"I would note, that ETL for me has always been easier with Power BI. The GUI approach helps with speed, then you can drop into the M language itself, which is very powerful."
I agree before Qlik Sense released Data Manager. But now I feel Data Manager is easier for beginners. And when a developer moves beyond this. I'm not a programmer but the Qlik Script was easy enough for me to learn. (It was the more complex Data transformations that I found very very difficult to get my head around). Whereas the M language look more difficult for me as a non programmer.
"One of the major pluses for Power BI is that you can see the data during the whole process is another big win for Power BI"
Agree this is great. It can also be seen in Data (in Power BI as opposed to Query Editor) But this can be done in Data Manager in Sense. Its a shame the full table can't be shown in Data Model Viewer. The small extract helps but really is not enough (I hope Qlik one day before long adds a button to view all data. Maybe under Data Model Viewer). But another option (that I do when needed) is to set up a new sheet / page, add a new straight table and filter by the table in fields and drag all the fields onto the table. It's a quick enough process.
"The fact that you can use the same ETL script between Power BI and Excel is amazing"
This is one of the big pluses for Power BI. It will attract Excel users to Power BI. Both are now first rate products but for the user (and for me this is key) I still prefer Qlik. By some distance still. But Power BI has certainly closed a large gap over the last year.
I appreciate the updates, my only comment is that it seems more of a Qlik vs Power Bi comparison, which in that it is great, reading your comments on Tableau it feels like you haven't spent a lot of time with their tools. Or have wanted to even dive in there, which, I get. It can be complex and deep.
Having spent 18 months developing in Tableau and now 6 plus months in Sense, Tableau is a superior overall tool, but that doesn't mean Qlik Sense is bad or not suitable. Tableau has a much higher ceiling and has a lot of creature comforts that I feel Qlik wants you to fill in with extensions, free and paid, or develop for yourselves.
I do appreciate the analysis though, it is insightful, especially with regards to Power Bi, because you really do need to do deeper dives to get in to the weeds.
We are using Qlik primarily because this was a View shop, so it made sense ( no pun intended ), but having come from a Tableau shop, they aren't in the same class, it's like saying a Toyato Camry and a Lexus ES/LS are the same thing, yes they are both cars, and they have a lot of similar features, but the Lexus is obviously a luxury model.
I have enjoyed learning Sense, but it feels limited, I kind of wish they had pulled more of the functionality from View in to the application. I often find myself thinking, I could do this more quickly and elegantly with Tableau, but I try to be egalitarian and equate that to familiarity as much as anything else. But there are just some things I can do in that application that I cannot easily do in Sense.
It is because for my needs these two are clearly the better solutions . For the reasons set out in my report.
"but having come from a Tableau shop, they aren't in the same class"
I don't agree. For the reasons given in my report. But its great that's its the right product for you. And now Qlik can cater in a larger installation for both Tableau and PBI users that want to do visualizations using these products by using Qliks data catalyst. Because the reality is people have different preferences. My view is Tableau is a limited overall BI solution but is great for developers (and maybe users 😁) who want to do fancy visualizations. But that's how life is. And if a developer has spending years becoming a Tableau desktop expert why throw this knowledge out the window.
But if I had the final say it would take some convincing that a fancy Tableau visualization can't be done better using the built-in Sense tables and charts. My view is some developers get carried away producing charts that are over the top.
Does anyone have a more current comparison of these products? There have been significant updates in all these products over the past 3 years. It would be beneficial to see also which has approached change & offered more relevant enhancements that are fully integrated in their design.
