Purpose

QlikView is a pioneering business intelligence (BI) and data visualisation platform developed by QlikTech International AB, designed to enable users to explore and analyse data intuitively. Its primary purpose is to provide an interactive, user-driven environment where data can be transformed into actionable insights. Unlike traditional query-based tools, QlikView employs an associative data model, allowing users to navigate information dynamically and discover hidden relationships within datasets.

The system was created to address the limitations of rigid, hierarchical data analysis processes that often hindered flexibility and speed in decision-making. Through its innovative in-memory technology, QlikView allows instant data retrieval and exploration, facilitating quick and efficient analytical reasoning. Its key purpose is to democratise data analysis, granting business users, students, and researchers the autonomy to interrogate data without depending solely on IT specialists.

QlikView aims to bridge the gap between raw data and strategic insight by turning complex datasets into visually interactive dashboards. It empowers users across sectors—corporate, academic, governmental, and research—to make informed decisions, enhance efficiency, and promote data literacy.

Release Date

QlikView was first launched in 1994 by QlikTech, a Swedish software company founded in Lund by Björn Berg and Staffan Gestrelius. Initially designed as a data discovery tool, it underwent several iterations before gaining international recognition in the early 2000s. Its commercial success accelerated with the release of QlikView 7 in 2005, which introduced the in-memory data processing architecture that remains central to its design.

Over time, QlikView evolved into one of the most powerful self-service BI tools, competing with platforms such as Tableau and Power BI. In 2014, Qlik introduced Qlik Sense, a more modern and self-service-oriented analytics tool built on the same QIX engine as QlikView but offering enhanced mobility, governance, and cloud capabilities. Despite the introduction of Qlik Sense, QlikView remains in active use, particularly among organisations that value its governed, guided analytics model.

Today, QlikView is recognised as a foundational BI platform that helped shape the modern analytics industry, laying the groundwork for Qlik’s subsequent innovations in associative analytics, augmented intelligence, and data integration.

Features

QlikView is distinguished by a robust suite of features that combine advanced analytics, data integration, and visual interactivity. Its most defining characteristics include:

1. Associative Data Model: Unlike traditional SQL-based tools, QlikView allows users to explore all possible associations in data rather than being restricted to predefined queries. This enables intuitive, flexible exploration of complex relationships.
2. In-Memory Technology: QlikView stores data in-memory, resulting in extremely fast response times and immediate recalculation of data visualisations when selections are made.
3. Guided Analytics: The platform enables developers to design highly controlled and interactive dashboards for end users, ensuring consistency in analysis while retaining flexibility.
4. Data Integration and Connectivity: QlikView supports connectivity to multiple data sources such as Excel, SQL databases, ERP systems, and cloud applications, ensuring comprehensive data integration.
5. Rich Visualisation Options: Users can design charts, tables, scatter plots, heat maps, and trend lines to visualise key metrics effectively.
6. Scripting and Customisation: The QlikView script editor allows data transformation, cleansing, and custom calculations, enabling more sophisticated analyses.
7. Security and Access Control: QlikView employs section access control, ensuring that users only view authorised data.
8. Collaboration Features: Reports and dashboards can be shared through QlikView Server and QlikView Publisher, facilitating collaborative decision-making.