Partner Success Story - Plozner Engineering

In which use case was iVIEW Library implemented?

‘One of my customers - a global service provider in the life science and consulting sector with around 250 employees - uses QlikView and Qlik Sense in parallel. This means that key figures are shown in both QlikView and Qlik Sense. The challenge was to ensure that the key figures were consistent in both Qlik systems. The customer operates a large number of applications in Qlik Sense, 16 in total, and most of these applications are based on the same data model. This means that the same master item can be used for different applications. The efficient management and distribution of these master items is challenging when you consider that an application contains around 1,500 master items such as variables, dimensions and key figures. 

There are no master items in QlikView, only variables. For these, too, the requirement was that if they use the same data model, they are consistent with the variables used on the Qlik Sense side. 

The customer is also already using a very early version of Qlik Sense. It was not yet possible to reference other master items in the master item area. Logically, therefore, a copy of the master items was always created. With 16 applications, each with around 1500 master items in different copies, it was actually impossible to keep track of whether the data or the key figures were still consistent.

I therefore needed a solution to ensure the consistency of around 1,500 variables, dimensions and key figures across two platforms and 16 applications. I also had to harmonise the many copies of the master items I just mentioned. Both tasks were impossible without a software tool.’

What convinced you that iVIEW Library is the right tool for harmonising and creating consistency? What convinced you that iVIEW Library is the right tool for harmonising and creating consistency?

‘Firstly, iVIEW Library is already a well-established, enterprise-ready tool that is continuously being developed and for which Informatec offers professional, readily available support.

The licence model is designed to be flexible and scalable to accommodate different company sizes and use cases. It is possible to start small, test with a free trial version and expand usage over time. The number of Qlik users does not matter. For very large company implementations (100+ users), iVIEW offers customised price packages. In addition, iVIEW supports both cloud and on-premises deployment options, giving organisations flexibility in implementing the solution. 

Another added value for me is that I can quickly create an inventory by pulling all master items from all applications. For master items with identical names, I can check expressions for consistency and compare colour schemes and formats. This is important for maintaining a standardised corporate design, for example. Key figures can also be flexibly integrated. It is possible to integrate all available metrics into the desired target applications as well as only selected indicators.

The greatest benefit is the efficient management of master items, which is only possible with iVIEW Library. I have a clear list of all master items at my disposal. With just a few clicks, I can ensure that all variables, dimensions and key figures are the same in all applications within ten minutes.

Another advantage is the search and filter options within the library. It is also possible to synchronise expressions between the app and the iVIEW library. This allows me to transfer newly created or improved expressions directly from the app to the library and vice versa.’

How exactly do you use iVIEW Library to ensure the consistency of variables in QlikView with Qlik Sense?

‘The data model of the applications in Qlik Sense is the same as in QlikView. The entire ETL logic is mapped in QlikView. The QlikView application reads the variable definitions from the iVIEW Library database. This ensures that the variables in QlikView also contain the same expressions.’ 

How do partners benefit from iVIEW as an addition to the QlikView and Qlik Sense portfolio?

‘iVIEW enables partners to expand their range of services and thus generate new business opportunities. In addition, customer requirements can be fulfilled more efficiently. A very important aspect from my point of view: iVIEW Library helps to build trust between partners and customers: With iVIEW Library, I can offer our customers complete transparency when it comes to the formation and use of key figures. Let's take a meeting with my customer's CFO as an example. He noticed an incorrect key figure in an app. I then opened iVIEW Library and showed him the stored expression directly on the screen. Together we were able to see that the formula was incorrect and how it needed to be corrected. The CFO understood immediately and recognised the need for correction. As a partner, I have to be able to justify necessary work if I want to gain my customer's trust. In this case, he could see for himself that a change was necessary. I made the correction in the library and was then able to roll it out across all affected applications at lightning speed. This saves time and ensures consistency in all systems, meaning my work is more efficient, which of course also benefits the customer.’

iVIEW Library is just one of the modules of the iVIEW Data Automation Framework. Is it conceivable for you to use other modules in the customer project?

‘If the customer is planning a complete migration from QlikView to Qlik Sense, I can very well imagine not only using iVIEW Library as a first step to convert the QlikView variables into Qlik Sense master items, but also iVIEW Dataflow. The component makes it possible to create complex ETL workflows without the need for in-depth programming knowledge. This is particularly valuable during migration, as it facilitates the transition from QlikView scripts to Qlik Sense data models.’ 

As a partner, would you recommend implementing iVIEW right from the start of a customer project, especially for new customers? Or, depending on the scenario, would you rather suggest iVIEW at a later stage for existing customers?

‘The decision to implement iVIEW from the very beginning or to propose it later depends heavily on the specific customer requirements, the future vision for the application, the overall strategy and the medium and long-term plans for expanding the BI landscape. If we recognise overlaps, a large number of key figures, consistency problems or definition conflicts between different stakeholders right from the start, I would definitely recommend introducing iVIEW Library immediately. In such cases, centralisation is clearly necessary and beneficial.

In existing Qlik projects without a library, we have often observed that key figures grow uncontrollably. After a certain time, it then becomes almost impossible to trace which definitions and expressions were used in which apps. Analysing this uncontrolled growth can take weeks or even months and often requires the use of countless Excel spreadsheets, which makes the situation even more chaotic. During this analysis phase, no changes may be made to the master items, which becomes problematic when new business requirements arise. This leads to collisions between analysis and development cycles and causes significant data quality and data governance issues. I then suggest introducing iVIEW Library to bring order back to the metrics and create a centralised, controlled environment for managing KPIs and definitions.’