According to the rule adopted a few years ago, every 10 weeks Qlik releases an updated version of the Qlik Sense tool. This year, three versions have already been released: in February, April, and June. In the article, I will cover the changes that the new versions of this popular Business Intelligence tool have brought for users and developers alike.
The events of 2020 proved that the ability to react quickly to changes is a guarantee of success (and not only in business). Business Intelligence tools and applications have proven to be useful, and not only in our everyday tasks. Today, companies are looking for proven data analysis tools more intensively than ever before, because of the need to optimize costs and build a suitable strategy in crisis situations. Qlik understands these needs and is consistently improving its flagship product – the Qlik Sense tool. Here is a brief overview of what’s new in Qlik Sense in 2020.

Fig. 1 – Associative insights Source: own research
Currently, the main trend in Business Intelligence tools is using the potential of Artificial Intelligence. In just the February 2020 version, a number of improvements have been made in terms of natural language processing. NLP in the Qlik Cognitive Engine is much better at detecting patterns, and hence is guided by more accurate suggestions. The function for generating conclusions, which is familiar from previous versions of Qlik Sense, is improving with every subsequent version. Associative Insights provide the opportunity to gain insight into relationships that exist in the data, especially those that may have been missed. In addition, the mechanism now allows users to generate a radar chart, which is helpful when we want to make a comparison based on several features. It allows us to present some value taking many variables into account. It can be used, for example, to compare the pros and cons of a given equipment or solution, the performance of team members, or to create charts of an organization’s strengths and weaknesses.
Charts is a feature that users who have previously used QlikView are perfectly familiar with. It only appeared in Qlik Sense in February 2020, and the latest versions have brought significant improvements.

Fig. 2 Your own image as a point on the map. Source: own research
In the April version, Qlik released a new object called an organizational chart. This allows us to create charts with a tree structure to show the organizational structure in a company, for example. What possibilities does such a chart offer? Users can navigate through the hierarchy, expanding and collapsing particular branches of the chart. In the latest version (June 2020), this chart has been further improved to offer the possibility of changing border colors, automatic resizing or going to the home page thanks to a new button.

Fig. Organization chart Source: help.qlik.com
You can see that Qlik strongly focuses on customization. Also, the KPI object has gained more options in terms of font layout. This solves the problem of invisible headers in the KPI object which were familiar from previous versions of Qlik Sense. Now users can choose between:
With the June 2020 version, a new feature called the bullet chart appeared. This is a visualization that allows us to display KPIs in a non-standard form. This chart replaces the previous scatter chart that was part of the visualization package.

Fig. Bullet chart Source: help.qlik.com
Qlik once again proves that, even in an advanced product such as Qlik Sense, it is possible to introduce regular improvements and add new functionalities, which are important for both end users and developers of Qlik reports. As a Qlik tools consultant, clients often ask me whether it is worth deciding on a given update. Often, clients are afraid of change because they are used to older versions. They find them fully functional and feel convinced that they don’t need new visualizations. As the past year has shown, the ability to adapt to changes and openness are the basis of success, and not only in business. Subsequent updates not only mean new functions or “fireworks” in visualization, but also bug fixes or improvements to the application engine, which have a significant impact on working with the system.
It is worth updating Business Intelligence tools on a regular basis as these solutions are constantly being developed. Qlik gives more and more options in terms of using Artificial Intelligence and creating customized charts. Not only do users gain new functionalities and improvements, but also the certainty of working with a stable tool. Nowadays it is particularly important, as it facilitates everyday work in many industries and gives a sense of security. We gain this security thanks to knowledge about what is happening in our organization, how it relates to the current situation, and the changes and decisions that are made.
Read also: Do we still need extensions for Qlik Sense?
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