5 min read
New Qlik licensing model
Starting in September 2023, Qlik is launching a new licensing model for the Analytics side of the Qlik Cloud platform: Capacity based licensing. A similar model was introduced earlier this year for the Data Integration branch of the platform. Initially, the model will mainly be deployed for new Qlik customers, but it's not out of the question that existing customers will eventually also get the option to switch to this new model. In this blog, Senior Consultant Lennaert van den Brink explains how the new model works.
Paying for data instead of for users
The core of the new licensing model is that you no longer pay for the number of users of your platform, but for the amount of data you process or analyze with it. In the old model, the primary metric of a licensing agreement is the number of Analyzer and Professional users who get access to the system. In the new model, you essentially buy a certain amount of data bandwidth that you can process. Importantly, this is about the potential amount of data, not how much you actually use. In other words: you pay for the diameter of the pipe, not for the water flowing through it. In this new model, Qlik distinguishes between 3 tiers: Standard, Premium, and Enterprise.
Standard
The Standard edition is intended as a starter package. For a low price, you get a small environment with which you can take the first steps in building a Qlik Cloud Analytics environment. In this version, you're limited in growth, since you can analyze up to a maximum of 50GB of data. In this Standard edition, you still need to pay for every user you want to give access to the platform, and you don't have the option to use advanced functionality such as AutoML or Application Automation.
Premium
If you want to analyze more data, you automatically move up to the Premium edition. In the Premium edition, you have an unlimited number of "basic users". A basic user is comparable to the Analyzer license from the old model: you can mainly view and consume, but not create anything new yourself. The big advantage of the unlimited number of basic users is that you're never held back from connecting more users to your environment, which strongly boosts adoption. In the Premium edition, you still pay for purchasing "full users". In addition, you have the option to expand the amount of data you can process in the platform (in increments of 25 or 250 GB). You can also use all the advanced functionality in this edition.
Enterprise
The final step up is the Enterprise edition. In this edition, the number of users is made completely unrestricted, so there's no limit on what these users can do. This is the ideal starting point when you want to maximally enable your users for self-service BI and analytics (of course, you can still disable certain capabilities for groups of users). What you still pay for in this edition is the data you analyze in the platform.
An important question, of course, is what happens when you analyze more data than what was purchased in your license. The good news is that the platform simply keeps working, so you won't get an error message saying the limit has been reached. However, you will see the overage reflected on your bill, with a 25% surcharge applied to the list price for the extra capacity pack you were short. If you purchase the extra capacity within the same billing period, the consumption will no longer be counted as an overage.
What is Data Analyzed?
An important metric in the new model is what's called "Data Analyzed". Simply put, all data that is loaded or created within Qlik Cloud Analytics on a given day is added up as data analyzed. The highest daily peak within a monthly period is taken as the consumed capacity for that month.
There are quite a few ways to load or create data within Qlik Cloud Analytics, but not everything counts in the same way. Loading data refers to all data that is read in via a query or connector. In addition, all files uploaded directly (1-to-1) to a space also count (this includes all QVFs and QVWs). Data that is brought in once and then reused in multiple places only counts once. For example, if you retrieve a dataset from a database via a Microsoft SQL connector, then store it in a QVD, and then load it again into three new dashboards, you're only charged for the data that passes through the connector and the file size of the QVD. Loading the three subsequent apps is not counted.
Getting the most out of your environment?
As mentioned earlier, the new licensing model will for now be offered alongside the old model. So not much will change for existing customers at this time, although it's likely that in the future this model will also become available to existing customers. What's interesting about the new model is that you're rewarded for making smart use of the capacity of your Qlik platform. In an upcoming blog, we'll give you a number of tips on how to get the most out of your environment. Follow us on LinkedIn via the button below to stay up to date on every new blog.
Written by Lennaert van den Brink
Senior Consultant