Empowering Learning, Driving Business Growth
Qlik, a global leader in data analytics and business intelligence, acquired Talend in May 2023 to strengthen its data integration and governance capabilities. Following the acquisition, Qlik recognized the need to unify and optimize learning experiences across its expanding ecosystem of customers, partners, and employees. As Qlik began integrating Talend’s operations, the education team identified an opportunity to streamline learning initiatives under a single platform. They needed a solution that would promote product adoption, reduce churn, and boost annual recurring revenue (ARR) through engaging, personalized, and scalable learning experiences.
The Challenge: Bridging Gaps and Optimizing Renewals
Prior to acquisition, Talend was using Docebo and recognized that the platform’s roadmap did not align with their long-term business goals. Greg Nist, Senior Director of Learning and Enablement, decided to explore alternative options because the existing platform lacked flexibility for managing content and supporting diverse learning needs across multiple audiences. The company needed a solution that could:
- Deliver just-in-time learning embedded directly into the product itself
- Dynamically serve up learning content for customer, partner, and internal audiences
- Enable partners to access role-based learning paths with integrated certifications
- Drive business outcomes, such as higher subscription renewals and improved partner performance
As Talend prioritized increasing subscription renewals and product adoption, the team recognized that finding the right LMS was essential for scaling its education efforts and driving long-term growth.
Choosing Intellum
After evaluating multiple vendors, the Talend team narrowed its options to Intellum and Skilljar. Intellum emerged as the clear winner for several reasons:
- Engaging User Experience: Intellum’s intuitive design and embedded learning paths aligned with the goal of keeping learners engaged throughout all stages of the customer journey.
- Certification & Partner Enablement: Certifications are essential for partners to succeed in their roles, particularly solution architects and professional services teams. Intellum’s scalable certification features would help increase the number of certified partners year-over-year.
- Gamification: Unlike other platforms, Intellum offered built-in gamification features that enhanced learning experiences right out of the box.
Results: Turning Learning into Business Outcomes
During the acquisition process, the success of the Talend Academy, powered by Intellum, didn’t go unnoticed by Qlik. Recognizing how the platform contributed to Talend’s improved subscription renewals, partner performance, and product adoption, Qlik saw an opportunity to extend the benefits of Intellum across its entire organization. Based on Talend’s proven outcomes with the LMS, Qlik decided to adopt Intellum as the learning platform for its broader ecosystem.
By unifying its education programs under Intellum, Qlik aimed to replicate the results Talend achieved and unlock even greater business value with the following outcomes:
- Increased Engagement and Retention*:some text
- Completion rates rose from 8% to 23%.
- Monthly active user engagement increased from 15% to 45%, significantly reducing churn.
- Enhanced Partner Enablement:some text
- Partner certifications have tripled year-over-year, improving partner performance and driving revenue.
- Tailored learning paths have enabled partners to quickly achieve certification, helped streamline their roles, and reduced time to value.
- Faster Time to Value with Implementation Accelerators:some text
- Intellum’s platform allows Qlik to distribute implementation accelerators—ready-to-use configurations and code—to customers, which enables faster deployment of common use cases and ensures faster ROI.
- Embedded Learning for Seamless Product Adoption:some text
- Leveraging Intellum’s platform, Qlik embedded the “How Do I...” series directly into product interfaces, reducing support tickets and improving the user experience.
*These metrics are related to the Talend Academy product, which launched on Intellum January 2023. The integrated Qlik Learning product launch on Intellum is currently in process.
A Continuous Learning Mindset for Long-Term Success
Qlik’s integration of the Intellum Platform represents a strategic shift toward education as a growth driver. By embedding learning into every stage of the customer journey—from prospect, to onboarding, to advanced certification—Qlik ensures users remain engaged and partners are well-prepared to advocate for its products.
The partnership with Intellum has not only improved engagement and product adoption, but also demonstrates the power of leveraging education as a strategic asset. Qlik continues to build on its success by evolving its educational initiatives, with plans to expand AI-driven proctoring, leaderboards, and gamified learning to further enhance engagement and customer retention. As a result, Qlik is now better positioned to achieve long-term customer retention and revenue growth through continuous learning.
With Intellum as its learning platform partner, Qlik turns learning into growth—achieving its business goals while empowering users, partners, and employees along the way.