Why should use Alteryx? - A question from QlikView user

[MizunashiSinayu]

Hello, I am pretty new to Alteryx.

Anyone using both Alteryx and QlikView?

For years, we've been using QlikView, and now a friend offered me to use Alteryx for data blending and predictive.

I wondered why I should use Alteryx?

QlikView has its own ETL engine and predictive analysis.

Just what is the benefit of Alteryx which QlikView does not have and mainly as a reason for me to get Alteryx to work together with QlikView?

Thanks in advance~

[jdunkerley79]

I don't know Qlik Views ETL specifically but I came to Alteryx from both programming and SQL Server Integration Services.

I used it in anger for two weeks and it changed how I thought about this kind of thing. At first, I thought ah good prototype tool that would let me work out ETL and process and then I could code it up. 

As I used it, I changed the way I thought about using it. I was able to involve buisness owner and respond within minutes to changes. Huge and very critical processes ended up being both easy to understand and very quick to run.

Nowadays, I find myself wanting to extend Alteryx and do more and more in it. I love picking up a challenge from the community and seeing what is possible. 

[MizunashiSinayu · Accepted solution]

May I answer my own question? After all, experience is the best teacher.

Qlik has its own ETL engine, but it is pretty much limited. Using Qlik we need to perform standard SQL queries to alter and transform the data, and it might not be so easy if the source data is full of garbage.

Consider we can bypass the hardships in querying using Qlik, we still need to face another factor and that is: compile resources. Each script coded in Qlik takes resource and time to load. The more complex the ETL process, the longer it will be. Additionally if we have a very large datasets, it might disturb the in-memory techonology QlikView employs.

QlikView was fated to help in data visualization and it works the best in it, do not burden QlikView with too much scripting and ETL process. Give QlikView what it wants, i.e. visualization. So, where do the ETL processes go to? Alteryx will be the prince riding a white horse.

Alteryx transforms all data sources into medium-rare or even well-done data steaks for QlikView to eat. With QVX output from Alteryx, QlikView can easily read it and visualize it. We cut all the ETL processes and resources in QlikView, therefore allowing QlikView to perform even faster. No more page load.

Alteryx do all the dirty work, even we can cleanse the data easily using Alteryx.

I have not yet compared which is faster in the time performing ETL between the two, but I believe Alteryx is faster if we can put the right process flow, and it is also easier, preventing us from scripting errors.

[MizunashiSinayu · Accepted solution]

Additional info...

Sometimes the time to load the data takes longer.

Usually we just dump all the data to qlikview with time = t1.

But since we use Alteryx and the reload it to qlikview, it will take time = t2 in Alteryx.

Therefore to use Alteryx and Qlikview in an environment with minimum utilization, we will take more time... (t1 + t2).

However is this bad?

Not necessarily.

Have anyone experienced a scenario where Qlikview takes so long to switch between one view to another view? Long loading time during filtering? Not responding? This scenario occurs when we use Qlikview to do all the ETL. Therefore even when loading the data takes less time than using Alteryx, our actual data-digging will take longer. Getting the answer to your question takes forever.

Therefore if we let Alteryx to do ETL first and dump the data to Qlikview, we can avoid the slow qlikview response.

Afterall, performing ETL with Alteryx does not take that long...

if as above t1 = time to load data to Qlikview directly.

t2 = time to load and perform ETL in ALteryx.

Then, I can say that t1 > t2, therefore using Alteryx before Qlikview will not result in 2*t1.

Let the flow take a bit longer, but it will be worth the while...

and last but not the least, it does not always take longer.

[Atabarezz]

Hi Mizunashi,

The reason to utilize Alteryx in front of Qlik products (QlikView and QlikSense) is such, Qlik doesn't have the following capabilities;

1) You can't do in-database preperation with Qlik, actually using Alteryx + Qlik can be faster than Qlik itself.

2) Qlik is not a tool to do spatial analytics it can only show what you have provided on it's graphs...

want to select good routes for you salesmen or

Are you searching for the most profitiable locations to invest in residentials, Alteryx is the tool not Qlik

3) If you'd like to create Analytics apps, that change results given input every time and updates data every time Qlik is not the tool again.

Qlik provides you information from tables already generated and put in memory..

The info you are seeing and questioning may be hour or days ago unless IT or a qlik dev. updates...

4) They can't do regression, decision trees, random forest and similar predictive analytics or forecasting with ETS, ARIMA

It can't tell you who will default on their loans or,

Who are most likely to respond your campaigns

In what range the EUR/USD FX rates will change given the updates in oil prices etc... It can't predict on it's own

5) They can't do, and they don't inted to do montecarlo simulations

Can't provide insights given best, most likely and worst economic conditions for the next year,

how should you set your budget for the following year?... Doesn't have the capability to simulate

6) They have no idea, even in the roadmap there is no prescriptive analytics, linear optimization or mixed integer optimization

it can't tell you who should you send the marketing campaigns at which channel at what time (for a marketing services firm) or

who should you better lend your money to given a limited capital (in a bank) etc. can't recommend you...

but Alteryx can...

• That is why you do Big Data ETL,
• Include some geographic features,
• Develop a predictive model,
• Provide alternative scenarios for the coming future
• Search to find a decision to minimize maximum regret in the future...

a long answer from a Qlik partner :)

hope it helps...

Best

[SeannG]

Mizunashi - would love to know more about your use case - can you send me an email SGardiner at Alteryx dot com

[ctcase00]

Hello, sir. Thank you for the answer on this.

I see it's over 4 years old, wondering if all/any of this is still accurate? Very new to the community and wondering if you can help confirm and/or clarify why Alteryx over Qlik? Appreciate any info you can lend.