Q2 Features Update: Collaborating With Data, Wherever It, or You, Are
The world loves to talk about data, and how valuable it is. Yet, what that really refers to is insights – data by itself is meaningless, and, only from being able to extract insights that you can do something with, does raw information have value.
That’s why that for all the digitalization of our lives, all the push for automation, we are not yet at a stage where data can, by itself, tell us what to do. There is still a need for a layer of deduction, beyond analysis, which takes the intelligence on show and translates it into something actionable.
It’s what my colleague Elif Tutuk referred to as “aha” moments. In a recent blog, she noted that “we've seen a growing use in machine learning and AI-assisted insight generation to augment information consumers. These capabilities accelerate a user’s ability to detect an outlier, make classifications, identify a trend and understand correlations. But these hidden patterns surfaced as information can only become an insight when they trigger an 'aha' moment for a given user at a given time.”
In other words, for all the tools and technologies, we need the human input as well. Or rather, the tools and technologies need to be able to incorporate and capture human input in a way that is shareable and accessible by all relevant users.
This was one of the founding principles of Qlik. Co-founder, Bjorn Berg, believed that you can capture a business moment and find the insight no-one else can see by bridging the gap between the data base and the human brain (n.b. I expand on this in my upcoming QlikWorld Online keynote, which you can register for here).
Yet up till now, that’s been a challenge. Not the generating of those “aha” moments but capturing them in a way that is closely linked to the underlying data, and that can be seen by other users.
Supporting the Journey to Active Intelligence
It’s a critical part of what we call Active Intelligence: making key insights available at the point decisions are being made, with the right data informing actions when it matters most. We need input from a variety of different sources, including other members of our team (who increasingly may not be in the same location as we are), to build those insights that inform data-driven decision-making. Capturing that input is vital.
Which is why we are introducing Collaborative Notes as part of our Q2 Features update. It’s a way for users to add their perspective directly into analytics. Take snapshots of analytics, add narrative and context, have discussions alongside the data, all within analytics apps. No more trawling through emails that reference a chart three filters deep or trying to remember something scribbled on a Post-It during a call. With Collaborative Notes, users can build a canvas for both real-time and offline communication with direct access to data analytics, making it easily shareable and storable for future reference and inclusion in decision-making.
Data, Analytics, and Decision-making Anywhere
Of course, collaboration is only part of the journey to Active Intelligence. Having the data where it is needed is equally critical. As a software-as-a-service company, we are committed to a cloud-first approach, and that extends to being able to access analytics and data when it’s needed, and not being restricted by physical limitations.
We’re also launching the SaaS version of Qlik Sense Mobile as part of the update. A new, fully native app for iOS and Android, it provides an enhanced user experience, fully interactive online and offline analysis, and integrated alerting to drive action at the point of decision. Effectively analytics for mobile consumption, this reflects the changing needs of businesses, with more users working remotely and not necessarily having access to the same sort of devices that they had in the office. Now, mobile workers can answer unanticipated questions in any environment.
What we’re doing is giving users the ability to collaborate with analytics and making sure that those analytics are never more than a click away on any device. It’s adapting how companies serve data to employees to the way people work, rather than expecting people to change how they work so they can access the right information. No more putting off a decision until you’ve been to the office, or spoken to your colleagues – now you can view the data, see the insights and make the decision, wherever you are.
To learn more about the many ways that we are expanding our capabilities in 2021, as we take a pivotal step forward in the market and make Active Intelligence a reality for our customers, don’t miss QlikWorld Online between May 10-12 (register here).
You can also stay up to date on the innovation and direction driving Qlik’s data and analytics product advancements here.
