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  • Writer's pictureHa Hoang

Introducing Qlik Sense - A Self-service BI Tool

Updated: Nov 25, 2022

With its cutting-edge interface for modeling and managing data, creating visualizations, layouts, and storytelling, Qlik Sense is among the most well-liked business intelligence tool. But what makes Qlik Sense special besides the QIX Engine?

Table of content

1. What Is Qlik Sense?

Qlik Sense is the main offering of Qlik, a software vendor specializing in data visualization, executive dashboards and self-service business intelligence products. Qlik Sense is a business intelligence (BI) and visual analytics platform that supports guided analytics apps and dashboards, customized and embedded analytics, and self-service visualization. Users may actively analyze and find new data with Qlik Sense and collaboratively reach decisions with their colleagues.


2. What Are Its Features?

  • Embedded analytics, custom applications, and extensions: We can build customized guided applications using the standard API provided by the Qlik analytics applications. Additionally, the user can add plug-ins like visual basic to the Qlik Sense application and use extensions for analysis.

  • The QIX Engine indexes and compresses data before storing it as binary in Qlik Sense's memory to improve data usage. An increasing amount of data collected from various data sources may be processed and used in Qlik Sense.

  • Smart search: You can input keywords and phrases into the search bar function to quickly find data sets, graphs/charts, reports, and more.


  • Utilizes machine learning (ML) to extract data from consumer insights and domain expertise for a better, more rapid analytics experience.  

  • Upgrade smoothly and affordably from QlikView to Qlik Sense to obtain access to greater business value, increased platform control, and future-proofing for the digital age.

  • Value-Added Products: Use value-added products like Qlik NPrinting, Qlik Big Data Index, Qlik Insight Bot, Qlik DataMarket, and Qlik GeoAnalytics to add new capabilities like conversational analytics, data indexing, location-based analytics, and more.

3. Qlik Sense Advantages

  • Self-service creation: Drag-and-drop interfaces make it simple to create dashboards and reports without coding, complex queries, or complicated joins.


  • Centralized management: Qlik Sense serves as a hub for users to rapidly and easily create and share apps, data stories, and insights.

  • Interactive visuals: Qlik Sense gives users the option to quickly create representations that adapt to changes in the dimensions and context of the data.

  • Deploy it anywhere, whether SaaS, on-premises, on a single private cloud or across many clouds with a multi-cloud architecture.


4. Qlik Sense Disadvantages

  • When working in the analysis mode, regular memory space may sometimes be used, slowing the processing and impairing the app's proper operation.

  • The software frequently stalls and becomes unresponsive while in the editing modes of scripts or storytelling. This doesn’t give the user a smooth experience with the software.

  • Qlik Engine issues can also be seen in incorrect loading, reloading, execution, error messaging, maintaining data integrity during transitions, ODBC connections, etc.

  • Trained developer is necessary. Because Qlik uses a proprietary SQL query language to build database queries, skilled developers may be needed.

5. Qlik Sense Pricing

  • Qlik Sense - for getting started: Free

  • Qlik Sense Business - for individuals and teams: $30/user per month, billed annually.

  • Qlik Sense Enterprise - for larger organizations: Contact Qlik for pricing.


6. Conclusion

Qlik Sense is a powerful, intuitive and user-friendly business intelligence solution. This is a self-service data visualization and analysis application to build visualizations, dive deeper into the data, find connections, and discover new opportunities.


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Qlik Sense Alternatives

Qlik Sense is described as business intelligence and visual analytics platform that supports a range of analytic use cases. There are some alternatives to Qlik Sense for a variety of platforms:


Data Insider Rocket.BI: Rocket.BI is a good alternative to Qlik Sense as it is also a powerful self-service business intelligence solution of Data Insider specifically designed for analytical databases. However, it offers a better comprehensive self-service capability and performs advanced data analysis, ad hoc, and more. See us introducing Rocket.BI


Google Looker Studio is a free tool that turns your data into informative, easy-to-read, easy-to-share, and fully customizable dashboards and reports. See our article about An Overview of Google Looker Studio


Power BI: Power BI is a business intelligence platform that provides non-technical business users with the means to gather, analyze, visualize, and share data. It transforms data into valuable business information relevant to all levels of the business. Here is an article about An Introduction to Microsoft Power BI


Tableau: Tableau is an integrated BI and analytics tool that helps to analyze key business data and generate meaningful insights. It also comes with a very easy drag-drop interface that makes it easy to learn and in creating compelling, interactive dashboard-style reports. We've written an overview of Tableau here


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