Qlik Application Automation 101

Qlik Application Automation is a key component to Qlik’s Active Intelligence since it can enable dynamic actions and business process through workflows and tasks that can integrate with Qlik Sense and external systems through a series of connectors. 

Here is a basic guide to  

What is it?

Qlik Application Automation (QAA) is a visual, no-code approach for automating workflows.  It allows users to drag and drop blocks that provide integration and actions with many applications (Qlik and non-Qlik).

There are other tools like this on the market.  For example, IFTTT (If This Then That), Zapier, PieSync and Microsoft Flow.  

The advantage of QAA is the native Qlik integration to all aspects of Qlik while also providing tight integration to other systems through connectors.  

Use cases

There are many ways to execute a QAA, including:

• Scheduled execution
• Triggered (through API, user action or alerting)
• Webhooks (aka. API execution)

These methods of execution allow for many types of use cases. Here are just two examples:

1. Create task chaining like Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows 

One of the limitations of Qlik Sense Enterprise SaaS was there was task chaining options in the Qlik Management Console.  QAA will provide that ability while offering more robust control.  

For example, a user could create a workflow that connects to an external system (i.e. Hubspot) and executes a process to extract data, then connects to Qlik and kicks off a reload.  If the reload fails, the logic can create an issue in Jira, send a Teams message and sends an email.

2. Integration with other workflow systems

Many of our clients have scheduled activities where they need to schedule the timing of jobs and allow time for them to complete with a buffer in case they run long.  Since automations in Qlik can be executed via a Webhook (API) call, Qlik Cloud can be more tightly integrated to other existing workflows.  Through integration, the workflows could work together and not be time based, but executed as part of an integrated workflow.

How Wipfli can help

As a trusted Qlik Solutions Provider since 2007, Wipfli helps your business identify the key performance indicators you can use with Qlik to make fast yet robust business decisions. Learn more on our Qlik services web page