How Did We Get Here? A Decade of Building on Qlik
Let me get something out of the way first. This is a frustration post. I have been working in software engineering for more than 13 years, and I have been building with and extending Qlik since Qlik Sense 2.2. I don't claim to know everything about Qlik. I don't claim to speak for every customer, developer, partner or user. But after spending the better part of a decade building real software…
This narrative recounts the author's frustration with Qlik's evolution, having worked with the platform for over a decade since its Qlik Sense 2.2 release in 2016. Initially, building on Qlik was an exciting experience, with the API landscape being relatively stable and the platform's capabilities open to exploration. The author fondly remembers the Trusted Extension Developer community, where around 30,000 members collaborated on open-source projects, sharing knowledge and creating tools that expanded the platform's potential.
They also praised Qlik's early data literacy initiatives, which aimed to make data understanding accessible to everyone. However, the author noted a shift in Qlik's approach around 2020. Qlik Branch evolved into a more controlled ecosystem called Trusted Extension Developer (TED), which appeared to prioritize enterprise customers over individual developers.
The author experienced an opaque approval process and longer wait times, while established vendors dominated the platform. This change, combined with the discontinuation of free Qlik Sense Desktop, made the author feel that Qlik was less interested in fostering a developer community focused on experimentation and learning. They likened the new developer ecosystem to a more stringent application process, questioning who was behind each submission and their relationship with Qlik.
This shift left the author feeling disconnected from the community that once made Qlik feel like a platform where they could truly belong and innovate.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
