Zoho Analytics vs Qlik

In the following discussion, we will explore the features of two notable products in data analysis and reporting: Zoho Analytics and Qlik. We intend to explore and evaluate the main features and advantages of each tool in detail. In addition, this review considers the benefits and drawbacks associated with these tools. By the end of this analysis, readers will have a comprehensive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of these products, allowing them to make informed decisions based on their specific needs.

What is Zoho Analytics and Qlik?

Zoho Analytics is a sophisticated self-service business intelligence (BI) and data analytics software. It enables users to analyze data, generate impressive data visualizations, and uncover hidden insights quickly. This software is designed to transform raw data into actionable insights efficiently. It allows users to fetch data from various sources, analyze it visually, and make informed, data-driven decisions. Zoho Analytics supports the creation of visualizations and dashboards, offering detailed insights and analysis of an organization’s business data. This is achieved through a self-service model, eliminating the need for IT assistance or data analysts, thanks to its extensive automation capabilities. Users can process large datasets, clean and blend data, perform analytical tasks, and visualize results in dynamic graphics. It also offers flexible deployment options, both on-premise and in the cloud.

Qlik, originally known as Qliktech, is a business analytics platform provider founded in 1993 in Lund, Sweden. Now based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA, Qlik offers products like Qlik Replicate and Qlik Sense. Qlik's software specializes in business intelligence and data integration. The platform is notable for its Associative Engine, which allows users to perform big data analytics by combining multiple data sources, revealing associations and connections across data. Qlik Sense, the current cloud-based software, and QlikView, the legacy on-premise product, operate on this engine. Qlik Sense enables the concatenation of different data sources, allowing detailed drill-down on individual data records. Qlik's offerings extend beyond these main products, with tools for data catalog management, analytics development, and third-party developer extensions for enhanced visualization capabilities.

Core Values of the Two Products

The Core Values of Zoho Analytics

1. Data Integration and Management: Zoho Analytics allows integration with over 250+ data sources, including spreadsheets, databases, and business applications. It offers powerful data import and integration APIs, enabling users to analyze data from various offline and online applications. The platform also includes Zoho DataPrep for data cleansing, transformation, enrichment, and management. This facilitates better analysis by improving data quality and accessibility​​.

2. Visual and Augmented Analytics: The platform excels in data visualization, providing a range of tools for creating insightful reports and dashboards. Zoho Analytics also employs augmented analytics using AI, ML, and natural language processing, enabling users to generate automated reports, predictive analytics, and conduct what-if analyses. The platform’s conversational analytics feature, Ask Zia, allows users to interact with data in a colloquial manner and get relevant reports​​.

3. Unified Business Insights: Zoho Analytics unifies business data across various organizational functions, offering pre-built integrations and analytics. This supports seamless data blending from multiple applications, enabling comprehensive business insights and custom reporting to suit specific needs​​.

4. Collaboration and Data Storytelling: The software emphasizes collaborative analytics, allowing users to share reports and dashboards, control access, and engage in contextual conversations. Additionally, Zoho Analytics facilitates data storytelling, enabling users to craft immersive presentations and purpose-built data analytics portals, thus enhancing the data analytics process

The Core Values of Qlik

Qlik's product range is centered around several core values:

1. AI-Driven Analytics: At the heart of Qlik's offerings is the integration of AI to enhance the analytics experience. This AI-powered approach allows users of all skill levels to obtain insights and predictions, aiding in intelligent decision-making. The AI capabilities extend to no-code, automated machine learning for analytics teams, and tools for predictive analytics​​​​.

2. Comprehensive Data Integration and Movement: Qlik emphasizes seamless data integration. This includes data movement and streaming, warehouse automation, transformation, and application automation. By providing these tools, Qlik ensures users can manage and utilize their data effectively across various scenarios​​​​.

3. Cloud-Native Solutions: The company has embraced a cloud-native approach, particularly with Qlik Sense, to offer powerful solutions for modern business intelligence (BI). This strategy leverages the flexibility and scalability of cloud computing to enhance data analytics and business insights​​.

4. Flexible Data Analytics Products: Qlik's Associative Engine is a pivotal feature, allowing users to conduct extensive data analytics by linking various data sources to discover underlying connections. This engine powers both Qlik Sense and QlikView, catering to different user needs while maintaining a consistent analytical approach​​.

5. Extensibility and Customization: Qlik provides a platform that supports third-party developer add-ons, which extend Qlik Sense's visualization capabilities. This extensibility is a testament to the product’s flexibility, allowing users to tailor the platform to their specific requirements​​.

Pros and Cons

The Pros of Zoho Analytics

1. Robust Features and Flexibility: Zoho Analytics offers robust features, flexible deployment options, and integration with over 500 third-party applications, making it a versatile choice for businesses​​.
2. Intuitive Interface with Minimal Training Needed: The platform is praised for its intuitive interface, which requires minimal training, facilitating ease of use​​.
3. Customizable and Comprehensive: It provides advanced features like AI-powered insights and allows for the creation of custom reports with minimal effort, demonstrating its comprehensiveness and adaptability​​.
4. Wide Range of Data Sources: The platform supports a wide array of data sources, making it easy to connect to various databases and external sources​​.
5. Live Dashboards and Flexibility: Zoho Analytics is highly flexible, offering features like live dashboards where users can drill down into information, enhancing data visualization and interaction​​.

The Pros of Qlik

1. Adaptability and Customization: Qlik Sense is adaptable with certified and officially maintained extensions, providing robust customization options.
2. Efficiency and Self-Service Capabilities: The software is known for its efficiency gains, strong technology, and excellent self-service capabilities which enable easy use and significant time savings.
3. Community and Learning Resources: It offers extensive learning materials and has a supportive community, which is beneficial for users at all levels.
4. Data Integration and Analytics: Qlik Sense excels in integrating data from multiple sources, enabling users to easily relate and analyze data, which is particularly useful for business applications.
5. Performance and Ease of Use: Users appreciate the platform's speed in analyzing and associating large volumes of data, its intuitive UI, and the ease of developing dashboard reports.

The Cons of Zoho Analytics

1. User Interface Complexity: The user interface has been described as not very intuitive and clustered, which can make it difficult to use and understand​​.
2. Cost: While powerful, Zoho Analytics can be quite costly, which might be a concern for some users​​.

The Cons of Qlik

1. Customization Limitations: Advanced customization often requires integration with third-party applications, and the platform has limited options for formatting visualizations and text within tables and charts.
2. Technical Challenges: Users have reported issues with the software slowing down when compiling large datasets and difficulties in creating connections to uncommon databases.

Summary

Zoho Analytics stands out as a robust and versatile BI tool, adept at transforming complex data into comprehensible insights. While it offers an array of advanced features and significant flexibility, potential users should be mindful of its cost and the learning curve associated with its comprehensive interface. Overall, Zoho Analytics presents as a formidable ally for businesses seeking to harness the power of data in their strategic decision-making processes.

Qlik stands as a robust and versatile business intelligence platform that has significantly contributed to the evolution of data analytics. Its core strengths lie in AI-driven analytics, comprehensive data integration, and cloud-native solutions, providing users with powerful tools for data analysis and decision-making. However, it faces challenges in customization limitations and technical complexities. Overall, Qlik represe