Building a better business intelligence toolkit

Business Intelligence tools QlikView and Qlik Sense are to be brought under central management within the reporting and analytics service at Information Services.

QlikView and Qlik Sense are data analytics platforms that allow for the handling of large data sets to give business insights which can better support decision making.

QlikView, a desktop-based business intelligence tool, is currently used within some Colleges and business units of the University, with users managing their own service separately. To better support users of the service, it was decided to develop the tool as part of the centrally supported services managed by the reporting and analytics service.

The service will also introduce Qlik Sense, the web-based product from Qlik. This is a more accessible service for new users as it is a web product and does not require a desktop install.

Piloting of the new business intelligence tools will be carried out with the Governance and Strategic Planning (GASP) section of the University, whom are responsible for providing business insights to steer evidence-based decision making. The Planning team are heavy users of Qlik tools, so they are well placed to pilot the new service and provide feedback to fine-tune the implementation for other business areas.

The project is part of the wider Digital Transformation – BI tools programme, which aims to deliver the tools to drive better evidence-based decision making across the University.