior to other tools but you need to have an understanding of that to take full advantage of everything Qlik Sense has to offer especially if you are thinking about this as an enterprise tool. For smaller businesses you can likely get up and running very quickly utilizing the new SaaS offering but be cognizant of data usage. For everyone, take advantage of tall the of training, webinars, videos, community and blogs available.

How would you sum up your experience?

I feel it is the best all around product out there with all of their in tool capabilities as well as the extensive network of add-ons available that can fit any size implementation and almost any business requirement with it's associative data modeling capabilities.

Role
Head of a separate BI/analytics organization unit
Number of employees
100 - 2.500
Industry
Telecommunications
Source
BARC Panel, The BI & Analytics Survey 25, 03/2024
What do you like best?

Guter Support für Self-Service und gute Akzeptanz im Business.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Fehlender Data Science Support bei on Prem und Probleme mit grossen Datenmengen.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Besserer Support/Beratung zu möglichen Cloud-Migrationen.

How would you sum up your experience?

Gut.

Role
Head of a separate BI/analytics organization unit
Number of employees
100 - 2.500
Industry
Healthcare
Source
BARC Panel, The BI & Analytics Survey 25, 04/2024
What do you like best?

Ease of development and deployment. Performance with large amounts of data.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

On premise version requires separate products for email of reports / dashboards and for alerting.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Start with SaaS version if possible. Has more functionality than premise based and is likely a better value.

How would you sum up your experience?

Very good product that has now matured a more focused SaaS product. We're moving to that from our premise based system so hoping to continue to have positive experience.

Role
Project manager for BI/analytics from business department
Number of employees
More than 2.500
Industry
Manufacturing
Source
BARC Panel, The BI & Analytics Survey 25, 03/2024
What do you like best?

Individualisierbarkeit.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Reaktionszeit auf Probleme/Verbesserungsbedarfe des Systems (v.a. von Themen, die teilweise bereits durch Umzug Qlikview auf Qlik Sense bekannt sind).

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Reifegrad des Unternehmens zu BI ermitteln, interne/externe Kapazitäten und Strategie festlegen (zentrale vs. dezentrale Umsetzung etc.).

How would you sum up your experience?

Positiv, vor allem auch geprägt von der hervorragenden Zusammenarbeit mit unserem Beratungshaus.

Role
Head of a separate BI/analytics organization unit
Number of employees
More than 2.500
Industry
Healthcare
Source
BARC Panel, The BI & Analytics Survey 25, 05/2024
What do you like best?

Ein Tool für alles. Keine Tool-Suite im Einsatz. Erweiterbarkeit durch Extensions möglich.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Das Lizenzmodell für on Premise Installationen. Ein User, der ein Arbeitsblatt anpassen will, benötigt eine Professional Lizenz - also die gleiche wie ein Developer. Das widerspricht dem Self-Service-Modell des Herstellers Qlik.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Schauen Sie sich die Lizenzmodelle an und prüfen Sie, was eine User mit einer Analytics Lizenz können muss.

How would you sum up your experience?

Bisher recht gute Erfahrung und das Know-How konnte im Haus verankert werden. Überrascht hat uns der Lizenzwechsel und dass alles in die Cloud gepushed wird.

Role
Employee of a cross-departmental BI/analytics team
Number of employees
100 - 2.500
Industry
Waste disposal
Source
BARC Panel, The BI & Analytics Survey 25, 04/2024
What do you like best?

All in One System für Datenaufbereitung, ETL und Visualisierungen. Flexibilität durch Extensions. Viele Konnektoren.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Teilweise Einschränkungen im Dasboarddesign (keine Pixelgenauen Berichte möglich). Einschränkungen bei der Datenverarbeitung bei sehr großen Datenmengen in der Cloud, wenn keine Erweiterungen gebucht werden.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

-

How would you sum up your experience?

Sehr umfangreiches Tool für BI, allerdings kann es schnell komplex werden, wenn komplette ETL-Strecken erstellt werden.

Role
Head of a separate BI/analytics organization unit
Number of employees
100 - 2.500
Industry
Retail
Source
BARC Panel, The BI & Analytics Survey 25, 05/2024
What do you like best?

Modernes System mit ständiger Weiterentwicklung.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Hardwarebedarf.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Mit mehr Hardware kalkulieren.

How would you sum up your experience?

Sind sehr zufrieden.

Role
Project manager for BI/analytics from IT
Number of employees
100 - 2.500
Industry
Insurance
Source
BARC Panel, The BI & Analytics Survey 25, 05/2024
What do you like best?

Es ist relativ einfach, Schnittstellen jeglicher Art anzubinden. In der Visualisierung sind fast keine Grenzen gesetzt.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Bei QlikView konnten auch normale Anwender sich leicht durch die Assistentenführung einfache Dashboards und Ad Hoc-Berichte zusammenstellen. Das fehlt bei Qlik Sense. Hier wird immer Unterstützung von einem Power-User benötigt. Das Lizenzmodell ist zu starr.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Sie sollen sich genau überlegen, wie sie Qlik Sense nutzen. Damit nicht unnötiges Geld in falsche Lizenzen investiert wird.

How would you sum up your experience?

Alles in allem sehr gut - was die Erstellung von Dashboards und Auswertungen anbelangt. Beim Lizenz-Modell ist Nachbesserung angesagt und die ständigen Preiserhöhungen stellen das Produkt immer wieder infrage!

Role
Head of business department
Number of employees
100 - 2.500
Industry
Manufacturing
Source
BARC Panel, The BI & Analytics Survey 25, 03/2024
What do you like best?

The modelling layer (Data Load Editor & Data Model) is easy to use.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

The debugging tools. Not possible to copy and paste visualisations and KEEP their original size!

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Consider the cost first.

How would you sum up your experience?

Very good, but too expensive.

Role
Head of a separate BI/analytics organization unit
Number of employees
100 - 2.500
Industry
Services
Source
BARC Panel, The BI & Analytics Survey 25, 04/2024
What do you like best?

Easy to configure and distribute applications, only few bugs.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Manage security policy.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

-

How would you sum up your experience?

Good balance cost/quality.

Survey Information
Number of reviews for Qlik Sense
81
Reviewed versions
58% version 2024, 30% version 2023, 13% version 2022
Peer groups in the survey
Large/Enterprise-Wide Implementations, Report & Dashboard Focus, Analysis Focus, International BI Giants
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