How fast is your BI platform, really?

When it comes to business intelligence (BI) platforms, nice demos and ideal lab conditions can often mask the true capabilities—or limitations—of the tools we rely on. That’s why the latest BARC Benchmark Score is such a game changer. It evaluates BI, Analytics, and Corporate Performance Management (CPM) software under real-world conditions, measuring what truly matters to users and enterprises alike: productivity and scalability.

And the results? Qlik came out decisively on top.

What Makes This Benchmark Different?

The benchmark, led by BARC experts Thomas Zeutschler and Stefan Sexl, is designed around real workloads and realistic enterprise scenarios. It evaluates platforms not just for how they can perform, but how they do perform when faced with the kinds of challenges today’s organizations deal with every day.

BARC focused on two core dimensions:

• Productivity: How quickly and efficiently users can complete their tasks.
• Scalability: How well the system performs as data volumes, user concurrency, and query complexity increase.

To test this, they simulated:

• 10 million records
• Complex data models (with joins, calculations)
• 50 concurrent users
• 17 typical BI interactions (filters, drill-downs, selections)
• Realistic user actions like opening reports, refreshing dashboards, and scaling usage.

Key Findings: Qlik vs Power BI

Both Qlik and Power BI were included in the study, but Qlik consistently outperformed its competitor across all key metrics:

Performance Highlights for Qlik:

• 3.2× more user sessions per hour
  (Qlik: 13,058 vs Power BI: 4,049)
• ~2× higher productivity
  (More sessions completed per user per hour)
• 3× faster average response times
  (1.37 seconds vs 3.84 seconds)
• 30% fewer interactions needed to complete the same tasks
• Consistent performance at scale – even under heavy load

These metrics translate directly to real value for organizations: faster decisions, more agile users, and lower infrastructure demands.

Benchmark Scores

The overall BARC Benchmark Score puts Qlik in a class of its own:

As BARC summarizes: “Qlik delivers consistently faster, more scalable, and ergonomically efficient performance.”

Why Qlik Stands Apart

What’s behind this superior performance? It comes down to Qlik’s core architecture and design philosophy.

• The Associative Engine: Unlike query-based tools, Qlik’s engine allows users to explore data in any direction—no predefined drill paths, no dead ends.
• Scalable Cloud-Native Architecture: Built for hybrid and multi-cloud environments, Qlik offers flexibility without vendor lock-in.
• AI + Analytics, Together: Qlik’s AI is built to be explainable, transparent, and actionable—working alongside the user, not in a black box.

Download the full BARC Benchmark Report for free to dive deeper into the results and methodology.

Would you like to to experience Qlik in action? Join our hands-on online workshops online and in English – check dates here.

Free study for download is here