Executive Insights and Trends

Feb 26, 2025

Yes, Qlik Has Changed - And That’s Exactly the Point

Headshot of blog author Brendan Grady. He has short brown hair, glasses, and a short beard, He is wearing a dark zip-up sweater over a checkered shirt, standing indoors with a blurred background.

Brendan Grady

3 min read

Blog promotional image with text that reads "Yes, Qlik Has Changed - And That’s Exactly the Point" by Brendan Grady

I recently saw a post on LinkedIn that said, “Qlik isn’t the same company it was in 2016.”

I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t meant as a compliment. But here’s the thing: they’re right. And that’s a good thing.
Because if we were the same company we were in 2016, we wouldn’t be prepared for the challenges businesses are facing today.

The world of data and AI has changed. Businesses have changed. So, of course, Qlik has changed too.

Or, as Jack Welch put it: “Change before you have to.”

Rewind to 2016…

The world looked a little different back then.

Businesses were embracing visual analytics – self-service analytics, dashboards and charts were revolutionary. AI? Still a futuristic concept for most companies. Cloud was gaining traction, but on-prem ruled the day in many industries.

Fast forward to today, and it’s a completely different ballgame.

Data isn’t just growing—it’s exploding. It’s spread across multiple clouds, on-prem, SaaS apps, and streaming sources, making it harder than ever to manage and trust.

AI isn’t optional anymore. It’s woven into everyday business, and companies that don’t use it effectively will fall behind. Cloud costs are out of control. AI requires massive compute power, and businesses are struggling to scale without breaking the bank.

Organizations are facing a new reality: AI is only as powerful as the data behind it. But data alone isn’t enough—governing policies, AI models, and advanced analytics are just as essential. And to truly scale AI affordably and effectively, a strong infrastructure and a clear strategy are non-negotiable.

And that’s exactly why Qlik had to evolve.

From Data-Driven to AI-Enabled

Being “data-driven” used to be enough. Not anymore. Companies today don’t just need to analyze data. They need to activate it.

They need to:

  • Unify data—so it’s not scattered across dozens of disconnected tools.

  • Ensure trust and quality—because bad data or bad models = bad AI.

  • Embed AI into decision-making—not just generate reports.

  • Optimize cloud costs—because budgets aren’t unlimited

But here’s the problem…there’s a few things holding businesses back…

  • Runaway Costs – Cloud expenses are rising 30% per year. Add AI investments, and companies are feeling the squeeze.

  • Lagging Productivity and Underutilized AI – Too many AI projects stall out because businesses don’t have the right data foundation or internal skills to scale them.

  • Roadblocks to Trusted Insights – Garbage in, garbage out. If your AI is trained on bad data or using a bad model, your insights won’t just be wrong—they’ll be actively misleading.

And this is exactly why we’ve transformed Qlik into a true end-to-end data and AI platform.

How Qlik Has Changed (And Why It Matters)

If you still think of Qlik as just a data visualization company, it’s time for a fresh look. We’ve expanded to tackle the full data, analytics, and AI value chain - from ingestion and transformation to AI-powered insights and automating decisions.

And the results? Just ask our customers:

  • Edeka optimizes its supply chain with a 30-second real-time refresh on goods receipts.

  • Vale realized $600M in savings in its first year using Qlik for planning and sales optimization.

  • Honda cut its material production planning time from a month to a single day.

And we’re not stopping there. With our recent acquisition of Upsolver, we’re doubling down on real-time data streaming and Apache Iceberg optimization—giving businesses even more agility in an AI-first world.

The Future: AI-Enabled, Not Just AI-Aware

The race isn’t about building the best AI model.

It’s about operationalizing AI the fastest—with the best data foundation.

That’s why Qlik has changed. Because businesses don’t need more fragmented tools. They need a partner that helps them bring it all together.

So yeah, we’re not the same company we were in 2016.

We’re built for now. And ready for what’s next. 🚀

Ready to get started?