QlikView vs WebFOCUS

QlikView is one of the foremost BI solutions in the market today, mainly due to the power of its associative query engine to link data from multiple sources that drives its visually impressive dashboards. With its strong data visualization capabilities, users can perform search and filter through data on-the-fly and conduct deep-dives to glean insights that matter to them. With a fast setup, users can have their first data model up and running in very little time. The software resides in-memory and houses data in RAM for quicker retrieval. With multi-tier access permissions for in-organization users, it enables users to view executive summaries at a glance, while allowing them to drill-down into data to find out more. Sadly, Qlik is now scaling back on improvements and updates for QlikView and focusing on promoting QlikSense instead, a possible reason why its filter and search functions, ad-hoc reporting and graphics are lagging in terms of quality, as mentioned in many user reviews. Also, this platform can prove to be resource-heavy for databases housed on local machines, especially when performing batch update jobs. In addition to inflexible pricing plans and the cost of licensing, quite a few necessary add-ons are paid. In summary, QlikView is one of the leading in-memory BI tools available in the market today and rates excellently with users in terms of data aggregation and visualization capabilities; however, buyers should factor in its pricing plans and other limitations when searching for the perfect BI solution for their enterprise.

WebFOCUS offers a feature-rich business intelligence data and analytics platform that unlocks actionable insights and the power of decision-making for users throughout an organization. Rated highly for ease of use by most reviewers, it empowers self-service data discovery with a user-friendly UI that enables drag-and-drop data analysis and visualization; some users noted that this UI looks outdated, especially compared to those of competitors. The platform offers a wide range of prebuilt data visualizations that users can further customize if necessary. This platform excels at creating and designing reports, then distributing them either at-will or through the automated scheduling tool, as noted by a majority of users who reviewed reporting. Most notably, the platform has an outstanding support team - all of the users who reviewed its support expressed satisfaction with their proactive, responsive assistance, citing the vendor’s dedication to the success of their customers as notably apparent. Customers can tailor the platform to their needs, as its flexibility allows for customized solutions. Frequent updates add value over time, though some users remarked that these sometimes break features from older versions. Other performance issues noted in reviews include lags when performing complex queries, infrequent crashes, slow load times and issues when accessing the platform from specific devices or browsers. While easy to pick up and use, especially for the end-user, some reviewers said that there is a learning curve to master the many features of this tool — a few users noted that this learning curve lasted a few months for some team members in their organizations. Overall, WebFOCUS is a worthy pick for self-service data visualization and reporting, especially in the hands of an organization willing to invest the resources and time to make it shine.