QlikView vs Grafana: A Detailed Comparison
Introduction
Choosing the right tool for business intelligence and data visualization is crucial for effective decision-making. Qlikview and Grafana are two popular options, each with its own strengths in handling data analytics and reporting.
While Qlikview is known for its comprehensive feature set that caters to enterprise-level data discovery, Grafana excels in creating interactive and real-time dashboards, particularly for monitoring metrics. However, businesses may seek alternatives that combine ease of use with powerful analytics capabilities.
In this comparison, we'll delve into the functionalities of both Qlikview and Grafana and highlight how Sourcetable offers a modernized, spreadsheet-like interface that syncs with your data, serving as a versatile alternative for business intelligence tasks.
What is QlikView?
QlikView is a guided analytics solution designed for the rapid development and delivery of analytics applications and dashboards. It is recognized for its powerful associative engine, which allows for the on-the-fly generation of new data views, facilitating an interactive and associative experience in data analysis.
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QlikView is a guided analytics solution designed for the rapid development and delivery of analytics applications and dashboards. It is recognized for its powerful associative engine, which allows for the on-the-fly generation of new data views, facilitating an interactive and associative experience in data analysis.
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Core Features
- Associative engine that generates new data views dynamically.
- In-memory data compression to enable fast data exploration by multiple users.
- Direct connection capabilities to various data sources.
- Provides an unconstrained associative experience across all data used for analysis.
- Offers flexibility in data exploration without limiting users to predefined drill paths or dashboards.
What is Grafana?
Grafana is a multifaceted tool designed for the visualization and monitoring of a diverse range of data, including metrics, logs, traces, and profiles. It facilitates the observation and interpretation of data stemming from various sources.
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Grafana is a multifaceted tool designed for the visualization and monitoring of a diverse range of data, including metrics, logs, traces, and profiles. It facilitates the observation and interpretation of data stemming from various sources.
With compatibility for data sources like Prometheus, Graphite, AWS, Zabbix, and others, Grafana serves as a versatile platform for data analysis. The tool is widely adopted, with over 20 million users globally, who benefit from its capacity to be self-managed.
Grafana's free tier provides users with 10k series Prometheus metrics, 50GB each for logs, traces, and profiles, 500VUh for k6 testing, along with access to over 20 data source plugins. This makes it an accessible choice for individuals and organizations alike.
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Key Features of QlikView
First Analytics Solution |
QlikView pioneered the analytics solution space, setting the stage for subsequent innovations in data analysis. |
Associative Engine |
The associative engine is the core feature that differentiates QlikView, enabling complex data analysis through intuitive associations. |
Intuitive Visual Discovery |
QlikView's intuitive visual discovery facilitates immediate insight into data patterns and correlations, enhancing user experience. |
Qlik Cloud Analytics and Qlik Sense Integration |
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Key Features of Grafana
Data Visualization and Correlation |
Query and visualize metrics to understand complex data. Correlate data across different sources for a unified view. |
Log Management |
Grafana provides log aggregation capabilities, enabling efficient log analysis. |
Tracing and Monitoring |
Supports distributed tracing to track request flows and synthetic monitoring for proactive issue identification. |
Extensive Integration |
Integrates with over 60 data sources, complemented by a range of data source plugins. |
Interoperability |
Seamlessly switch between metrics, logs, and traces for a cohesive monitoring experience. |
Advantages of Qlikview for Business Intelligence
Efficient Data Analysis
Qlikview's dynamic dashboards streamline data interpretation, enhancing the speed and efficiency of business intelligence tasks.
Enhanced Collaboration
Facilitating teamwork, Qlikview allows multiple users to collaborate on data-driven decisions, improving organizational synergy.
Implementation and Usability
The tool's simplicity ensures easy implementation and use, reducing the complexity often associated with BI software.
Security and Performance
Qlikview provides robust data security features, safeguarding sensitive information. Its high-speed performance and in-memory technology ensure quick data processing.
Data Handling
Effective data compression techniques paired with strong data visualization capabilities allow for advanced data management and presentation.
Cost Efficiency
With its cost-effective nature, Qlikview delivers a competitive edge in business intelligence without significant investment.
Disadvantages of Using Qlikview for Business Intelligence
Inefficiency with Real-Time Data
Qlikview may not perform optimally for real-time data analysis, which can lead to delays in decision-making.
Technical Expertise Requirement
Developing applications within Qlikview requires a significant level of technical expertise, potentially increasing the learning curve and resource investment.
Integration Challenges
Embedding Qlikview with other software systems may not be seamless, possibly affecting the overall user experience and integration with existing IT infrastructure.
Customer Support Issues
There are indications of Qlikview providing poor customer support, which could result in longer resolution times for technical issues.
Outdated Tools and Interfaces
Qlikview's tools and interfaces may be perceived as outdated, which could impact user adoption and efficiency.
Cost Implications for SMBs
The cost of Qlikview may be prohibitive for small or medium-sized businesses, making it a less viable option compared to other BI tools.
User Satisfaction
Qlikview may have received poor ratings in surveys, suggesting lower user satisfaction in comparison to competitive BI solutions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Qlikview
Can QlikView handle large datasets?
Yes, QlikView can handle a few million rows of typical transaction data on a PC with 512MB of RAM, and up to one billion rows of transaction data on large servers.
How does QlikView manage memory usage?
QlikView uses 3-4 times as much memory when running a script as when working in the layout.
Can QlikView automatically join fields from different sources?
Yes, QlikView can automatically join fields with the same name and can join fields with different names using an alias or AS statement.
How can I share QlikView documents with others?
QlikView can be shared with others using QlikView Server or QlikView Publisher.
Is it possible to control user access to a QlikView document?
Yes, QlikView can limit who can use a document using section access.
Use Cases for Qlikview
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Improving efficiency, customer service, and sales
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Simplifying analytics through a company-wide portal
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Boosting operational success
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Lowering costs and reducing effort to convert loan prospects
Benefits of Grafana for Business Intelligence
Comprehensive Service Tiers
Grafana provides a tiered service offering, including a free tier with core features suitable for small-scale business intelligence tasks. For more extensive usage, the Pro and Advanced tiers offer increased limits and 24x7 support, catering to enterprise-scale usage with volume discounts.
Managed Services for Data Analytics
Grafana's fully managed metrics, logs, and traces services facilitate business reporting and analytics. These services are scalable, cost-effective, and easy to use, ensuring businesses only pay for useful data while optimizing cost.
Advanced Tooling for Performance Insights
Tools like Grafana's continuous profiling and real user monitoring provide code-level visibility and actionable insights into application performance and end-user experience, essential for data-driven business intelligence.
Enterprise-Grade Features
Disadvantages of Using Grafana for Business Intelligence
Steep Learning Curve
Beginners may find Grafana's documentation confusing, which contributes to a steep learning curve when creating dashboards for reporting and data analytics.
Complex Alert Configuration
The complication of Grafana's notification alert message templates can be a hurdle, making the process of setting up alerts for business metrics unduly complex.
Lack of Log Analysis Support
Grafana does not support log analysis, which is a significant limitation for businesses that require integrated log data insights for comprehensive intelligence.
Command Line Configuration
Configuration settings in Grafana require the use of a command line text editor, potentially slowing down setup and adjustments for users not familiar with command line operations.
Frequently Asked Questions About Grafana
Will the mainstage sessions of GrafanaCONline be available after the event?
Yes, all mainstage sessions will be recorded and published after the conference for on-demand viewing.
Do I need to download any software to watch the content at GrafanaCONline?
No downloads are needed to access the content; it will be streamed through the GrafanaCONline site.
How can I ask questions during GrafanaCONline?
Various ways to ask questions will be provided, including facilitating chats in their community Slack during the event.
Do I need to register to attend the workshops at GrafanaCONline?
Yes, you will need to register for a workshop if you plan to attend one.
What should I do if I have a press inquiry for GrafanaCONline?
Press inquiries can be directed to dan.jensen@grafana.com.
Use Cases for Grafana
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Monitoring and analyzing website performance
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Achieving full stack observability
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Consolidating various metrics and logs for unified analysis
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Conducting troubleshooting and diagnostics
Why Sourcetable is a Superior Choice for Business Intelligence
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Simplified Data Integration
Sourcetable streamlines business intelligence by integrating data from multiple services into a singular, spreadsheet-like interface. This simplification contrasts with QlikView's associative engine and Grafana's dashboard-focused approach, which require more complex setups for data synchronization.
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User-Friendly Interface
The intuitive, spreadsheet-like interface of Sourcetable lowers the barrier to entry for users, making it more accessible than both QlikView and Grafana. It allows for quick adoption and reduces the need for specialized training.
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Efficient Reporting and Analytics
Sourcetable enhances productivity by enabling efficient reporting and analytics. This effectiveness is achieved without the need for the in-depth configuration that QlikView and Grafana demand, thus saving time and resources.
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Real-Time Collaboration
While QlikView and Grafana offer real-time collaboration and action, Sourcetable provides an equally competitive collaborative environment within its spreadsheet-like framework, facilitating teamwork and decision-making.
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Cost-Effective Solution
Sourcetable offers a cost-effective alternative to QlikView and Grafana by minimizing the need for additional tools or platforms for data analysis and reporting, potentially reducing overall software expenditure.
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Comparison of Qlikview and Grafana
Qlikview and Grafana are both analytics solutions that provide visual data discovery. They enable organizations to visualize and understand their data better for informed decision-making. Both solutions offer dashboards for displaying data in an interactive and intuitive manner, allowing users to quickly gain insights. They support real-time data analysis, fostering an environment for immediate action and collaboration.
Qlikview and Grafana are both analytics solutions that provide visual data discovery. They enable organizations to visualize and understand their data better for informed decision-making. Both solutions offer dashboards for displaying data in an interactive and intuitive manner, allowing users to quickly gain insights. They support real-time data analysis, fostering an environment for immediate action and collaboration.
Visual Discovery and Dashboards
Real-time Data Analysis
Collaboration Features
QlikView vs. Grafana
Deployment and Usage
QlikView offers both cloud-based SaaS deployments via Qlik Cloud Analytics and on-premises solutions with Qlik Sense, catering to a variety of business needs. Grafana, primarily known for its open-source analytics and monitoring platform, is often self-hosted, though it also provides Grafana Cloud, a managed service.
Data Processing Engine
QlikView employs an associative engine for data processing, revolutionizing the way organizations use data by allowing for intuitive visual discovery. Grafana does not have its own data processing engine and instead connects to various data sources for visualization purposes.
Data Discovery and Visualization
QlikView focuses on business intelligence, enhancing human intuition with AI-powered insights, and promoting real-time collaboration and action. Grafana is used primarily for time-series analytics, monitoring, and alerting, with dashboards that are highly customizable and capable of displaying a wide range of data metrics.
Intended User Base
QlikView puts business intelligence in the hands of more people, aiming for a broader business audience seeking insights from their data. Grafana is more specialized for IT professionals and engineers who need to monitor systems and infrastructure.
Integration with AI
QlikView integrates AI to provide insights and enhance visual discovery, while Grafana lacks built-in AI capabilities and instead focuses on visualization of data from connected data sources.
QlikView vs Grafana vs Sourcetable
QlikView
QlikView is Qlik's first analytics solution featuring an associative engine, which transformed organizational data usage. It enables visual discovery and broadens the accessibility of business intelligence.
Grafana
Grafana is an open-source platform for monitoring and observability. It offers powerful and elegant visualization options for metrics, logs, and traces. Unlike QlikView, Grafana is not primarily a business intelligence tool but excels in time-series data analysis. It lacks an associative engine for data discovery.
Sourcetable
Sourcetable is a spreadsheet interface that integrates with various data sources. While it facilitates data analysis like QlikView, it does not have an associative engine or AI-driven insights. Its strength lies in its familiar spreadsheet format and ease of use for data manipulation and visualization.
Comparison
Contrast
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Frequently Asked Questions About Sourcetable
What is Sourcetable and who is it for?
Sourcetable is a spreadsheet application that allows users to access data from most 3rd party applications, query data, and build live models. It is designed for growth teams, business operations teams, and anyone who needs to centralize, analyze, and model data that updates over time.
How does Sourcetable sync data and how often does it update?
Sourcetable syncs data from over 100 applications and most databases. Data integrations update every 15 minutes on the regular plan and every 5 minutes on the pro plan.
Do users need to code to use Sourcetable?
No, Sourcetable does not require coding, allowing users to easily query data and build models without needing programming skills.
How much does Sourcetable cost and is there a free trial?
Sourcetable costs $50 per month for the starter plan and $250 per month for the pro plan. All plans have a 14-day free trial period.
How quickly can users start creating reports with Sourcetable?
Users can start creating reports within minutes of using Sourcetable.
Qlikview Cost Analysis
Qlikview offers tiered pricing plans to accommodate different data analysis needs. Each plan includes a set of features designed for varying business sizes and requirements.
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Qlikview offers tiered pricing plans to accommodate different data analysis needs. Each plan includes a set of features designed for varying business sizes and requirements.
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Standard Plan
The Standard Plan is the entry-level option requiring a minimum of 20 full users. It provides 25 GB/year of data for analysis and enables users to connect and combine hundreds of data sources. This plan also includes interactive data visualizations, dashboards, augmented analytics with AI, options for team collaboration, and round-the-clock customer support.
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Premium Plan
Qlikview's Premium Plan extends the features of the Standard Plan by doubling the data capacity to 50 GB/year. Additional capabilities include automated report generation, predictive analytics with automated machine learning, and no-code automation builder triggers. Enhanced data governance and a personalized customer success plan are also part of this package.
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Enterprise Plan
The Enterprise Plan is suited for large-scale data analysis, offering a significant increase in data capacity with 500 GB/year. It encompasses all features of the Premium Plan, ensuring scalability and advanced analytics for enterprise-level requirements.
All plans alert users as they approach their capacity limit, ensuring uninterrupted data analysis and management.
Grafana Cloud Pricing
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Free and Free Tier Options
Grafana Cloud offers a free starting option and maintains a free tier that is free forever. The free tier includes limits within which there are no charges.
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Paid Plans and Usage-Based Pricing
Grafana Cloud Advanced starts at $299 per month, offering additional features. Pricing is usage-based across various services, including metrics, logs, traces, and user activity. Charges for metrics are $8 per 1k series, while logs and traces cost $0.50 per GB ingested. Active user charges are $8 or $55 with Enterprise plugins.
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Synthetics and Performance Testing
Synthetics are billed at $5 per 10k test executions. Performance testing using k6 is charged at $0.15 per Virtual User hour (VUh).
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Enterprise Solutions and Volume Discounts
Grafana Cloud offers volume discounts for enterprise-scale usage. Specific pricing details for volume discounts are available upon contacting Grafana directly.
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Grafana Cloud Pro and Pro Advanced
- Grafana Cloud Pro operates on a pay-as-you-go model.
- Both Grafana Cloud Pro and Pro Advanced are priced at $5 per 10k test executions.
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Additional Charges
- Frontend observability is billed at $0.90 per 1k sessions.
- Incident Response Management (IRM) costs $20 per active user.
For usage beyond the free tier, charges apply based on the consumption of resources and services.
User Reviews of QlikView
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Overall Impressions
QlikView has garnered an overall rating of 4.3, reflecting a positive reception among users. Its functionality scores higher with a 4.5 rating, while ease-of-use, customer support, and value for money have secured a solid 4. While users find it versatile for data visualization and adept at combining data sources for complex reports, they also note performance issues such as slow response with heavy data volumes and delays in real-time data sync.
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Functionality and Use Cases
As a powerful Business Intelligence (BI) tool, QlikView is frequently used for visualizing data and creating sales and inventory dashboards. However, its data visualization options, although nice, are considered not the best in class. QlikView's interface, described as clunky and less user-friendly with certain data sources, can be a hindrance to users. Despite this, its ability to automate report distribution and creation, coupled with customization options using VBA or other programming languages, is highly valued.
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Ease of Use and Performance
Users report that QlikView is easy to implement and fast in processing data, thanks to its in-memory processing. The software's intuitive interface contributes to its ease of use, although there are mixed reviews regarding UI and user-friendliness. Some users find the tool expensive and lacking in visualization capabilities when compared to alternatives like Qlik Sense, Tableau, and PowerBI.
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Community and Support
QlikView boasts a wide user group over the internet, which includes a support forum. This community is particularly beneficial for students writing a thesis, as QlikView is considered great for academic purposes. Moreover, users appreciate the value it provides, despite not allowing the export of a list of currently licensed users or write-back to the database.
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Comparisons and Limitations
When compared to other BI tools, users note that QlikView is not as good as its sibling Qlik Sense, or other competitors like Tableau and PowerBI, especially in terms of detailed reporting and visualization capabilities. The inability to integrate R for advanced analytics is also seen as a drawback.
User Reviews of Grafana
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Overview of User Sentiment
Reviewers consistently rate Grafana positively, noting its ease of use, extensive features, and strong capabilities in monitoring and data visualization.
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Usability
Many users find Grafana user-friendly and appreciate its ease of integration with tools like Zabbix. However, some users mention that setting up Grafana and creating dashboards can be unintuitive and challenging for beginners.
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Functionality
Grafana is recognized for its robust monitoring functions and effective data visualization. Reviewers highlight Grafana's feature set but also point out that it lacks granular permissions and has limited dashboard organization.
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Customer Service and Value
Customer service is highly regarded, with an average rating of 4.0 out of 5.0. Reviewers are particularly satisfied with Grafana's value for money, giving it a perfect score of 5.0 out of 5.0.
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Recommendation Likelihood
The likelihood to recommend Grafana is high, with an average rating of 90% from reviewers.
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Areas for Improvement
- Initial setup and dashboard creation are areas where some users face difficulties.
- Integrating Grafana with other tools can be cumbersome according to some reviews.
Conclusion
In summary, Qlikview and Grafana serve distinct purposes in business intelligence. Qlikview is robust in data discovery and visualization, while Grafana excels in time-series data analytics and monitoring.
For organizations looking for a more simplified approach to business intelligence, Sourcetable offers a solution that syncs data in real-time across various services into a user-friendly spreadsheet interface.
This approach can streamline data analysis and reporting processes, potentially reducing the learning curve associated with more complex BI tools.
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