TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    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 watsonx Orchestrate

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AIBM® watsonx™ Orchestrate® leverages AI to automate complex workflows. The solution helps build, deploy, and manage AI assistants and agents. It offers a catalogue of pre-built agents and tools, low-code agent builder, multi-agent collaboration capabilities, and integrations with enterprise apps.

    $530

    per month

    Pricing
    IBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Editions & Modules
    On Demand - Standard
    USD 11.25
    per month per user
    On Demand - Premium
    USD 44.90
    per month per user
    Essential
    $500
    per month per subscription
    Essentials
    $500
    per month Per subscription
    Standard
    Enterprise
    Standard
    Enterprise
    per month Per subscription
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    IBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalOptional
    Additional Details—IBM watsonx Orchestrate can be deployed and run on IBM Cloud, AWS, or on-premises. Prices shown are indicative, may vary by country, exclude any applicable taxes and duties, and are subject to product offering availability in a locale.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    IBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Considered Both Products
    IBM
    Chose IBM Cognos Analytics
    Cognos provides very advanced analytics functionalities, maybe even more advanced than the competition, and works great when used in collaboration with Watson. However, Tableau and other newer products are much better regarding overall usability.
    Incentivized
    IBM
    Chose IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    My experience working with Microsoft Bot Framework and Dialogflow has shown that Watson Assistant features an intuitive interface combined with powerful analytics. We selected Watson Assistant because it strikes an excellent balance between providing powerful capabilities while …
    Incentivized
    Chose IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Watsonx Assistant is distinguished by its ability to understand natural language and its ability to adapt and learn over time. This allows for a more natural and personalized interaction with customers, enhancing the user experience. In addition, Watson Assistant offers a wide …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    97%
    Would buy again
    95 Answers
    98%
    Would buy again
    138 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    81 Answers
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    125 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    94 Answers
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    140 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    57 Answers
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    102 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    67 Answers
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    111 Answers
    Features
    IBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM watsonx Orchestrate
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Feature
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    7.7
    141 Ratings
    6% below category average
    IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    -
    Ratings
    Pixel Perfect reports7.6132 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards8.0139 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates7.5134 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Feature
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    7.9
    141 Ratings
    1% below category average
    IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    -
    Ratings
    Drill-down analysis7.4139 Ratings00 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities8.3142 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages7.299 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.6136 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Feature
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    9.2
    139 Ratings
    11% above category average
    IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    -
    Ratings
    Publish to Web9.838 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to PDF8.3135 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Versioning9.836 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.2137 Ratings00 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers9.820 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Feature
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    7.4
    127 Ratings
    8% below category average
    IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    -
    Ratings
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)7.9124 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.0117 Ratings00 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics6.7113 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining6.950 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Feature
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    7.8
    133 Ratings
    8% below category average
    IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-User Support (named login)7.5132 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model7.5130 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)7.4130 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control8.260 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)8.6114 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Feature
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    6.3
    111 Ratings
    20% below category average
    IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    -
    Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access6.7106 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Application6.392 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile6.698 Ratings00 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Feature
    IBM Cognos Analytics
    9.1
    89 Ratings
    16% above category average
    IBM watsonx Orchestrate
    -
    Ratings
    REST API7.685 Ratings00 Ratings
    Javascript API7.781 Ratings00 Ratings
    iFrames9.914 Ratings00 Ratings
    Java API9.915 Ratings00 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)9.917 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)9.911 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    IBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score7 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    IBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (161 ratings)
    7.8
    (133 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.4
    (31 ratings)
    4.5
    (5 ratings)
    Usability
    7.3
    (10 ratings)
    7.3
    (79 ratings)
    Availability
    8.6
    (4 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.0
    (9 ratings)
    7.3
    (10 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    8.7
    (4 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.0
    (7 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Configurability
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.6
    (40 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sources
    8.3
    (40 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    5.5
    (6 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    6.4
    (5 ratings)
    4.5
    (1 ratings)
    Professional Services
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    IBM Cognos AnalyticsIBM watsonx Orchestrate
    Likelihood to Recommend
    IBM
    We are a larger, more established company with a backlog of data in Excel and multiple departments. Everything was on Excel sheets in a file being run manually monthly. I think it is a good bridge for a company that was stuck in the 2000's but isn't ready to come to 2026 yet. It's for a company that needs a reporting solution and has needed it for quite some time but not a techy company with lots of integration issues and reports in 5 different places.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    For starters, most enterprise-grade organizations and Customers struggle to align their current IT estate and landscape with fast-moving, agile, AI-driven automation and development initiatives. All tooling, governance, structure, and frameworks available to support and facilitate the incorporation of this new but still cross-system technology layer are essential to minimize the risks of data leaks, unauthorized access, unbridled token consumption, and other issues. For some businesses and organizations with a handful of systems or a smaller footprint, the platform could be a bit too complex.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    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
    • New and improved natural language processing yielding better results helps the assistants understand the intention behind the query.
    • Preserves context of communication, allowing the customers to establish inquiries on the website and continue on the mobile app without having extra informational input.
    • Intelligent conversations mean that complex paths that are branched based on the user's inputs allow for a much more natural flow of the conversation than fixed scripts.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    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 think that it needs to be able to integrate better with the knowledge catalogs. It currently provides a default database, which isn't quite large enough for enterprise use. We can connect that then to an external source, but it'd be nice if we could able just to instantiate one straight away.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    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
    Currently we are using to develop chatbots based on client provided flow what kind chatbot required for client either button or free text chatbots. we will decided accordingly flow and develop chatbot using IBM Watson. We will integrated custom components if required which is not present in library. Action flow and dialog flow we are currently in chatbot.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    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
    With the growing use of AI and chatbots, it's very easy to use, and the conversational language makes it easier than keyword searches in a document. The contextual language processing is impressive. It's easy to integrate into our internal portal. The use of this tool would depend on each company's security and data sensitivity.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    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
    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
    To develop chatbots based on client provided flow what kind chatbot required for client either button or free text chatbots. we will decided accordingly flow and develop chatbot using IBM Watson. We will integrated custom components if required which is not present in library. IBM Watson library anyone can easily learn and develop chatbots.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    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
    We've rarely had to engage support, but they've always been prompt in responding and very attentive. Support experiences have been extremely positive (but we're mostly happy that we just don't have any cause to routinely need support in the first place!).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    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
    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
    Excellent course material.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    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
    Overall the implementation was simple.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    IBM
    Cognos has the edge over Crystal Reports because you have to create any ODBC/JDBC setups. Cognos provides the ability to created scheduled reports where as SAP requires additional parameters to achieve this functionality. This next thing that I'm about to mention serves as a BIG advantage - Crystal Reports has to be installed onto each User's PC which is time consuming for a Bank that has hundreds of Employees where as Cognos of course doesn't require this process as its a cloud app and even better, Users sign into to the app via SSO (Single Sign On).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    Strong ITSM and HR workflow automation with governance, ServiceNow excels in IT/HR but lacks flexibility for cross-departmental use cases such as demand planning, finance close, or procurement analytics. Orchestrate supports a broader set of enterprise functions beyond IT service automation. So, watsonx is a better approach than any other available tool in the market as of now, based on the use cases I've encountered and my efforts to understand the essence of the service.
    Read full review
    Scalability
    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
    From past 3+ years I am using IBM Watson in our current project easily can implement and manage and monitor user how their using. Is there and update also just update dialog is just enough to change no need to touch any other templates. Multiple language will support, and action and dialog speak recognize chatbot we can create as per client requirement. Overall, as of now good experience with IBM Watson.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    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
    • As a very small team WxO give us more time back and handles manual tasks.
    • WxO helps us reduce manual errors (and the time it takes to find and resolve.)
    • WxO, as a task scheduler and reminder system, helps us not forget certain key events with time-dependent requirements.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    IBM Cognos Analytics Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot

    IBM watsonx Orchestrate Screenshots

    Screenshot of IBM® watsonx Orchestrate® homepage UI when you enter into the product.Screenshot of Catalog of AI agents and tools in different domains from multiple partnersScreenshot of Creating agents - from scratch or using a pre-built templateScreenshot of Multi Agent Collaboration - Employee Support Manager AgentScreenshot of IT domain agents from IBM and other partnersScreenshot of Integrations from multiple common applications