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IBM Cognos Analytics

IBM Cognos Analytics

Overview

What is IBM Cognos Analytics?

IBM 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.

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Recent Reviews

IBM Cognos Analytics

8 out of 10
March 20, 2024
Incentivized
This technology is a great way for our business to see the scope of the work we are doing in one large dashboard. The data driven insights …
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How IBM Cognos Analytics Differs From Its Competitors

Self-Service

While there are claims for the AI integration and other aspects, the implementation of these are not easy and I have seen few success stories of the same. Data cleansing in a reporting tool is rather not recommended and should be done at data source or in data quality tools.
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Data Security and Quality

Security and access control based on department, role and user types is one of the key requirements for me. This is something IBM Cognos Analytics does quite well and easyly integrates with windows AD.
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Self-Service

When used properly, the AI features do provide productivity gains. However, they won't do all the work for you. They alleviate some of the most tedious tasks and help speed things up overall.
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Data Security and Quality

Those functionalities are must-haves in any large organization, where you can not allow everybody to access every data set. However, I wish there were more options for user authentication.
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Self-Service

Cognos' self-service capabilities have been a game-changer for our team. Before, data analysis felt like you needed a degree in wizardry. Now, with AI-assisted data prep and the AI Assistant, it's like having a data expert by your side, translating our plain English questions into deep insights …
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Data Security and Quality

For us, working with a major financial brand, data security isn't just important—it's everything. Cognos Analytics' security controls are a big deal for us. They let us manage who sees what, ensuring only the right eyes are on sensitive data. This is crucial in a big agency like ours, where …
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Self-Service

We have not used the AI assisted data preparation as the amount of the data that we collect is on a larger scale and we are in the very beginning of implementing AI on a broder scope in our organization
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Data Security and Quality

We are very much concerned about our data as we are a global organisation.
The data we collect is to make sure we make earth a better place to live hence we go a extra mile to make sure the data is secured and only the authorised persons have access the the data.
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Self-Service

1. We use the tool for data modeling as it helps in predictive data analysis for complex data, which is very much in line with real-life scenarios. 2. Options of customizing & scheduling reports as per our requirements basis. 3. With limited options, API integration is not up to the mark.
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Data Security and Quality

1. We use the tool for data modeling as it helps in predictive data analysis for complex data, which is very much in line with real-life scenarios. 2. Options of customizing & scheduling reports as per our requirements basis. 3. Has a mobile application that works seamlessly. 4. Laptops gets …
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Self-Service

These features have streamlined some manual work and further advanced automation, but validation and further accuracy-checking is still needed as we gain confidence in the platform and want to ensure confidence.
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Self-Service

AI assisted data cleansing and connecting data have helped in the process of preparing and transforming data for analysis. Automated dashboard creation supports users to quickly generate interactive dashboard without the need of technical support. Self service feature in cognos analytics helped …
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Data Security and Quality

It helps in defining and imposing security policies for different levels, be it groups or individual levels. It implements data governance controls which helps in data quality management and also helps in improving accuracy, and consistency of data. When user know their data is secured and their …
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Self-Service

We are getting benefited continuously with the advanced Automation and AI capabilities on IBM Cognos Analytics which enable us to focus more on delivering the strategic business solutions rather than repetitive development tasks like data extraction, modelling (unless specific modelling is needed …
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Data Security and Quality

Data security is a critical deal maker or deal breaker for us and IBM Cognos Analytics live to fullest of the expectations in this regard.
It offers tremendously helpful capabilities for row level and role level security on top of already powerful single sign on and multi factor authentication …
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Self-Service

I feel the self-service capabilities are the best part about this tool. Big data usually comes with challenges of cleaning and streamlining the data, which is done easily and mostly automatically by IBM Cognos Analytics. Also, plain English commands make the tool extremely user friendly and very …
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Data Security and Quality

The level-wise controls and access management work smoothly. We have a big team using this software, and everyone's access and role rights are efficiently and easily managed through the tool.
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Self-Service

These tools have been incredibly impactful in driving our business activities and spending less time on tedious reports and organization/business decisions.
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Data Security and Quality

I feel much more confident about the quality of the data I'm using since there are numerous AI and data mining tools involved in this process that make data organization and optimization easier. These tools are incredibly important to maintaining data and making informed business decisions for …
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Self-Service

Its advanced AI capabilities help us immensely in data analysis as its very fast in analyzing large amounts of data in lower time frame. and as its running with the help of ai it means we can deploy our resources somewhere else.
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Data Security and Quality

By data governance IBM Cognos Analytics ensures our data remains safe. It only allow authorized individuals with access of confidential data. with its accurate data analytics capabilities we are ensured that our data received from it is consistent and accurate. and because of that we are really …
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Self-Service

We regularly use plain English commands to generate a lot of data report, to categorise those reports and to derive business strategies through it.<br>The self-service capabilities also make the learning curve much smoother.<br>The best feature is its chart creation, which can create really …
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Data Security and Quality

We are a team of about 12 people who use this tool on a regular basis - ranging from management to junior data analyst. Its individual-level security controls help us assign specific roles and access to each user.
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Self-Service

They've helped our middle office and back office non technical users to be able to probe data and come up with informed analysis on past trades. This has dramatically reduced the number of support requests for ad-hoc reporting raised with our technical teams. The reporting tool has helped …
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Data Security and Quality

In a bank, these controls are critical as we need row and column level data protection. In addition, we need to prove to compliance on a regular basis that our controls are working correctly and this tool helps us provide the data in accordance with user permissions.
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Self-Service

These self-service capabilities have enhanced the company's activities by allowing the creators and users of the information the freedom to take an idea they have and run with it. They can use the AI Assistant to take their ideas and create a visualization that helps get their point across and …
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Data Security and Quality

By allowing the enhanced security controls the company has been able to make sure that all relevant data is limited to the users that need it most and it is locked down appropriately. This gives Management peace of mind that the right people are looking at the right data and the risk of the …
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Self-Service

This is always what characterizes this software; it is possible to link tools that help to work with different data sources and AI, and it is also possible to visualize the data in a personalized control panel with a direct or indirect classification to all the obtaining system Automated data …
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Data Security and Quality

There are more than ten groups with central administrative permissions that are working with this software only in my department; in other areas, different permissions have also been established for each job according to each data source; this significantly helps the individual performance of each …
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Self-Service

If it is possible for all users to clearly understand the generated reports, the information panels are easy even for non-technical staff; it is not necessary to ask for help to export information to components or modules that are required, and it is also easy to change the location and report …
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Data Security and Quality

Documents and reports are shared in all departments only with Latin permissions for password management and encryption when required; there is a person in charge in each department who has the authorization; in the same way, this product has additional security features with advanced verification. …
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Self-Service

IBM Cognos Analytics' data modules allow for basic data prep tasks and continue to evolve. They provide a good web-based environment to manage metadata and build out calculations and filters, which help improve self-service analytics for end users. The AI assistant is a nice enhancement in recent …
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Data Security and Quality

Data governance and controls are vital when rolling out an enterprise reporting, dashboarding, and analytics platform. IBM Cognos Analytics has always provided good and effective controls in this respect, which continue to be supported in newer releases. Security control also remains a strong …
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Data Security and Quality

This does increase throughput so that we can deploy content to a wider audience utilizing security to make sure people see only what they are supposed to see. The overall model is flexible and powerful so we can deliver data securely no matter the security need.
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Self-Service

Leveraging AI to analyse data and generate interactive dashboards is an incredible powerful and time saving feature.
The AI assistant natural language processing is also a great tool to fill the knowledge gap that is normal for clients using these kind of tools.
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Data Security and Quality

The security controls are a must of using this tool. Beyond important :-) Without security it would not work.
Proper content management and data quality features improved the confidence in the quality of the data.
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Data Security and Quality

Extremely! As we are a healthcare insurance company, we are driven by mandates from the government and have strict policies to follow. CA allows permissions to be set at most of the levels we require.
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Self-Service

We provide training on these exact capabilities and offer custom report/dasboard builds on an SOW basis. Along with our standard reports and dashboards this has allowed us to satisfy all of our customer needs.
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Data Security and Quality

IBM Cognos allows governors at system level, model/package level and report level security controls, but it is lacking control by tenants. e.g. many system level governors like high/low affinity processes or max processes cannot have different settings per tenant.
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Self-Service

These capabilities were designed to empower business users with the ability to access and analyze data without heavy reliance on IT or technical expertise.
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 30 features
  • Formatting capabilities (102)
    8.1
    81%
  • Drill-down analysis (101)
    8.1
    81%
  • Report Delivery Scheduling (100)
    8.0
    80%
  • Customizable dashboards (99)
    7.8
    78%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

View all pros & cons
Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Banking Company, 5001-10,000 employees
Verified User
Program Manager in Product Management
Information Technology & Services Company, 5001-10,000 employees
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Pricing

View all pricing

On Demand - Standard

$10.00

Cloud
per month per user

On Demand - Premium

$40.00

On Premise
per month per user

Entry-level set up fee?

  • Setup fee optional
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://www.ibm.com/products/cognos…

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Starting price (does not include set up fee)

  • $10 per month per user
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Product Demos

IBM Cognos Analytics Product Tour

Walnut.io
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Features

BI Standard Reporting

Standard reporting means pre-built or canned reports available to users without having to create them.

7.9
Avg 8.2

Ad-hoc Reporting

Ad-Hoc Reports are reports built by the user to meet highly specific requirements.

8.1
Avg 8.1

Report Output and Scheduling

Ability to schedule and manager report output.

8.3
Avg 8.4

Data Discovery and Visualization

Data Discovery and Visualization is the analysis of multiple data sources in a search for patterns and outliers and the ability to represent the data visually.

8.1
Avg 8.1

Access Control and Security

Access control means being able to determine who has access to which data.

8.3
Avg 8.6

Mobile Capabilities

Support for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

7.3
Avg 7.9

Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding

APIs are a set of routines, protocols, and tools for used for embedding one application in another

7.5
Avg 7.9
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Product Details

What is IBM Cognos Analytics?

Cognos Analytics is an AI-fueled business intelligence platform that supports the entire analytics cycle, from discovery to operationalization. Cognos Analytics gives users — whether data scientist, business analyst or non-specialist — more power to perform relevant analysis in a way that ties back to organizational objectives. It aims to shorten each user’s journey from simple to sophisticated analytics, allowing them to harness data to explore the unknown, identify new relationships, get a deeper understanding of outcomes and challenge the status quo. Users can visualize, analyze and share actionable insights about data with anyone in the organization.


IBM Cognos Analytics Features

BI Platform Features

  • Supported: Administration via Web Interface
  • Supported: Live Connection to External Data
  • Supported: Snapshot of External Data
  • Supported: In-memory data model
  • Supported: OLAP (Pre-processed cube representation)
  • Supported: Multi-Data Source Reporting (Blending)
  • Supported: ETL Capability
  • Supported: ETL Scheduler

Supported Data Sources Features

  • Supported: MS Excel Workbooks
  • Supported: Text Files (CSV, etc)
  • Supported: Oracle
  • Supported: MS SQL Server
  • Supported: IBM DB2
  • Supported: MySQL
  • Supported: ODBC
  • Supported: Cloudera Hadoop
  • Supported: IBM Netezza
  • Supported: SAP Hana
  • Supported: Salesforce
  • Supported: SAP

BI Standard Reporting Features

  • Supported: Pixel Perfect reports
  • Supported: Customizable dashboards
  • Supported: Report Formatting Templates

Ad-hoc Reporting Features

  • Supported: Drill-down analysis
  • Supported: Formatting capabilities
  • Supported: Predictive modeling
  • Supported: Integration with R or other statistical packages
  • Supported: Report sharing and collaboration

Report Output and Scheduling Features

  • Supported: Publish to PDF
  • Supported: Output Raw Supporting Data
  • Supported: Report Delivery Scheduling

Data Discovery and Visualization Features

  • Supported: Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)
  • Supported: Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization
  • Supported: Predictive Analytics
  • Supported: Support for Machine Learning models
  • Supported: Pattern Recognition and Data Mining
  • Supported: Integration with R or other statistical packages

Access Control and Security Features

  • Supported: Multi-User Support (named login)
  • Supported: Role-Based Security Model
  • Supported: Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)
  • Supported: Report-Level Access Control
  • Supported: Table-Level Access Control (BI-layer)
  • Supported: Field-Level Access Control (BI-layer)
  • Supported: Single Sign-On (SSO)

Mobile Capabilities Features

  • Supported: Responsive Design for Web Access
  • Supported: Mobile Application
  • Supported: Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile

Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding Features

  • Supported: REST API
  • Supported: Javascript API

Additional Features

  • Supported: AI Forecasting

IBM Cognos Analytics Integrations

IBM Cognos Analytics Competitors

IBM Cognos Analytics Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsWindows, Linux, Mac
Mobile ApplicationApple iOS, Android
Supported CountriesGlobal
Supported LanguagesEnglish, French, German, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, Finnish, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Hebrew, Urdu, Farsi

Frequently Asked Questions

IBM 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.

IBM Cognos Analytics starts at $10.

Tableau Public, Tableau Server, and Microsoft Power BI are common alternatives for IBM Cognos Analytics.

Reviewers rate Publish to PDF highest, with a score of 8.7.

The most common users of IBM Cognos Analytics are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(579)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 98)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
March 29, 2024

IBM Cognos Analytics, in my opinion, legacy leader modern laggard

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Banking Company, 5001-10,000 employees
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
IBM Cognos Analytics is our legacy BI solution. It hadn't stacked up well against its modern contemporaries. We are thinking of replacing it with Microsoft BI.
March 29, 2024

Good BI tool for advanced analytics.

Verified User
Program Manager in Product Management
Information Technology & Services Company, 5001-10,000 employees
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
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.
March 25, 2024

It's like a Swiss Army knife for our data

Verified User
Executive in Marketing
Marketing & Advertising Company, 51-200 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
We looked at Qlik Sense, SAP Analytics Cloud, and IBM Cognos Analytics for our financial brand's needs. Qlik Sense is super user-friendly, great for quick data digging. SAP Analytics is perfect when we're working with other SAP stuff; it just clicks. But for our big project, Cognos was the winner. It's a powerhouse for making detailed reports and keeping data locked down tight, which we absolutely need when handling our client's sensitive info. Cognos just had the muscle for the heavy lifting on reporting and security we needed.
March 23, 2024

Great Data Visual tool that's let down by lack of integrations & customer support.

Verified User
Employee in Sales
Apparel & Fashion Company, 10,001+ employees
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
IBM Cognos comes close to Data Central. It has some pros & cons over Data Central. Pros: 1. We use the tool for data modeling as it helps in predictive data analysis for complex data, which is very much in line with real-life scenarios. 2. Has a mobile application that works seamlessly. Data Central is not easy to use on mobiles. Cons: 1. API integration with minimal options is not up to the mark. 2. There is a Lot of scope to improve customer support & it's not up to industry standards. Data Central is very much ahead in terms of support.
March 22, 2024

IBM Cognos for Automation, Business Performance Insights, and Advanced Learning

Shelby Kolb | TrustRadius Reviewer
Shelby Kolb
Data Analyst
PlayStation (Entertainment, 1001-5000 employees)
Score 4 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
IBM Cognos has a lot more deep, robust, AI-driven Business Intelligence features that remove some of the manual work. Automation is a lot more seamless and ease of making data available and digestible by several non-technical business partners.
March 22, 2024

Unlocking Business Insights with IBM Cognos Analytics

AA
Adi arora
Lead Engineer
Kipi.bi (Information Technology & Services, 1001-5000 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
Cognos Analytics provides wide range for reporting, data visualization, and self service analytics. Cognos has strong security and governance features. Sigma Computing is purely cloud native approach and has spreadsheet like interface and doesn't provide many customization options for reporting and dashboards.
Cognos can smoothly integrate with IBM products and other third party data sources whereas Sigma Computing provides integration with cloud data warehouses and data lakes.
March 20, 2024

IBM Cognos Analytics: The best blend of PowerBI, Tableau & Qlik

Hemant Chaturvedi | TrustRadius Reviewer
Hemant Chaturvedi
Software Developer
Toyota (Mechanical Or Industrial Engineering, 10,001+ employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
IBM Cognos Analytics can be placed moderately among the evergreen reporting solutions mentioned above (MS Power BI, Tableau, Qlik Sense) with both pros and cons in different categories over these tools.
In terms of security, it is as reliable as Power BI which is powered by native MS Azure based authentication.
In terms of intuitiveness and attractive visuals, it is as good as Tableau.
In terms of allocating and utilizing infra resources for backend processes, it is as good as Qlik Sense.
March 20, 2024

Great for data analysis

DG
Dhruv Goyal
Team lead
United software group (Information Technology & Services, 1001-5000 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
While all of them have their own advantages. IBM Cognos Analytics is highly scalable and have unmatched data analytics capabilities which makes the data from IBM Cognos Analytics of very high quality and data governance also makes sure your data is safe and protected.
March 20, 2024

Powerful and reliable BI tool

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Banking Company, 10,001+ employees
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
IBM Cognos Analytics is a relatively late entrant in the BI space - dominated by Tableau and Qlik. it works well for 80% of our use cases and is easy for a non technical user to start using. Also due to enterprise licensing, its easier to distribute internally.
February 13, 2024

IBM Cognos Analytics Review

Thomas Baker, CFE, MBA | TrustRadius Reviewer
Thomas Baker, CFE, MBA
Risk Advisory Senior Manager
CFGI (Accounting, 501-1000 employees)
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
In the past Management had used Excel and Workiva capabilities to create the reporting dashboards that were being used to make decisions. Since switching to IBM Cognos Analytics the Company has been much more efficient and decision making has been streamlined. IBM Cognos Analytics was chosen due to its reputation and data visualization capabilities and neither have been wrong.
November 15, 2023

High Quality Enterprise Analytics Platform

Nick Waters | TrustRadius Reviewer
Nick Waters
Solution Architect
Capita (Information Technology & Services, 10,001+ employees)
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
ResellerIncentivized
Alternatives Considered
IBM Cognos Analytics supports better enterprise connectivity than the competition. It supports on-premises and cloud deployments, regardless of cloud platform, and also provides its own SaaS cloud platform. Other tools are locked in to specific cloud platforms and are not as data agnostic as IBM Cognos Analytics and its wide range of deployment options.
October 10, 2023

Cognos Analytics for Enterprise reporting

Verified User
Consultant in Information Technology
Management Consulting Company, 1-10 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
ResellerIncentivized
Alternatives Considered
I like the cloud native character and ease of deployment with Sigma and ThogthSpot, I also like the metadata modelling capabilities of Power BI. I prefer the ability of Cognos to create and publish a metadata model that provides both ad hoc access and managed reporting and everything in between.
August 31, 2023

Powerful analytics platform

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Banking Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft Power BI has a more user friendly interface and it is integrated very well with the other Microsoft products but IBM Cognos Analytics has a more advanced reporting and complex data analysis capabilities.
July 22, 2023

Cognos Analytics Is Good

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Insurance Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
We have alot of resources already invested in Cognos and it would be a humongous effort to migrate. CA is more inline with Power BI and Tableau now that there are dashboarding capabilities.
July 21, 2023

IBM Cognos can't be beat for customer satisfaction

SL
Shawn Lamson
Tech Manager, BI & Analytics
Ideagen (Environmental Services, 51-200 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
ResellerIncentivized
Alternatives Considered
We could deliver a corporate wide solution with Cognos, it is an end-to-end platform. No other option provided the same breadth of scope. I can't think of a feature that the others provide that Cognos lacks, but the others do not provide the same features and governance of data with user/data security in mind.
February 24, 2023

Versatile and next generation BI tool.

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Information Technology & Services Company, 10,001+ employees
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Alternatives Considered
IBM Cognos Analytics with Watson is an enterprise ready tool and could provide end to end functionality expected from a BI tool. Provides integration with custom applications as well as provides not just high end visualizations that Tableau or PowerBI provides but also the very much needed detailed pixel perfect operational reports as well. Ability to extract and share data within and outside the organization. Schedule reports and burst reports based on report parameters which is not available or complex to implement in any of the tools evaluated. While Thought spot provided natural language querying, IIBM Cognos Analytics with Watson also was able to do that, effectively.
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