You need to upgrade your Qlik skillset. The folks at Websy will help get you there.

For a while now, the winds of change have been blowing on the Qlik consulting front. As Qlik Sense, the product, grows from toddler to teenager its true potential is becoming apparent. The data-side massaging is becoming easier and less intensive as the opportunities to extend Qlik outside the hub gain importance.

Although I have not seen any waning in traditional Qlik developments yet, I thought it was time for me to invest in some continuing education. If this is where the opportunities will be in the coming years, I want to be involved, right?

Enter Websy!

The team at Websy are thankfully here to lead us Traditional Qlik Developers to the promised land of Qlik Web Development.

I just finished the level one and level two “Web Development for Qlik Developers”. The courses focus on developing mashups using Qlik visualizations and/or the QIX engine only. The team offer both virtual and in-person classes. I opted for the remote class so I could relax in my cushy office.

The typical Qlik developer, me included, has maybe passing experience with web technologies. The Websy approach assumes that you are not an expert in html, css or javascript. This was great for me since my background is more on the data side of the equation.

With that focus in mind, the level one course starts by introducing some basic techniques in html css and javascript. Then we quickly get into leveraging Qlik visualizations in web pages using the capabilities API.

The second level course deep dives into utilizing the engine API like we would in a QAP situation where the Qlik suite of visualizations is not available. Websy shows you some of the more complex loops and nested structures that will help you efficiently query and transform data from the QIX engine and combine it with third party visualization libraries.

How Did it Go?

How much you get out of these courses will depend a lot on your existing skill set. With my limited exposure to javascript, specifically, I was “running hard” the whole time.

So if you haven’t played with these technologies before, it would be good to go through the W3 schools free material for html, css and javascript. That will put you in a place where you can absorb the material.

The pace was quick and I definitely felt saturated by the end of the four days.

With that said, Peter and Nick are great trainers. They take care to make sure everybody is understanding the material and completing the exercises. Peter even spent breaks and lunch hours catching people up.

The materials and exercises are top-notch, thorough, accurate and appropriate.

Final Thoughts

The best thing about the Websy courses is that they are catered towards you and I, traditional Qlik developers. This focus was obvious and helped me ease into the deep-end pretty quickly.

So much of the emphasis from Qlik has been “Let’s get web developers interested in the Qlik platform”. What about me?

I am not a one-trick pony. All of us are capable of picking up these skills.

I was reading Rob Wunderlich’s review of the Websy courses which was part of the impetus for me to sign up. Another inspiration to start on this path was Karl Pover over at Harvesting Wisdom. He is documenting his progress as he also proceeds down this new path.

Are you honing your skillset? Are there any resources that have helped you in this endeavor? Please share them in the comments below. I am still a “work-in-progress” on this front and appreciate your input.

Happy Qliking.