Qlik has introduced Qlik Sense Desktop, a free version of its next-generation data visualisation application that delivers a simple drag-and-drop interface for business users to rapidly create interactive visualisations, reports, and dashboards.
Qlik Sense Desktop is the first commercially available release from the QlikView. Next project. It includes the Qlik patented data indexing engine to give users the unrestricted ability to explore their intuition and the relationships that exist in the data, uncovering the hidden associations and insights that may otherwise be overlooked.
Qlik Sense Desktop delivers an intuitive drag-and-drop user experience for data visualisation, exploration, and storytelling capabilities in a standalone, installed Windows client.
It allows for the assembly and navigation of visualisation apps that can be saved as local files to be shared and opened by other users. Novice users can get started by simply dragging an Excel document right into the application, or by tapping into multiple data sources used within the business. Qlik Sense Desktop is free for personal and business use, with no limits on the number of apps that can be created and no restrictions on file sharing.
The complete Qlik Sense offering, expected to be generally available in September 2014, will be server-based enabling server side development from any device, flexible mobile use, collaboration and sharing, custom development and data integration. It will also have key enterprise capabilities, data security, and data and application governance. All Qlik Sense offerings index the data to allow users to immediately begin exploring and visualising data.
“Qlik Sense Desktop is a great way to show people who are new to Qlik the power and control you can feel by exploring your own data to make it meaningful, visual, and even fun. Our continued commitment to simplicity and ease of use to put users in control is delivering on the promise of true self-service BI,” said Anthony Deighton, Qlik CTO and Senior Vice President of Products.
Capabilities of Qlik Sense Desktop include:
* Multiple data sources from simple Excel files to ODBC accessible databases can easily be brought into the Qlik Sense app.
* Drag-and-drop dashboard creation in minutes to build or extend visual analysis.
* Explore, associate, and combine information in new ways not possible in other products without starting over to create a new visualisation. Because it is powered by the Qlik data indexing engine and associative experience, users can dynamically explore and ask any question.
* Smart Search to simply type words or numbers to begin analysis of the entire data set.
* Intuitive Smart Visualisations offer cues to help novices explore patterns by dynamically updating and highlighting new information and associations.
* Data Storytelling to capture insights and share at a point in time in presentation format. Users can add commentary and narrative and drill down directly from the presentation to Qlik Sense data to answer questions on the fly.
In addition to offering Qlik Sense for interactive visualisation, Qlik will continue to offer its market-proven platform, QlikView, to provide application development that enables analysts with minimal development expertise to build and publish powerful analytical applications.
“QlikView brought BI out of the back-office, and into the front lines of business, as analysts created powerful guided analytics for every conceivable business process,” says Rick Jackson, Qlik CMO.
“With Qlik Sense, we now address the widespread desire for rapid data visualisation, dashboards, and visual reporting. This combination provides businesses with broader access to data visualisation and discovery that can be leveraged to improve both top-line and bottom-line results for any company.”
