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Clear Analytics vs. IBM Cognos Analytics vs. IBM InfoSphere Information Server

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Clear Analytics

    Score8.8 out of 10
    Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
    Clear Analytics is a business intelligence solution that enables non technical end users to perform analytics by leveraging existing knowledge of Excel coupled with a built in query builder. Some key features include: Dynamic Data Refresh, Data Share and In-Excel Collaboration.

    $29

    Per Seat per Month

    IBM Cognos Analytics

    Score7.7 out of 10
    N/AIBM Cognos is a full-featured business intelligence suite by IBM, designed for larger deployments. It comprises Query Studio, Reporting Studio, Analysis Studio and Event Studio, and Cognos Administration along with tools for Microsoft Office integration, full-text search, and dashboards.

    $11.25

    per month per user

    IBM InfoSphere Information Server

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AIBM InfoSphere Information Server is a data integration platform used to understand, cleanse, monitor and transform data. The offerings provide massively parallel processing (MPP) capabilities.N/A
    Pricing
    Clear AnalyticsIBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Editions & Modules
    Personal
    $29
    Per Seat per Month
    Team
    $165
    upto 10 Seat per Month
    Department
    $265
    upto 25 Seat per month
    Organization
    $565
    Upto 100 per seat per month
    On Demand - Standard
    USD 11.25
    per month per user
    On Demand - Premium
    USD 44.90
    per month per user
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Clear AnalyticsIBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Free Trial
    YesYesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYesNo
    Entry-level Setup Fee$800 Initial OnBoardingOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsCertain Enterprise level features can be made available to Small Business edition at additional cost. Such services include Scheduler and OLAP connectivity. Custom adapters can also be created to connect to SaaS services.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Clear AnalyticsIBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Considered Multiple Products
    Clear Analytics
    No answer on this topic
    IBM
    Chose IBM Cognos Analytics
    IBM Cognos Analytics is catching up to Tableau Desktop in the only area that Tableau Desktop had an advantage (visualizations). IBM Cognos Analytics can do a lot more than what Tableau Desktop does with its advanced pixel perfect tools, ease of use, and delivery options to …
    Incentivized
    Chose IBM Cognos Analytics
    In my opinion, MicroStrategy has a better product architecture. As a reporting and analysis platform, MicroStrategy allows developers to build reports and dashboards using an integrated development tool for all capabilities. It also has a more powerful and easy to use …
    Incentivized
    Chose IBM Cognos Analytics
    MS BI: A lot of times we meet customers who are dealing with an MS BI maintenance nightmare and we try to ease their pain by implementing Cognos BI and their reporting and analysis system. Cognos BI is better than MS BI from ease of implementation to production support and …
    Incentivized
    IBM
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    97%
    Would buy again
    92 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    79 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    91 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    55 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    8 Answers
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    64 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Clear AnalyticsIBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM InfoSphere Information Server
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Clear Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Clear Analytics
    9.0
    8 Ratings
    10% above category average
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    7.7
    138 Ratings
    6% below category average
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    -
    Ratings
    Pixel Perfect reports9.08 Ratings7.6129 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards9.18 Ratings8.0136 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates8.78 Ratings7.5131 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Clear Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Clear Analytics
    8.9
    8 Ratings
    11% above category average
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    7.9
    138 Ratings
    1% below category average
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    -
    Ratings
    Drill-down analysis9.28 Ratings7.4136 Ratings00 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities8.78 Ratings8.3139 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.98 Ratings8.6133 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings7.397 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Clear Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Clear Analytics
    9.0
    8 Ratings
    9% above category average
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    9.2
    136 Ratings
    11% above category average
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    -
    Ratings
    Publish to Web9.08 Ratings9.836 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to PDF9.17 Ratings8.2132 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Versioning8.98 Ratings9.833 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.87 Ratings8.2134 Ratings00 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings9.918 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Clear Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Clear Analytics
    9.0
    8 Ratings
    12% above category average
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    7.4
    124 Ratings
    8% below category average
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    -
    Ratings
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.98 Ratings7.9121 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization9.18 Ratings8.0114 Ratings00 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics00 Ratings6.7110 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings6.947 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Clear Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Clear Analytics
    9.3
    8 Ratings
    9% above category average
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    7.8
    130 Ratings
    8% below category average
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-User Support (named login)9.48 Ratings7.5129 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model9.08 Ratings7.5127 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)9.48 Ratings7.4127 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings8.257 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings8.6111 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Clear Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Clear Analytics
    8.6
    6 Ratings
    11% above category average
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    6.4
    109 Ratings
    19% below category average
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    -
    Ratings
    Mobile Application8.54 Ratings6.390 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile8.76 Ratings6.696 Ratings00 Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings6.8104 Ratings00 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Clear Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Clear Analytics
    -
    Ratings
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    9.2
    87 Ratings
    17% above category average
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    -
    Ratings
    REST API00 Ratings7.683 Ratings00 Ratings
    Javascript API00 Ratings7.779 Ratings00 Ratings
    iFrames00 Ratings9.912 Ratings00 Ratings
    Java API00 Ratings10.013 Ratings00 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings9.915 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings9.99 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Source Connection
    Comparison of Data Source Connection features of Clear Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Clear Analytics
    -
    Ratings
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    -
    Ratings
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    8.7
    4 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Connect to traditional data sources00 Ratings00 Ratings9.94 Ratings
    Connecto to Big Data and NoSQL00 Ratings00 Ratings7.54 Ratings
    Data Transformations
    Comparison of Data Transformations features of Clear Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Clear Analytics
    -
    Ratings
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    -
    Ratings
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    9.6
    4 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Simple transformations00 Ratings00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Complex transformations00 Ratings00 Ratings9.24 Ratings
    Data Modeling
    Comparison of Data Modeling features of Clear Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Clear Analytics
    -
    Ratings
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    -
    Ratings
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    8.0
    4 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Data model creation00 Ratings00 Ratings8.72 Ratings
    Metadata management00 Ratings00 Ratings7.74 Ratings
    Business rules and workflow00 Ratings00 Ratings8.44 Ratings
    Collaboration00 Ratings00 Ratings8.04 Ratings
    Testing and debugging00 Ratings00 Ratings7.14 Ratings
    Data Governance
    Comparison of Data Governance features of Clear Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Feature
    Clear Analytics
    -
    Ratings
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    -
    Ratings
    IBM InfoSphere Information Server
    9.7
    4 Ratings
    18% above category average
    Integration with data quality tools00 Ratings00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Integration with MDM tools00 Ratings00 Ratings9.53 Ratings
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    Clear AnalyticsIBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM InfoSphere Information Server
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    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.2 out of 10
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    Score8.2 out of 10
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    Score9.3 out of 10
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    Jaspersoft Community Edition
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    User Ratings
    Clear AnalyticsIBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (8 ratings)
    8.0
    (158 ratings)
    8.9
    (5 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.4
    (31 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    9.1
    (8 ratings)
    7.3
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.6
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.5
    (8 ratings)
    1.0
    (9 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.7
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (7 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.6
    (40 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sources
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.3
    (40 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.5
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.3
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Clear AnalyticsIBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM InfoSphere Information Server
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Clear Analytics
    Clear Analytics has almost all the features which are mostly required by the organizations for their data analytics and transformation activities. Clear Analytics is built on the support of a parallel query engine which makes it handle large volume requests and also provides optimized results. However, every solution has some limitations, Clear Analytics lacks advanced features such as Predictive Analytics which is a very demanding feature in the market as most organizations are adopting AI/ML automation for their businesses. Also, it needs to add a lot of advanced visualizations so that the user has the choice of selection. Overall a good solution to be recommended.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    For Transaction monitoring, we build reports for executive management, providing insights into the number of alerts, the types or categories of detection scenarios, the risk profile, and a snapshot of high- or urgent-priority cases to be reported to AUSTRAC. Congos helps to build the report by ingesting alert data exported from SAS datasets. It joins with other data from Teradata and Customer Hub (Oracle).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    Information Server is extremely useful to replace manual developments that require a lot of coding effort. It significantly increases the productivity of the initial development and the future maintenance of the processes since it has a visual development environment with self-documentation.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Clear Analytics
    • Quick management of the data through Excel thanks to the tools Clear Analytics provides such as filtering different information for an easier view.
    • Ability to add new KPIs to measure different areas of our business.
    • Drag and drop tool which makes an easier usage of Excel.
    • Cost-effective. I find Clear Analytics to be affordable considering the number of features added and the unlimited sharing and editing it provides.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • Enterprise reporting - Create, customise, and run reports on sales trends, consumer sentiment, etc.
    • Dashboard creation and data exploration & analysis - Using drag and drop feature to create ad-hoc visualisation. Additionally, using AI powered natural language query feature for data analysis and dashboard input (formation of pie, bar, line charts). It's useful for no-technical person to put queries around the spreadsheet data to get quick answers.
    • Building insights for accurate decision making - Package reports with data backed insights for stakeholders in pdf, and Excel format to support business ad-hoc cases, forecasting and strategic recommendations on relevant asks.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • IIS best for ETL ,not ELT , and many and diffrent source systems.
    • It also can process big data , unstuctured data
    • It is not only DWH , you can use infosphere for analys and see the bigger architecture of your OLTP systems
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Clear Analytics
    • For Charts and Graphs , getting the Power Point Deck would be helpful. As of now we use the data from Excel Reports
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • IBM Cognos Analytics enables customer data segmentation, which is essential for marketing, improving and streamlining purchasing behavior and preferences. This helps companies create more targeted and effective marketing campaigns.
    • Our clients Through data analysis, we can identify and observe trends in the behavior of other clients, allowing us to anticipate needs and adjust strategies to avoid consequences.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • I would be nice to have a new web development environment for DataStage.
    • Connectivity Packs such as Pack for SAP Application are a little pricey.
    • It is confusing for new developers the possibility of developing jobs using different execution engines such as Parallel or Server.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Clear Analytics
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    For an existing solution, renewing licenses does provide a good return on investment. Additionally, while rolling out scorecards and dashboards with little adhoc capabilities, to end users, cognos is very easily scalable. It also allows to create a solution that has a mix of OLAP and relational data-sources, which is a limitation with other tools. Synchronizing with existing security setup is easy too.
    Read full review
    IBM
    • Scale of implementation
    • IBM techsupport
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Clear Analytics
    I have really enjoyed working with Clear Analytics. This platform has contributed to increased production and reliable data control processes. It has flexible user interface that can be operated by any organization member. Reports are shared on simple and transparent way in the dashboard for easy access. Data analytics from all departments have created manageable working environment that have increased production.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    We have a strong user base (3500 users) that are highly utilizing this tool. Basic users are able to consume content within the applied security model. We have a set of advanced users that really push the limits of Cognos with Report and Query Studio. These users have created a lot of personal content and stored it in 'My Reports'. Users enjoy this flexibility.
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Reliability and Availability
    Clear Analytics
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    Reports can typically be viewed through any browser that can access the server, so the availability is ultimately up to what the company utilizing it is comfortable with allowing, though report development tends to be more picky about browsers and settings as mentioned above. It also has an optional iPad app and general mobile browsing support, but dashboards lack the mobile compatibility. What keeps it from getting a higher score is the desktop tools that are vital to the development process. The compatibility with only Windows when the server has a wide range of compatibility can be a real sore point for a company that outfits its employees exclusively with Mac or Linux machines. Of course, if they are planning on outsourcing the development anyways, it's a rather moot point
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Clear Analytics
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    Overall no major complaints but it doesn't handle DMR (Dimensionally Modeled for Relational) very well. DMR modelling is a capability that IBM Cognos Framework Manager provides allowing you to specify dimensional information for relational metadata and allows for OLAP-style queries. However, the capability is not very efficient and, for example, if I'm using only 2 columns on a 20-column model, the software is not smart enough to exclude 18 columns and the query side gets progressively larger and larger until it's effectively unusable.
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Clear Analytics
    I have had multiple scenarios where I had to reach out to the support team of Clear Analytics, be it access-related, general queries, during initial implementation, etc. My overall experience has always been good. I got the needed support every time without any delay. I can definitely recommend Clear Analytics simply on the basis of its excellent support team.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    Why is their web application not working as fast as you think it should? They never know, and it is always a a bunch of shots in the dark to find out. Trying to download software from them is like trying to find a book at the library before computers were invented.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    In-Person Training
    Clear Analytics
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    Onsite training provided by IBM Cognos was effective and as expected. They did not perform training with our data which was a bit difficult for our end-users.
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Clear Analytics
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    The online courses they offer are thorough and presented in such a way that someone who isn't already familiar with the general design methodologies used in this field will be capable of making a good design. The training environments are provided as a fully self contained virtual machine with everything needed already to create the environments. We've had some persisting issues with the environments becoming unavailable, but support has been responsive when these issues arise and straightening them out for us
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Clear Analytics
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    Make sure that any custom tables that you have, are built into your metadata packages. You can still access them via SQL queries in Cognos, but it is much easier to have them as a part of the available metadata packages.
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Clear Analytics
    There are other great tools that are out there but Clear Analytics is reasonable for our business and provides a lot of features that we specifically needed
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    Power BI is stronger for quick ad-hoc analysis and dashboards, but IBM Cognos Analytics is better when consistency, precision, and mass distribution matter. Tableau is best for interactive analysis, while IBM Cognos Analytics is better for standardized, repeatable enterprise reporting. Sigma shines for customizable dashboards and drill-down analysis while IBM Cognos Analytics holds an edge in data discovery and visualization.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    DataStage is more robust and stable than ODI The ability to perform complex transformations or implement business rules is much more developed in DS
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Clear Analytics
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    We rate IBM Cognos Analytics a 9 out of 10 for overall scalability. The platform handles large numbers of users, reports, and analytical workloads very reliably. We have experienced strong performance even in demanding enterprise environments with substantial data volumes. Its architecture provides sufficient flexibility to scale resources according to demand, making it well suited for large, business-critical deployments.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Clear Analytics
    • Super useful to get started immediately
    • Didn't have to rely on migrating data
    • Easy to add members
    • Easy to learn and build charts
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • The platform can be pretty pricey.
    • Convoluted contracts and they fine you for any breach during audits.
    • Things are changed between releases without any warning and break.
    • It is second to none at being able to customize list and crosstab type reports.
    • You can easily set up a report to be emailed out every day and even have it export the report to a shared folder.
    • On-prem environments can be scaled up pretty much as much as you would like.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • Productivity of the development of integration processes.
    • Better documentation and governance.
    • Reduce training costs of various technologies.
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Clear Analytics Screenshots

    Screenshot of Clear Analytics integrated Excel panel essentially transforms standalone Excel into an enterprise strength, fully auditable, collaborative and centralized business intelligence platform.Screenshot of Users have the ability to dynamically query systems and render that data in any way they like.  No more waiting on IT to create reports.Screenshot of Your firms existing knowledge of Excel enables the firm to be product from day 1. Use the skills already present in your organization and don't pay for outside reporting consultants to create reports for you.Screenshot of Leverage the integration capability of Microsoft's Power BI to extend the reach of your data to web and mobile devices.Screenshot of Leverage all of Excels capabilities, from it's slicers to miniature spark-line charts to create incredibly informative and responsive dashboards.

    IBM Cognos Analytics Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot