It's like a Swiss Army knife for our data
March 25, 2024

It's like a Swiss Army knife for our data

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Modules Used

  • Analysis Studio
  • Report Studio
  • Event Studio

Overall Satisfaction with IBM Cognos Analytics

At our marketing agency, we primarily use IBM Cognos Analytics to dive deep into customer and non-customer data for a major financial bank brand we're working with. Our main goal is to gauge the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns and track the performance of financial products and services, like how many new credit card subscriptions or account openings we're getting. Basically, Cognos Analytics is our go-to for everything data-related. It helps us pull together all kinds of data, make sense of it, and then present it in a way that’s easy for both our team and our client to understand. We're talking detailed reports, dashboards full of insights, and really clear visualizations that show us what's working and what's not. It's been a really helpful tool in terms of making data-driven decisions to fine-tune our strategies and boost sales performance for the bank. It's like having a superpower for data analytics in our toolkit.
  • The user-friendly dashboards lets us create custom dashboards super quickly. It's great at visualizing data in a way that's easy to grasp, which means we can spot trends at a glance without getting lost in the numbers.
  • AI-powered Insights are a lifesaver. It automatically highlights patterns and insights we might miss, making our analysis more thorough without extra effort on our part.
  • Data integration is a breeze. Merging data from various sources is very simple to implement. Whether it's customer feedback or sales figures, Cognos handles it seamlessly, giving us a complete view without the headache of manual merging.
  • We love the report automation. Generating reports is no longer a time-consuming task. We set up what we need once, and Cognos does the rest, automating our weekly or monthly reports and saving us a ton of time.
  • The learning curve can be a bit of a challenge. Getting the hang of Cognos Analytics was a bit of a challenge at first. It's packed with features, which is great, but it can be overwhelming. A simplified introductory mode for new users would be a huge help.
  • The mobile experience could be a lot better. Accessing reports on the go is a bit clunky. The mobile interface could definitely use some polishing to make it as smooth and intuitive as the desktop experience.
  • Performance with large datasets sometimes lages. When we're working with really big data sets, things can slow down a bit. Improving the efficiency and speed for these situations would make our data analysis tasks even smoother.
  • Cutting Down on Crunch Time: Before bringing Cognos into our toolkit, a lot of our hours went into just getting the data cleaned and ready. It was necessary but felt like forever. Now, we're seeing that prep time getting slashed by half. This means our data experts can spend more time on the cool stuff, like digging into what our campaigns are actually achieving, instead of just trying to make sense of the raw data.
  • Keeping Our Wallets Happier: We used to bounce between a bunch of different tools for all our data needs, which was not only a hassle but also kind of pricey. By switching to Cognos Analytics, we've managed to cut down on those extra costs by about 20%. It's like having one super tool that does it all, making everything simpler and cheaper.
  • Making Data-Driven Moves Faster: With easier access to our data through Cognos' dashboards, we've been able to give our client real-time insights. This has been a huge plus for the sales and marketing strategies for their financial products. We're talking about a 15% boost in sales, just because we can act on the data faster. Plus, the predictive analytics part has been a game-changer for planning out future campaigns.
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 and slick visualizations. It's made our reporting so much faster and more intuitive. We can connect our data automatically, clean it up without breaking a sweat, and get recommendations on the best ways to present our findings. Honestly, it's like the software is doing half the work for us, letting us focus more on strategy and less on the grunt work. These tools have not only sped up our workflow but also opened up more opportunities for us to dive deeper into our analytics without needing extra hands or hours in the day.
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 different teams and clients access different levels of information. With these governance controls, we're way more confident in our data's quality and security. It’s like having a built-in guardrail, making sure we stay compliant and protect our client’s information, which is a top priority in the financial sector.
It makes putting together those detailed, fancy reports pretty straightforward and flexible. We can tailor them just how we need, which is a big win. But, it's not all smooth sailing, especially for folks in our team who aren't super techy. Getting the hang of some of the cooler, deeper features can take a minute. So, yeah, it's awesome, but a tad friendlier approach for everyone would make it even better.
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.

Do you think IBM Cognos Analytics delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with IBM Cognos Analytics's feature set?

Yes

Did IBM Cognos Analytics live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of IBM Cognos Analytics go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy IBM Cognos Analytics again?

Yes

Cognos is fantastic for businesses like ours that need to dive deep into customer data to evaluate marketing strategies. It's especially good when you're dealing with multiple data sources and need to bring everything together in a coherent, visual format for analysis and decision-making. Also, if your team values data-driven insights to guide your strategies, Cognos Analytics is a powerful ally. Where it might be less appropriate is for small startups or teams with very basic data analysis needs. The complexity and cost could be overkill when simpler, less expensive solutions like Power Bi, or Tableau would do. Additionally, if quick, on-the-fly mobile access to data is critical for your team, you might find the mobile experience a bit lacking.

IBM Cognos Analytics Feature Ratings

Pixel Perfect reports
9
Customizable dashboards
8
Report Formatting Templates
8
Drill-down analysis
9
Formatting capabilities
8
Integration with R or other statistical packages
9
Report sharing and collaboration
7
Publish to PDF
9
Report Delivery Scheduling
8
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)
8
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization
7
Predictive Analytics
8
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining
7
Multi-User Support (named login)
9
Role-Based Security Model
9
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)
8
Report-Level Access Control
8
Single Sign-On (SSO)
8
Responsive Design for Web Access
7
Mobile Application
6
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile
6
REST API
Not Rated
Javascript API
Not Rated