Choosing right BI tool.

Important: this was originally published at 1st of December 2023, the only way to add it to my Date with Data newsletter is to copy-paste it here. If you already read it - sorry for the inconvienience!

I made 2 posts recently, covering cost comparison between 3 leading BI tools, Qlik, Tableau and Power BI. Some of the comments, rightfully pointed, that it's not only about the cost, when you choose the data&analytics tool.

That's why I wanted to dig deeper. I created a fictional company, with real needs. :)

Introduction:

TechSavvy Solutions, a dynamic and growing tech firm, faces a crucial decision in upgrading its data analysis and reporting capabilities. With a workforce of 200, a specialized team of 15 dashboard creators, and a vast network of 20,000 stakeholders awaiting their insightful reports, the stakes are high. The BI tools in consideration are Qlik, Tableau, and Power BI, each with its unique strengths and pricing models.

Chapter 1: Setting the Stage

TechSavvy's journey begins with identifying their core needs:

1. User Licenses: 200 employees require access to the BI tool.
2. Dashboard Creators: A team of 15 skilled professionals dedicated to creating and managing complex dashboards.
3. Distribution: The ability to print and distribute reports to 20,000 recipients efficiently.

Chapter 2: Exploring Qlik - The Deep Dive

As TechSavvy Solutions delves into Qlik, they are keen to understand how it will cater to their specific needs. Their exploration is focused on three main aspects: license costs, dashboard creation capabilities for their team, and the distribution of reports to a large audience.

1. License Costs:

TechSavvy's CFO begins by scrutinizing the cost structure of Qlik. With 200 employees, the company needs a scalable and cost-effective solution. Qlik offers a tiered pricing model, which includes:

• Qlik Sense Business: For smaller teams, providing full BI capabilities.
• Qlik Sense Enterprise SaaS: Designed for larger enterprises, offering more advanced features.

TechSavvy calculates the costs for 200 licenses, considering the mix of full access for dashboard creators and view-only access for the rest of the staff. They also explore potential volume discounts and the total cost of ownership over a multi-year period.

2. Dashboard Creation Capabilities:

The 15-member dashboard team eagerly tests Qlik's dashboard creation tools. They are particularly impressed by:

• Associative Engine: Qlik's unique engine allows them to integrate and analyze data from multiple sources, revealing hidden insights.
• Data Literacy: Qlik emphasizes data literacy, offering a range of tools and resources to help the team make the most of the platform.
• Customization and Flexibility: The creators appreciate the ability to craft tailored dashboards that can cater to various departments within TechSavvy.

They also consider the learning curve and available training resources, ensuring the team can quickly adapt to Qlik's environment.

3. Distribution Capabilities:

Finally, TechSavvy examines how Qlik handles the distribution of reports. With 20,000 recipients, they need a robust system. Qlik offers:

• Automated Reporting: The ability to automate and schedule report generation.
• Scalable Distribution: TechSavvy explores how Qlik manages large-scale distribution, ensuring timely and efficient delivery of reports.
• Print-Friendly Formats: They test the ease of converting dashboards and reports into print-friendly formats, crucial for their offline recipients.

Throughout this chapter, TechSavvy's team is also considering Qlik's integration capabilities with their existing systems and the overall impact on their IT infrastructure.

As TechSavvy concludes their exploration of Qlik, they are armed with detailed insights into how it could transform their data analysis and reporting capabilities. The team feels a step closer to making an informed decision but is eager to see how Qlik stacks up against Tableau and Power BI.

Chapter 3: The Tableau Experience

TechSavvy Solutions turns their attention to Tableau, a tool celebrated for its visually appealing dashboards and user-friendly interface. Their exploration here is similar to their approach with Qlik, focusing on three primary areas: licensing model, dashboard creation, and scalability in distribution.

1. License Model:

Understanding the financial implications is crucial for TechSavvy. Tableau offers several licensing options, including:

• Tableau Viewer: For users who need to access and interact with pre-built dashboards.
• Tableau Explorer: For users who need to create their own dashboards and explore data.
• Tableau Creator: For the professional creators in TechSavvy's team, offering advanced creation and data prep tools.

The company evaluates the cost for 200 licenses, considering the different needs of their staff. They pay special attention to the balance between Creators and Viewers, aiming to maximize functionality while controlling costs.

2. Dashboard Creation:

TechSavvy's team of 15 dashboard creators get hands-on with Tableau. They explore features like:

• Drag-and-Drop Interface: Tableau's intuitive interface allows for quick and easy dashboard creation, which is particularly appealing to the team.
• Data Connectivity: The ability to connect to a vast array of data sources is tested, ensuring that the team can integrate all necessary data.
• Advanced Analytics: The creators experiment with Tableau’s analytics capabilities, examining how they can leverage these tools for more in-depth insights.

The team also evaluates the learning resources provided by Tableau, as well as the community and support available.

3. Scalability in Distribution:

With the need to distribute reports to 20,000 recipients, TechSavvy assesses Tableau's capabilities in this area:

• Automated Distribution: They look at how Tableau can automate the distribution process, including scheduling and managing large-scale report deliveries.
• Print Optimization: Since physical reports are essential, the team examines how efficiently Tableau dashboards can be converted into print-friendly formats.
• Performance at Scale: Ensuring that the distribution process is seamless and efficient, even when scaled up to a large number of recipients, is key.

Throughout this chapter, TechSavvy also considers how Tableau integrates with their existing software ecosystem and the impact on their overall IT strategy.

As the chapter closes, TechSavvy has gained a comprehensive understanding of what Tableau offers. They are impressed by its user-friendly interface and powerful visualization tools but remain mindful of their budget constraints and the need for efficient large-scale distribution. The next chapter will explore Power BI, after which they will be ready to make a comparative analysis.

Chapter 4: Power BI – A Microsoft Offering

TechSavvy Solutions' exploration continues as they turn their attention to Power BI, Microsoft's entry into the BI tool arena. Known for its integration with other Microsoft products and its competitive pricing, Power BI presents a unique option for TechSavvy. They focus on three main areas: cost-effectiveness, creation and collaboration capabilities, and mass distribution capabilities.

1. Cost-Effectiveness:

One of the major draws of Power BI is its pricing, especially attractive for a company needing 200 licenses. TechSavvy examines:

• Pricing Tiers: Power BI Pro and Power BI Premium, understanding the features and limitations of each.
• Cost per User: Calculating the total cost for their 200 employees, with a mix of Pro and Premium licenses as needed.
• Overall Value: Evaluating the cost against the features provided, especially considering their existing use of Microsoft products like Office 365, which could offer seamless integration.

2. Creation and Collaboration Capabilities:

With a team of 15 dashboard creators, TechSavvy scrutinizes Power BI's tools for data visualization and collaboration:

• Data Visualization Tools: Testing the range of visualization options and the flexibility in dashboard creation.
• Integration with Microsoft Tools: Given their existing infrastructure, the integration with tools like Excel and Teams is a significant plus.
• Collaborative Features: Assessing the ease of sharing, editing, and collaborating on dashboards within their team and across the company.

3. Mass Distribution Capabilities:

TechSavvy needs to distribute reports to 20,000 stakeholders. They delve into Power BI's capabilities to handle such a task:

• Report Publishing and Sharing: Understanding how Power BI manages the sharing of reports both internally and externally.
• Automation and Scheduling: Looking at how reports can be scheduled and automated, a critical feature for their large-scale distribution needs.
• Print-Friendly Options: Evaluating the process of converting digital reports into a format suitable for printing, an important requirement for their offline recipients.

Throughout this exploration, TechSavvy also considers the overall ease of use and the learning curve associated with Power BI, especially for employees who might not be as technically proficient.

Conclusion of the Chapter:

As TechSavvy concludes their evaluation of Power BI, they recognize its strengths in cost-effectiveness and deep integration with the Microsoft ecosystem. However, they also acknowledge that it might have limitations in terms of advanced analytics capabilities compared to Qlik and Tableau. The decision now looms closer as they prepare to weigh all the information gathered from their exploration of Qlik, Tableau, and Power BI.

Chapter 5: The Comparative Analysis

TechSavvy Solutions now revisits their comparative analysis with a more detailed focus on the costs associated with Qlik Sense Capacity License and NPrinting, Power BI Premium licenses and report distribution capabilities, and the combination of Tableau Creator and Viewer licenses.

1. Qlik Sense with Capacity License and NPrinting:

• Qlik Sense Capacity Plan: The Premium plan for Qlik Sense starts at $2,700 per month for 50 GB of data and unlimited viewers, with an additional cost for full users at $20 per user per month.
• Total Cost for TechSavvy: For 200 users and 15 creators, the monthly cost would be $2,700 (base plan) x12 = $32 400/annual
• NPrinting Cost: distributing reports for 20 000 people would require Enterprise version with roughly $20 000/annual. NPrinting, with possibility to send unlimited reports to unlimited recipients, without need for them to have a individual license, seems like the best way to achieve this goal.

2. Power BI Premium:

• Power BI Premium Pricing: Power BI Premium is priced at $20 per user per month or a capacity-based plan at $4,995 per month.
• Estimated Cost for TechSavvy: Using the capacity-based plan, the cost would be $4,995 monthly, amounting to $59,940 annually. This would include the necessary features for automated report printing and delivery to a large audience. I wasn't able to find how many recipients could get rapports with Capacity plan and if they need additional license, can someone enlighten me please? :)
• Automated Report Printing and Delivery: TechSavvy would need to consider additional tools or integrations for delivering reports to 20,000 users, which may incur extra costs. From my knowledge, you could use PBI Apps, but the recipients would still need to have a license. Correct me pls, if I'm wrong.

3. Tableau with Creators and Viewers:

• Tableau Creator and Viewer Pricing: Tableau Creator costs $70 per user per month, and Tableau Viewer is $15 per user per month.
• Cost for TechSavvy: For 15 Creators and 185 Viewers, the annual cost would be (15 x $70 x 12) + (185 x $15 x 12) = $12 600 + $33,300 = $45 900
• Report Printing and Distribution: Tableau offers automated report generation and distribution via email, FTP, or web services. Tableau subscriptions also allow for automated report delivery on a recurring basis. However, distributing to 20,000 users might require additional infrastructure or services, impacting the overall cost.

Comparative Summary:

• Qlik Sense: Offers robust data integration and analysis capabilities, with an annual cost of approximately $52 400 for the Capacity plan, with NPrinting.
• Power BI: Presents a cost-effective solution at approximately $59 940 annually for the Premium plan. However, additional tools might be needed for extensive report distribution.
• Tableau: Provides powerful visualization tools with a combination of Creators and Viewers, costing around $45 900 annually. The built-in report distribution capabilities are a plus, but distributing to a large audience like 20,000 users might require more investment.

Final Considerations for TechSavvy's Decision:

TechSavvy Solutions needs to balance the cost against each tool's capabilities, considering their specific needs for large-scale report distribution and the number of users. They must also account for potential additional expenses related to report distribution, especially when dealing with a large number of recipients like 20,000. The final decision will hinge not only on the immediate cost implications but also on how each tool aligns with their long-term data analysis, reporting needs, and overall business strategy.

What do you think, which tool TechSavvy should use, and why? Write in the comments section!??

Ps. If you need some advice on your data&analytics strategy, or you need to bring data talent into your team, feel free to DM me on Linkedin. ??