Should you switch from QlikView to Qlik Sense?

A common question we get a lot from customers is:

• A)   When and why should I switch from QlikView to Qlik Sense?
• B)   How do I convert my QlikView apps to Qlik Sense?  Once I have converted my apps from View to Sense, what do I do next to make my apps look good in Sense?

Let’s tackle both of these questions.

The reasons why a lot of our clients make the move to Qlik Sense from QlikView or why they add a Qlik Sense environment to their QlikView environment are:

1.    Increased adoption of self-service BI

• Sense has UI features that make it easier for users to create and publish their own analyses.
• With Sense’s drag-and-drop user interface, it’s very easy to drag new data sets right into a Sense application or tap into multiple data sources.

2.    More flexible governance

• Sense offers a Master Library that serves as a governed repository for approved calculations, dimensions, and even charts.
• IT gets value by having a governed logical layer and users get a single version of the truth to minimize questionable data or analyses.

3.    Mobile deployments

• While mobility is not exclusive to Qlik Sense, Sense’s responsive design allows for a fully optimized experience for users. There’s no difference between the full desktop and mobile experience- a single application can be viewed on any device without additional licensing or development.

A little disclaimer: Before you decide to switch from QlikView to Qlik Sense, you first need to consider what you are trying to do with your data:

• Who are your users and how will they use the tool?
• What self service capabilities are needed?
• How are you going to handle data governance?
• How much “power” do you want users to have in terms of data analysis and creating their own analysis and visualizations?

There are many reasons to use either product (or both) depending on your use case, so consider your business reasons for using the technology first.

The Differences With Sense:

While the process for moving your apps from View to Sense is fairly easy, there are a few things to be aware of as you are building apps in Sense:

Best Practices:

The best practices are slightly different in the two products and you should think about these as you are developing in Sense. For example, when working in Sense it’s a good idea to take advantage of Master Items.

Master Items are dimensions and measures that you can create, save, and reuse.  A good practice is to define your measures and dimensions of your app up front and create master items that you can reuse to create visualizations.

There are many more best practices for Sense from Qlik users on the Qlik community.

Data Organization/ Visualization:

It’s important to recognize the differences in functionality and the user interfaces of QlikView and Qlik Sense.

• The responsive design in Qlik Sense means you will have less “real estate” to work with as you develop visualizations.
• Qlik Sense does not have the same object layering capabilities as QlikView.
• Some objects and actions that are available in QlikView are not available in Qlik Sense. You will have to decide what is most important in your QlikView application and then think about how you can best show that in Qlik Sense.  Make sure you really think about what the point is of displaying your data and how to connect your visualizations to the business problem you are solving.

For details on how to actually migrate your apps from QlikView to Qlik Sense, we cover how to use the QlikView converter in our Qlik Sense 3.2 webinar.