QlikWorld 2023: Highlights and Key Takeaways

Industry conferences and events offer great opportunities to learn, network, and stay up-to-date with the latest trends and advancements in a particular field. QlikWorld 2023 was no exception. The event was attended by professionals from around the world and featured keynote speakers, breakout sessions, workshops, and a bustling expo hall including some of SME’s technology partners like AWS and Snowflake.

The breakout sessions and workshops provided attendees with opportunities to learn from other Qlik users and to develop their skills in areas such as data visualization, data modeling, and data storytelling. The sessions were designed to cater to different levels of expertise, ensuring that everyone had something to gain from the event.

New Product Releases and Updates

One of the most exciting aspects of QlikWorld was the new product releases and updates. Qlik did deep dives into several products and features designed to enhance the user experience and drive better outcomes for businesses and organizations.

Qlik Sense - while not a new product by any means, our team was excited to see more customization and flexibility in how you design your dashboards and sheets. Here are what we are most excited about:

• • Qlik Script will get built-in version control and multi-developer support.
  • New visualizations like the Gannt chart and self-service report.
  • Qlik Application Automation has essentially turned this into the command center orchestrator for Qlik Cloud and external applications. The SME Team was very impressed with how far this has come and how Qlik continues to invest in this by listening to customer use cases and integrations and deploying them as templates.

Access Control – while always part of the platform, we like to see the heavy focus on role-based access control (RBAC).

Qlik Cloud Data Integration (QDCI) - QCDI is the next iteration of Replicate and Compose and incorporates the main components, added cloud features, and made it a hybrid SaaS offering. Right now it supports Snowflake, Redshift, Synapse, BigQuery, Databricks, and Qlik Cloud Catalog as targets. The transformations are similar to other drag-and-drop, self-service ELT tools, but it is the additional out-of-the-box features like CDC, SCD Type 2 automation, and dim/fact building that sticks out to us.

Qlik Connector Factory – this greatly expanded the out-of-the-box connectors so companies can connect and combine data from hundreds of data sources – from apps and databases to cloud services and more.

Customer Success Stories

During the event, Qlik users shared several success stories and case studies that highlighted how its solutions are helping businesses and organizations achieve their goals. The stories showcased the power of data analytics and BI tools in driving business growth and improving decision-making. These three customer-led sessions stood out to us the most:

Analytics Maturity Model:

This session featured the analytics maturity model for a large logistics company. The key here is that they took a generic maturity model and made it their own and specific to their organization.

Modern Data Stack:

This session discussed the importance of modernizing data infrastructure to support the increasing demands of data analytics and BI. The speaker shared their experience and insights into how they transformed their organization's data stack, including data sources, data warehousing, data processing, and data visualization. The session highlighted the benefits of having a modern data stack, including improved data quality, faster data processing times, and more accurate insights.

Data Governance:

The session focused on the importance of data governance and how data lineage can be a valuable tool to support it. The speaker shared their experience and insights into how they implemented a data governance program using data lineage, including data mapping, data profiling, and data lineage analysis. The session highlighted the benefits of having a robust data governance program, including improved data quality, enhanced regulatory compliance, and better decision-making. Attendees gained valuable knowledge on how to leverage data lineage to enhance their data governance programs and build a culture of data trust within their organizations.

Qlik Sense Cloud (SaaS)/Migrations

Throughout QlikWorld 2023, attendees were introduced to the various features and benefits of Qlik Cloud, including Qlik Data Integration (QDI), AutoML, and Application Automation. These features are designed to simplify data management, enhance data analysis, and streamline application development, making them particularly appealing for businesses looking to modernize their data stack.

For organizations considering a move to Qlik Cloud, it is essential to assess their current infrastructure and data management needs to determine if the move is right for them. As such, attendees were encouraged to reach out to their current Qlik partners, like SME, to assess their specific requirements and discuss the potential benefits and challenges of migrating to Qlik Cloud.

By working with SME, organizations can gain valuable insights into how Qlik Cloud can support their data management and analysis needs, as well as how they can leverage features like QDI, AutoML, and Application Automation to enhance their data stack. This personalized approach to assessing the suitability of Qlik Cloud for an organization's specific needs can help businesses make informed decisions about their data management and analysis strategies and drive growth and success.

Conclusion

Overall, QlikWorld 2023 was a great success, offering attendees a range of opportunities to learn, network, and stay up-to-date with the latest trends and advancements in the data analytics and BI industry. Whether you are a seasoned professional or just starting your career in the field, attending events like QlikWorld can provide valuable insights and knowledge that can help you achieve your goals and drive business success.