QlikView Reviews

E-T-L, The Extract, Transform, and Loading capabilities of QlikView make it a highly sophisticated self-service business intelligence tool for developers and analysts who desire much more advanced handling of dirty or unconsolidated data. QlikView scripting language has numerous transformation functions.

As a consultant for my organization using Qlik to design management dashboards, analysis and ad-hoc reports, I have seen the way it has helped many of our clients get the desired reports and analysis for their stakeholders and top directors which would normally take time and more effort to get.

The user interface and ease of use takes a bit of a learning curve to pick up. There is no drag and drop functionality at the development stage unlike its competitors. Maybe QlikSense could handle that area.

We have been using the solution for five years.

We haven't yet encountered any issues with stability.

QlikView is a memory intensive application and does sometimes start to weigh on your PC resources. Also you would need to learn some development tricks to manage unnecessary time wasting when loading large database sources, like the use of QVD – QlikView proprietary data format - for faster and efficient loading times.

The Qlik community is very vibrant and you find or get answers to most issues started or any other areas.

We did not use a solution previously.

The initial setup is pretty straightforward for personal use, except when you are looking at deploying the QlikView server which will entail some configuration instructed during the installation process.

QlikView pricing and licensing is on the high side for a small sized company, but it's competitive among its peers.

As a consultant in the area of business intelligence and data analytics I have had to personally evaluate QlikView with other self-service BI tools such as Tableau, Power BI and MicroStrategy.

Invest in the memory and RAM of your PC or server you intend to use for QlikView. Ensure you have all the necessary resources and connectors installed for proprietary databases.

The associative engine and feature-rich expression scripts are the most valuable features of this product.

Easy, low-TCO solution to consolidate and visualise data for analysis and reporting purposes.

It provides better visibility of the company's position and its operations.

I would like to see more visualisation objects features.

I have used QlikView for more than a year.

I encountered minimal deployment issues.

Technical support is excellent.

I have experience with other similar visualizers, but QV offers a better experience in terms of ETL development.

Initial setup was straightforward, with a simple, easy interface. We had a simple setup anyway, not much complexity. We were able to get QV up and running in a very short turnaround time.

It was implemented in-house assisted by a lean vendor advisory team.

Dynamic dashboards is definitely the most valuable feature. You select your filters and all your graphs and tables are automatically updated; it really saves time when doing analysis! 

Thanks to Qlikview we have been able to set up and share dashboards across our services. We can monitor our internal productivity and revenue, but as well our client’s activity and be proactive if we see a sudden change in volumes. We also monitor our service levels.
Qlikview is giving visibility to our directors and VP , accounts department, as well as operational managers who can follow on their teams productivity. 

Qlikview is very intuitive and user friendly compared to other solutions, however I regret that some of their features are not available for Mac users.

A build your own report feature on standard .qvw would be great. Qlik has recently launched Qliksense, it answers this need but we cannot use the Qliksense feature on Qlikview reports. An all-in-one solution would be perfect.

Since 2008

Initial database set up was the main concern.

Customer Service is good, however we mainly use the Qlikview community. We can reach out to other users / developers who are always available to help.

Before Qlikview we had 2 BI solutions : Cognos and Hummingbird. Hummingbird was more a database extraction tool available for our clients. We then developed our own operational web-based database for our clients to check their transportation invoices and extract instantly the data they needed for reporting purposes. When this solution was live and operational we stopped Hummingbird as it did not make any sense to maintain both solutions.

In parallel, Cognos was our BI tool for dashboards/ graphs. We decided to change to Qlikview since Cognos was more complex in terms of development and less user friendly. 

I would say straightforward. Training was provided by our supplier, and our developers already had BI knowledge . 

Our vendor (Decideis) helped us with the initial set up and training; we then deployed the solution ourselves.

We are really happy with their knowledge of Qlikview. 

Cognos was evaluated and Qlikview was highly recommended by one of our customers.

Define precisely your needs, your budget and the resources available to set-up, deploy and maintain the solution. There are different solutions on the market, choose the one that will answer your needs. 

QlikView is based on a different technology from OLAP technology. Called AQL ™ (Associative Query Logic), this technology has been patented since 1994. If there is no need rethinking QlikView OLAP cubes, development and implementation of new elements, reconfiguring the graphical interface. Also, working with databases is much more flexible. Thus reducing the time and that the costs of implementing new analysis / reports. QlikView is easy to use, letting you easily analyze large volumes of data! Interactive graphical interface to predominantly assures unquestionable advantage over other applications. From a few clicks you can find any information in your database, no matter how "hidden" or detailed as! QlikView is a highly effective management tool, allowing a broad area of analysis. Virtually any existing information in the database the company can be valued by this application, stimulating her performance in an integrated context. • Qlikview has its own ETL engine built-in • You can analyze millions of data - QlikView is easy to use, letting you easily analyze large volumes of data! • Time to implement - Any user / manager can define its own set of analyzes • Partner Network – Qlikview has more than 1000 partners world wide • Development - Qlikview has Scripting • 64-bit in-RAM DB - Qlikview is faster than Tableau • QlikView is based on a different technology from OLAP technology. Called AQL ™ (Associative Query Logic), this technology has been patented since 1994. • Interactive graphical interface - Extremely intuitive interface (requires almost no training);

QlikView should give you just that: gather, provide access to, and analyze data and information about their company operations So, QlikView has little success by itself, so we have to go with: ERP, CRM, or some planning and estimation solutions (this would take what-if scenarios) which means other costs besides the costs of implementing QlikView This is why QlikView offers the possibility to perform what-if scenarios. • QlikView has little success by itself, so we have to go with: ERP, CRM, or some planning and estimation solutions (this would take what-if scenarios) which means other costs besides the costs of implementing QlikView • QlikView can display better analysis but it takes more skill and time to develop/design than with Tableau. • Qlikview it is stronger than Tableau for reporting only, but it requires more training and is less intuitive than Tableau • You have to employ IT specialist • It is limited by RAM, so Qlikview is not very scalable I chose QlikView specialization rather than other BI solution available on the market due to the advantages this technology offers:- Good price compared to other solutions; - Flexible licensing system (but not complicated and consists of dozens of modules that other solutions); - Very little development time; - Easy maintenance; - Ability to provide Business Intelligence Off-The-Shelf. - In QlikView, you can develop yourself analyzes you need in just minutes

We appreciate the different methods how data can be provided to a developer, designer and end users. Develop new reports from production databases to final reports without additional tools and
the high-performance loading data from database without any performance issues on the database environment. The loading performance of QlikView data container.

With the solutions of QlikTech, we are able to provide management with requested reports with proven data within a short time.

We can scale the user properly for the report environment in different and multiple ways.

Preparing actual daily reports without requiring additional manpower was the biggest benefit for our company.

We would like to provide our customers with reports in PDF or other popular formats that are not included in the publisher; additional licenses are required for the print and PDF tool. From my point of view, a reduced functionality for this should be included with Enterprise Server Edition or Publisher.

But so far, every new version includes new benefits for us.

We have used QlikView since 2010. That includes one year of testing QlikView Personal Edition for development and comparing the functions with our previous BI solution. We started using QlikView in production at the end of 2011.

We implemented different versions of QlikView within a few years, starting with version 8, Small Business Edition to Enterprise. We also moved to new hardware environment, but never had any issues. All versions we had in production were always stable. At the same time, we never used the first release of a new version for the server environment; the QlikView application has always been tested. Developing and deploying new reports are always tested in test environment before we publish. Scalability of reports should be considered separately.

Issues with the software itself are really rare; we just needed help implementing license keys after installation because direct internet access on the server was not available one time during setup. We always get help within a short / acceptable time. Normally, we just use the big user community for further help or information.

Before 2012, we used SAS and Crystal Reports for reporting and BI. When we started looking for other solution, we evaluated the new version of Crystal Reports, but there was no comparable alternative to QlikView.

A comprehensive concept for the initial setup is very important; there are various ways to implement the server infrastructure. If the concept was done properly, implementation might be complex but not difficult. We never had to contact QlikTech for additional support.

The documentation itself, user forum and several tech days was always helpful to start.

We implemented the whole environment without any additional support. Before we start working with the product, we organized in-house training from a vendor partner for developers and report designers based on our requirements.

My advice for implementation is to create a team made up of developers and IT department staff to set up the concept for test and production environments.

Training for IT and developers is available from the vendor, or if you organize in-house training from the vendor partner. Provisioning of data should be the responsibility of the IT department. You can also plan to have the vendor or vendor partner implement the product.

The vendor offers multiple possibilities for getting started with QlikView. It also depends upon how many reports you need for initial go-live. Starting with the Small Business Edition or Enterprise depends on the company size and the number of users who will work with QlikView.

The only important advice is to take enough time for the concept of the future environment.

That will make it easy to implement all needed add-ons with future changes.

Follow the vendor’s suggestions for scale responsibilities (IT, developer, designer and end user).

The Qlik user forum will be always helpful to find a solution.

The traditional BI tools are extremely limiting in the fact that they require very strict controls on the sources of data. This is understandable in very large corporates, but in a small- to medium-size business, where most supporting data sources are nothing more than an Excel spreadsheet, this is a pain. Therefore, my most valuable asset in QlikView is the ease with which any datasource can be integrated into the QlikView model for reporting.

The models created by QlikView have put critical information at the fingertips of management for decision-making processes. Our warehouse and distribution managers now have a view of the movement of stock, fulfilment of orders and can plan for demand more proactively. We produce our management sales dashboards daily and use the tool to integrate proof of delivery documents with sales orders.

I have several lower-level users who don’t need full functionality of the tool, but do need to access more than one model. In this regard, the licencing structure is limiting and costly for a user who is not using the analytical aspects of the tool. QlikView only offers full-user CALs (expensive) and document CALs (less expensive), but those licences only allow the user to access one model.

The business has been using this product for four years.

I did not encounter any deployment, stability or scalability issues.

Our implementation provider is very capable, but it is important to partner with a vendor who has industry, regional and technological capabilities, as this cuts down the time to develop customised requirements. Also, it is not necessary to limit yourself to one vendor and lots of freelancers are cost effective for specific requirements.

I looked at IBM Cognos, SAP BusinessObjects, and MicroStrategy. The main draw cards to QlikView was the cost and flexibility.

Initial setup was straightforward.

A team from the implementation provider did the installation and it was simple.

Our ROI is the ability to immediately take catalytic interventions with information at hand, implementing immediate savings from lost business and being able to put products to market more effectively.

In-depth analysis on the user roles using the tool should be done prior to implementation as non-managerial staff could probably use a shared licence scenario enabling lower licence count.

If possible, a site visit to other consumers of the tool often sheds a lot of light on work that can be done before implementation to overcome unnecessary problems and delays. For example, properly mapping financial processes, documenting and getting them signed off before a QlikView model is developed will save time and money in rework after the fact. Also forming a network of other users who are not related to the vendor is very valuable in getting unbiased advice.

It is quite versatile and reasonably cost effective.

• ETL functionality is hugely important, as data rarely are provided smooth and clean, even when the assumption is it has been cleaned beforehand. Plus, usually in BI, we need to create custom groupings, and being able to do that in script ad-hoc is very helpful
• Scripting for loads, with lots of functions, and insert script possibilities all provide extremely good flexibility for development.- Overall flexibility and ease of development is great for ad-hoc quick fixes, quick workarounds, which happen in BI
• Set-analysis function, unique for QV, is an awesome way to create subsets, literally under any chart/table/text box needed in a smart, fast way (replaces long expressions such as “if...then...“). It also allows you to control results, taking into consideration user clicking and selecting data.
• Associative model is super handy to just take an overview of data quality through visual associations (power of grey).
• Data governance is an extremely usable feature; there is no need for BI to build its own app, and it helps with licence monitoring.

With QV, literally all departments across the company have started “owning” data in terms of getting hands on data, knowledge about data, how it is built up, and the ability to slice and dice, add, expand, or decrease the size or granularity of their own reports.

This in turn has in general decreased the “fear” of touching applications on computer. With backups maintained by IT, people are given more freedom to try and change applications themselves.

Regex. Cleaning out data during script regex could be really handy.

Otherwise, I am having a hard time thinking of any other areas with room for improvement.

I have used QlikView 9 for two years, I am trained and certified on
QlikView 11, and I have used QlikView 12 for half a year.

I have not encountered any deployment, stability or scalability issues.

I have not had direct contact. Currently (with Qlik Sense), I am working with Qlik local partners, not directly.

Before QlikView, Excel was used across the company. At the same time, we had SAS Web Reporting Studio provided by my company’s headquarters, which was very far from even being considered to be used for anything beyond just comparing total sales numbers if the QlikView reports were in line.

I remember it being set up with the first production app running in three days. So, initial setup was straightforward.

Implementation was done in-house.

During the selection of the local BI tool, the choice was between IBM Cognos and QlikView. We were naturally showcasing to management how easy it is to use the UI, and the latter one was chosen.

I think it is the best BI product out there, competing only with its own “brother” Qlik Sense. (While the latter is not that mature yet, it is definitely growing in power extremely fast.)

QlikView is a good choice!