Data visualization tools help organizations make better business decisions by putting all their data in one place. Both Tableau and Qlik Sense have been leading this market for many years now.
Both tools have excellent features that can help you create and share interactive dashboards. Still, some key differences between them should be taken into consideration when choosing one over the other.
In this post, we’ll review these differences between the two programs so you can make an informed decision when selecting a tool for your organization’s data visualization needs.
Qlik Sense vs Tableau
In short, both Tableau and Qlik Sense are business intelligence tools. However, the difference lies in their features and pricing models. Therefore, before you decide to pick one of them for your analytics needs, it’s essential to compare them with each other.
Tableau is an end-to-end data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards and data visualizations such as bar charts, line graphs, pie charts, etc., using drag-and-drop functionality.
On the other hand, Qlik Sense is a business intelligence tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards without any coding required by simply dragging fields onto a canvas or connecting tables together via API connectors or direct connection (tables).
Data Storage
Qlik Sense uses a relational database for data storage, whereas Tableau uses a relational database for data storage. You can also configure both products to use cloud-based data storage. However, there are some key differences between how this is done in each product:
Qlik Sense and the Qlik Sense extensions have the option to store all data on-premises or in the cloud. The hardware and infrastructure required to implement this hybrid approach will depend on your business needs.
However, suppose you are looking for an integrated solution that allows you to access your data from multiple locations (both inside and outside of your company). In that case, Qlik Sense may be more appropriate than Tableau.
Many have noticed that Qlik Sense operates in a cloud-first manner, which is true. In contrast with Qlik Sense’s hybrid approach toward cloud vs on-premises storage options, Tableau offers only one way of storing all of your company’s data: through Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Your entire dataset will be accessible from anywhere worldwide via any device or OS currently being used by employees interacting with either software package at any given time.
Security
Security is an important consideration when you’re deciding on which tool you’ll use. If you’re an enterprise user and have security requirements that the built-in security model can’t meet, then Tableau is probably the best option for you.
However, if your organization doesn’t have those requirements and isn’t looking for something robust or customizable, Qlik Sense will probably suit your needs better.
Data Importing
The Qlik Sense extension is excellent for importing from data sources such as Google Analytics, Salesforce, and others. You can also connect to multiple data sources simultaneously to create a single view of your customer journey across two or more channels.
Tableau is quite different here; it supports only one single source at a time. Therefore, Tableau may not be the right tool for you if you need to import data from multiple sources.
Drag-and-Drop Dashboard Creation
Both Qlik Sense and Tableau have drag-and-drop interfaces for creating dashboards. In Qlik Sense extensions, you can create a new dashboard by clicking the “New Dashboard” button on the Home tab or by right-clicking anywhere on an existing chart or table.
Tableau offers a similar experience but doesn’t provide an explicit “New Dashboard” option. Instead, users must select one of their existing worksheets as the canvas within which they can drag widgets to create a new dashboard (or workbook).
In both cases, these dashboards are just static images that don’t do anything until they’re published in some way, either via QlikView Server or Tableau Server. However, it’s nice to be able to get started quickly by simply dragging charts from one view over into another view and seeing how it looks before committing any changes permanently.
Data Preparation
It is necessary to understand that Qlik Sense and Tableau have different focuses in terms of data preparation.
- Qlik Sense is more focused on the data preparation and transformation process, allowing you to develop a deeper understanding of your data before you visualize it.
- Tableau is more concentrated on the visualization process, giving you greater flexibility in how you prepare your data.
Real-Time Analysis and Quick Data Discovery
Qlik Sense and Tableau are both powerful tools for data discovery and analytics, allowing you to create interactive dashboards and visualizations that you can use to help you understand your data.
While the two platforms share some similarities in terms of ease of use and how quickly you can get started with them, there are also some distinct differences between them.
For example, while Tableau allows you to visualize live data in real-time and can enable real-time collaboration on dashboards with multiple users, Qlik Sense has no such functionality built in.
A significant benefit of using Qlik Sense is that it allows users to easily query their data sources directly from within the platform itself rather than having to use an external tool like SQL or R Server (which is an add-on feature for Tableau). Doing this speeds up initial analysis time by eliminating unnecessary steps.
Advanced Analytics / AI-powered Capabilities
Qlik Sense is a bit more advanced in this area compared to Tableau. Qlik sense has a lot more built-in AI capabilities than Tableau, and it also has a lot more built-in machine learning capabilities. Tableau has some AI capabilities but not as many as Qlik sense.
Tableau allows you to use your own data science skills to build algorithms and models that can be used by your business users. However, unlike Qlik Sense, where most of the data visualization and analysis features are already baked into the product, you will have to do additional work if you want customization on your dashboard using Tableau.
Cost of Ownership
Qlik Sense is a cloud-based solution, so you pay a monthly fee for the software and services.
Tableau is a desktop-based solution, so you pay a license fee for the software.
You’ll also need to factor in additional costs such as training, integration with other systems, maintenance agreements, etc.
Both Tools Are Leaders In The Industry
Both tools are leaders in the data visualization market, but there are some key differences to take into consideration when choosing one over the other.
Qlik (1993) has been around for almost 30 years, which is more than Tableau (2003). In effect, Qlik has been in the market before Tableau. It also offers a free trial, so you can try out the product before buying it.
With that said, Qlik Sense has a wider range of features in building advanced visualizations and dashboards, so if your business needs something more complex than what Tableau offers, I recommend checking out this platform first!
Conclusion
So, which tool do you think is the best for your business? Since both tools are renowned in the data visualization market, it will be up to what you intend to use them for. Hopefully, by comparing the two tools in this article, you’ve been able to determine which one is best suited for your needs.
