Amazon QuickSight is transforming business intelligence and data visualization, and I’ve seen its impact firsthand. That’s why I’m kicking “Q Sera Sera,” a series dedicated to everything QuickSight – features, challenges, and expert tips to help you get the most out of it.
In this first episode, I’ll break down some of the most common roadblocks, powerful capabilities, and insider tricks that every BI professional should know.
Watch the first episode here or keep scrolling to continue reading.
Ever had a client tell you, “I can’t find the data on this dashboard,” when you know it’s right there? Happens more often than you’d think. Enter ‘Share a View’—one of the most underrated QuickSight features out there.
This lifesaver lets you set up all the filters, slicers, and parameters exactly how they need to be, then generate a shareable link with all the settings locked in. No more back-and-forth or “Did you check the slicer?” emails. Just one click, one link, and problem solved.
A hot topic in the QuickSight community: Why doesn’t QuickSight have a dedicated timestamp data type? Coming from other BI tools, users expect to see a clear distinction between dates and timestamps, but that’s not the case here.
The workaround? Suppress the date and focus on storing just the time component. Not ideal, but it gets the job done. AWS knows this is a hot request—it’s been logged in the feature request list. Will it arrive soon? Well, AWS doesn’t share roadmaps, but we’re all keeping an eye out.
One of the first things I tell clients migrating to QuickSight: Don’t try to copy-paste your old reports. Every BI tool has its own way of handling visuals, but what really matters is the insights you’re trying to pull. Instead of asking, “Can I replicate this exact chart?” ask, “How can I get to the same insight in QuickSight?”
QuickSight has its own powerful visual types, embedded analytics, and ML insights—so why limit yourself to just copying old designs? Time to level up.
Migrating BI tools can be overwhelming. Knowing what’s different and how to adapt makes QuickSight adoption a whole lot smoother for business users.
At Wavicle Data Solutions here’s how we keep it simple — We provide rich documentation, eliminating guesswork by breaking down everything into easy-to-follow guides. Through 1:1 user training, we don’t just show you features, we help you adopt them effectively. We set realistic expectations by highlighting feature differences and limitations, ensuring there are no surprises.
There’s no offline version of QuickSight, which means no risk of data leaks or dashboard sharing outside permissions. Plus, auto-save and version history ensure you never lose progress on your dashboards.
A lot of users don’t realize this, but QuickSight automatically saves every tweak you make, so even if you step away or close your browser—you won’t lose anything. That’s a huge win for BI teams working on critical reports.
QuickSight is not just another BI tool—it’s a scalable, cloud-native powerhouse designed for modern analytics. Sure, there are a few rough edges (we’re looking at you, timestamps), but AWS is constantly evolving, and the feature set keeps expanding. Stay tuned for more episodes in the Q Sera Sera series. You can also read more of our BI resources here.