Qlik Connect 2026
Agentic AI – Are You Closer Than You Think?
Written by: Alex Booth, Business Development Manager at Climber
Qlik Connect continues to be one of my favourite conferences of the year, and this year’s event in Orlando certainly didn’t disappoint. There were three jam-packed days with a varied agenda, strong focus on customer success, and a clear shift from AI hype towards real, practical value.
Artificial Intelligence was a key focus topic. The message that came through every session was that AI isn’t just about scale, it’s about ‘Coverage, Consistency, and Quality’.
A live sketch artist also captured the sessions in real time, bringing many of the themes to life visually.
Day 1 – Keynote illustration
From Agentic Hype to Reality
Agentic AI was shown to be well and truly here, with many organisations now deploying various agents across data quality, analytics, and data integration pipelines to drive automation and real-time decision-making. These capabilities are enabling organisations to surface risks faster, recommend next best actions, and automate workflows.
This represents a fundamental shift:
- From dashboards → to decisions
- From insights → to actions
- From manual processes → to autonomous workflows
Ultimately, the learning was that every use case must come back to impact, revenue, cost reduction, or efficiency.
Customer Journeys and Ecosystems are Changing Fast
Of course, the buying journey is no longer linear, and customers interact across AI tools, social platforms, communities, and marketplaces. This shift is increasing the need for real-time, data-driven insight to better understand and respond to customer behaviour. At the same time, AI success is increasingly being delivered through connected ecosystems rather than single platforms.
This means that sales opportunities now involve multiple partners and technologies, reinforcing that no single vendor delivers end-to-end value alone. Qlik’s approach of being open and well-integrated across a wide range of platforms and vendors plays a key role by enabling organisations to bring together data, systems, and workflows without being locked into one approach.
Hearing Customer Success in Action
The customer sessions at Qlik Connect showcased how theory has become reality. Across various industries, organisations consistently showed how they’ve moved away from manual processes and fragmented reporting towards automated, data-driven decision-making.
Across mining operations, manufacturing, and supply chains, organisations have shifted from reactive reporting to proactive action. What stood out to me, was how data is being embedded directly into day-to-day operations, rather than sitting alongside them.
In organisations like Bell Group, even small data teams are driving meaningful change by moving beyond static reporting and enabling teams to interact with data in real time, influencing decisions as they happen.
Within the South Central Ambulance Service and wider emergency services, predictive analytics is being applied to vehicles and frontline operations. By combining real-time data with historical patterns, teams can anticipate issues before they occur, reducing vehicle downtime, improving fleet reliability, and ultimately supporting better patient outcomes.
One of my favourite customer sessions explored analytics in sport, featuring a panel from the Malmo Seahawks, Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, and the Premier League. A standout idea was that “gut feel” is often just subconscious data processing. As analytics makes that intuition visible and actionable, data is becoming more granular, immersive, and increasingly central to real-time performance decisions.
All these customer examples reinforced that data delivers the most value when it is embedded into processes, not layered on top of them.
Day 2 – Keynote illustration
Dare to Be Different
A memorable moment for me came from Jesse Cole, owner of the Savannah Bananas baseball team. He spoke about how success has come from doing things differently, trying new ideas, and not being afraid to get them wrong.
What made it even more interesting was how deliberate that approach is. He actively captures ideas as they come, constantly building a pipeline of experiments to test. By rethinking the traditional baseball experience, focusing on entertainment, fan engagement, and pace of play. The Bananas have created huge demand, with waiting lists stretching into the millions for tickets.
It’s a simple but powerful reminder that consistent innovation, backed by a willingness to test and learn, is often what sets the most successful organisations apart.
So, What’s Next?
Now that Agentic AI is here to stay, the real differentiator for companies doesn’t come from having access to AI. It lies in having the right data foundations, focusing on meaningful use cases, and working within the right partner ecosystem to scale effectively.
The organisations that succeed won’t be those doing the most with AI, but those doing the right things, with clear, proven outcomes.
At Climber, we’re introducing our AI Blueprint Accelerator service to help organisations identify opportunities, support experimentation, assess readiness, and define a fast path to value.
If you’re looking to move from AI experimentation to something tangible, that’s exactly where we’re focusing. I’m curious to hear how others are approaching this, where are you seeing AI deliver real value today? Get in touch below!
WANT TO KNOW MORE? CONTACT US!
Alex Booth
Business Development Manager
alex.booth@climberbi.co.uk
+44 203 858 0668
James Sharp
Managing Director
james.sharp@climberbi.co.uk
+44 203 858 0668
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