Qlik Sense: Unleash the Power of Augmented Analytics

Qlik Sense, developed by the data analytics pioneer Qlik, is a revolutionary business intelligence (BI) and data visualization platform. It goes beyond simple dashboards, empowering users of all skill levels to freely explore data, uncover hidden insights, and make smarter, data-driven decisions with confidence. At its core, Qlik Sense utilizes a unique AI-powered engine to provide an intuitive and interactive experience, transforming raw data into a clear, compelling story.

What Can Qlik Sense Create?

While not a traditional media generator, Qlik Sense is a powerhouse for creating actionable intelligence and compelling data narratives. Its capabilities focus on transforming complex datasets into clear, understandable outputs:

• Interactive Live Dashboards: Build and share dynamic dashboards that update in real-time. Users can click on any data point to see all related information instantly filter across the entire application.
• Insight Generation: Leverage AI to automatically generate insights, identify key drivers in your data, and surface hidden trends you might have missed.
• Natural Language Analytics: Simply ask questions in plain English, like “What were the top 10 sales in Q2 by region?” and get instant answers, charts, and explanations from the AI-powered Insight Advisor.
• Predictive Analytics: Integrate powerful forecasting and predictive calculations directly into your dashboards to anticipate future trends and outcomes without needing a separate tool.
• Custom Reports: Design, schedule, and distribute polished, multi-page reports in popular formats like PDF and PowerPoint to keep stakeholders informed.

Core Features of Qlik Sense

Qlik Sense is packed with features designed to make data analysis faster, smarter, and more accessible for everyone.

At the heart of Qlik Sense is its patented Associative Engine, which allows you to see both the relationships and the non-relationships in your data. This “power of gray” highlights data points that are unrelated to your selections, often revealing the most surprising and valuable insights.

• Associative Engine: Unlike traditional query-based tools, Qlik’s engine indexes all the relationships in your data, allowing for lightning-fast exploration from any angle.
• Insight Advisor (AI Assistant): Your built-in AI assistant helps with data preparation, suggests the best charts for your data, and automatically uncovers statistical insights.
• Self-Service Analytics: An intuitive drag-and-drop interface empowers business users to create their own visualizations and dashboards without relying on IT.
• Broad Data Connectivity: Connect to hundreds of data sources, from simple spreadsheets and databases to big data sources and cloud applications like Salesforce, SAP, and Snowflake.
• Governed, Centralized Hub: Manage apps, data, and users in a secure, centralized environment that ensures everyone is working with the right information.
• Embedded Analytics: Easily embed Qlik Sense dashboards and visualizations directly into your other business applications, portals, and websites for analysis in context.

Qlik Sense Pricing Plans

Qlik offers flexible pricing to suit different team sizes and needs, with a free trial available to get you started.

Qlik Sense Business

Ideal for teams and groups. This cloud-based solution provides a complete self-service analytics environment. Pricing typically starts around $30 per user, per month, allowing for collaborative app development and data sharing.

Qlik Sense Enterprise SaaS

Perfect for large organizations. A scalable enterprise-grade solution that offers advanced governance, larger data capacities, and a choice of user types (full professional users and basic consumer users) to optimize costs. Pricing is often tiered and quote-based to fit specific enterprise requirements.

Qlik Sense Enterprise Client-Managed

For on-premise or private cloud deployments. This option provides maximum control and customization for organizations with specific data residency or security policies. Pricing is entirely quote-based.

Who is Qlik Sense For?

Qlik Sense is designed for a wide range of users who want to leverage data for better outcomes:

• Business Analysts: Dive deep into business data to uncover trends, identify inefficiencies, and present findings to leadership.
• Data Analysts & Scientists: Perform complex data exploration and integrate advanced analytics calculations and scripting for deeper statistical analysis.
• Executives and Managers: Get a high-level, real-time overview of business performance through intuitive dashboards and KPI monitoring.
• Sales and Marketing Teams: Track campaign performance, analyze sales funnels, and identify customer segments to drive revenue.
• IT Professionals: Manage and govern a secure, scalable analytics environment that empowers business users while maintaining data integrity.

Qlik Sense Alternatives

The BI and analytics market is competitive. Here’s how Qlik Sense compares to other major players:

• Tableau: A strong competitor known for its beautiful and highly effective visualizations. While Tableau is excellent for guided storytelling, Qlik Sense’s Associative Engine provides superior capabilities for unguided, free-form data exploration and discovering unexpected insights.
• Microsoft Power BI: A popular choice, especially for organizations heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem. Power BI offers strong integration with Office 365 and Azure and is often seen as more cost-effective for basic use cases. However, Qlik Sense typically outperforms it in handling large, complex datasets and offers a more flexible and powerful associative exploration model.
• Looker (Google Cloud): A powerful, modern BI platform that excels in data modeling and creating a governed “single source of truth” through its LookML layer. Looker is developer-centric, whereas Qlik Sense is designed to be more accessible for business users to perform true self-service analytics.

In summary, while alternatives are strong, Qlik Sense carves out its niche with its unique Associative Engine, robust AI-powered features, and a balanced approach to both governance and self-service flexibility.