Item: IBM Cognos Analytics
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our entire organization uses IBM Cognos and we love it. It does have a large learning curve, but it is such a powerful analytics and reporting tool. This tool allows you to manipulate and report off of large amounts of data. Personally, I like being able to extract it to Excel so that you can manipulate the data via pivot tables.

Pros and Cons

Handles big data well.
Provides the end-user with the data.
Allows for management to get the data they need.

Large learning curve.
Requires a lot of IT support.

Alternatives Considered

We originally went with Cognos as our reporting tool for our ERP system. Before that, we were on a homegrown system that did not allow for the customization that Cognos allows. While I have not worked with another reporting system first hand, I can say that when I visit with my peers who use other systems, their system does not have the robust capabilities that Cognos has.

Data Integration

This is not something I am familiar with. This is something that would be more on the IT side. I work on the functional side, so I do not have experience with the data source connectivity. Cognos Analytics on Cloud is a great tool and does require IT support. We use it for reporting from our ERP system.

Collaboration and Sharing

Burst emails are lacking, but they can be done. They require some IT support, I would like to see the functional user be able to do more of the burst emails themselves. Also, sometimes the burst emails can be quirky and duplicate text. When this happens, you have to get IT involved because of the complexity.

Other Software Used

Ellucian Banner, Skype for Business (formerly Lync), Microsoft Access

Likelihood to Recommend

IBM Cognos is a wonderful tool for reporting and analytics. It works best when you are working with large data. We use it as the reporting tool for our ERP system, Banner. Cognos works well to be able to deliver reports that cannot be obtained through Banner. We have several users that never access Banner, they only use Cognos to obtain their data.

Great product!

Overall Satisfaction with IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud