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Databricks vs IBM Cognos comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM SPSS Statistics
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Data Mining (3rd), Data Science Platforms (9th)
Databricks
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
84
Ranking in other categories
Data Science Platforms (1st), Streaming Analytics (1st)
IBM Cognos
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
134
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (7th), Reporting (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Data Science Platforms
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Md Masudul Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive data analysis capabilities with a user-friendly interface, providing an efficient and reliable platform for researchers and analysts
I believe that offering short-term SPSS licenses, perhaps when customer sourcing is available, could make it more affordable. These licenses shouldn't include features tailored for universities or large sales organizations. Instead, they could offer discounts or additional facilities for smaller entities to access the software. In developing countries, it would be beneficial to provide certain features to users at no cost initially, while also customizing pricing options. For example, offering basic features to the first hundred users can help them become familiar with the software and its capabilities. This approach encourages users to upgrade to higher tiers as they become more experienced and require additional functionality.
Dunstan Matekenya - PeerSpot reviewer
Process large-scale data sets and integrates with Apache Spark with notebook environment
Databricks integrates natively with Apache Spark, which I use as a processing engine for large-scale datasets. This native integration is one of its strengths. Another strength is that the platform makes it very easy to manage resources. For example, setting up a cluster of five or fifteen nodes is straightforward with Databricks. The notebook environment is also excellent, making it easy to perform various tasks.
Carlos Larrad Salgado - PeerSpot reviewer
Improved the quality of our KPIs, while reducing calls to the IT department
I don't like that when we use Colab packages, we get less functionality. For example, you can make groups of data with Excel or with the data sets from the packages, but when you use the Colab packages directly, you can only group the data when you analyze it with Analysis Studio. I think Cognos needs to improve more on this functionality. The user experience is also very important. Cognos is not very easy to understand sometimes, especially when they change the layout but keep the functionality the same. The help is not very graphic and they have no examples. Cognos has to make a big effort to help with understanding the functionality by improving the documentation. There is a lot of documentation, but the examples are hard to find and they should make their help section easier to understand for non-technical users.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"IBM SPSS Statistics depends on AI."
"Custom tables and macros: They allow us to create useful reports quickly for a broad audience."
"The SPSS interface is very accessible and user-friendly. It's really easy to get information in it. I've shared it with experts and beginners, and everyone can navigate it."
"It offers very good visualization."
"SPSS is quite robust and quicker in terms of providing you the output."
"Most of the product features are good but I particularly like the linear regression analysis."
"I've found the descriptive statistics and cross-tabs valuable. The very simple correlations and regressions are as well."
"The most valuable feature is its robust statistical analysis capabilities."
"The technical support is good."
"Databricks gives us the ability to build a lakehouse framework and do everything implicit to this type of database structure. We also like the ability to stream events. Databricks covers a broad spectrum, from reporting and machine learning to streaming events. It's important for us to have all these features in one platform."
"Databricks provides a consistent interface for data engineers to work with data in a consistent language on a single integrated platform for ingesting, processing, and serving data to the end user."
"Automation with Databricks is very easy when using the API."
"Databricks has a scalable Spark cluster creation process. The creators of Databricks are also the creators of Spark, and they are the industry leaders in terms of performance."
"I work in the data science field and I found Databricks to be very useful."
"Imageflow is a visual tool that helps make it easier for business people to understand complex workflows."
"This solution offers a lake house data concept that we have found exciting. We are able to have a large amount of data in a data lake and can manage all relational activities."
"Self-service is possible through the use of dashboards, which are also very intuitive. Stories can be used to pin snapshots, tell the story for meetings, etc."
"Integration with Office can enable the 'download' mode of storytelling.​"
"The product is a very good reporting tool and is very flexible. It allows for the users to get a scheduled report."
"Cognos is the best application with dashboards,batch reporting, jobs, events and ad-hoc reporting for business users."
"Comparing IBM Cognos to other applications, once a person is trained on it or they have developed a skill set to operate the application, it is best in its category."
"This solution allows you to input a wide range of file formats."
"Dashboarding, reporting, and ad hoc reporting are the valuable features of IBM Cognos."
"The correlation analysis is excellent. It's one of the best that I have used to date."
 

Cons

"SPSS slows down the computer or the laptop if the data is huge; then you need a faster computer."
"This solution is not suitable for use with Big Data."
"It could provide even more in the way of automation as there are many opportunities."
"I feel that when it comes to conducting multiple analyses, there could be more detailed information provided. Currently, the software gives a summary and an overview, but it would be beneficial to have specific details for each product or variable."
"I think the visualization and charting should be changed and made easier and more effective."
"Needs more statistical modelling functions."
"Most of the package will give you the fixed value, or the p-value, without an explanation as to whether it it significant or not. Some beginners might need not just the results, but also some explanation for them."
"There is a learning curve; it's not very steep, but there is one."
"Some of the error messages that we receive are too vague, saying things like "unknown exception", and these should be improved to make it easier for developers to debug problems."
"The tool should improve its integration with other products."
"The Databricks cluster can be improved."
"The pricing of Databricks could be cheaper."
"A lot of people are required to manage this solution."
"The product should provide more advanced features in future releases."
"The data visualization for this solution could be improved. They have started to roll out a data visualization tool inside Databricks but it is in the early stages. It's not comparable to a solution like Power BI, Luca, or Tableau."
"Databricks may not be as easy to use as other tools, but if you simplify a tool too much, it won't have the flexibility to go in-depth. Databricks is completely in the programmer's hands. I prefer flexibility rather than simplicity."
"It would be nice to offer free online training on the tool for end-users."
"I need improvements, particularly with the Framework Manager, which has an outdated user interface from older versions like IBM Cognos 10 or 8. Additionally, the Event Studio, which offered great flexibility in previous versions, is no longer available in IBM Cognos Analytics 12. These are areas that could be improved to enhance the product."
"Chart quality: many other competitors have charts and graphics that look much better and that provide dynamic effects. Cognos doesn't."
"I don't like that when we use Colab packages, we get less functionality. For example, you can make groups of data with Excel or with the data sets from the packages, but when you use the Colab packages directly, you can only group the data when you analyze it with Analysis Studio. I think Cognos needs to improve more on this functionality."
"The AI-based features could be further enhanced by the solution."
"Extending features on dashboards so it becomes a real dashboard building application, not only a data exploration tool."
"It is a costly product; it is comparatively expensive."
"They should provide improved visual reporting."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of the modeler is high and can reduce the utility of the product for those who can not afford to adopt it."
"While the pricing of the product may be higher, the accompanying service and features justify the investment."
"If it requires lot of data processing, maybe switching to IBM SPSS Clementine would be better for the buyer."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"SPSS is an expensive piece of software because it's incredibly complex and has been refined over decades, but I would say it's fairly priced."
"It's quite expensive, but they do a special deal for universities."
"More affordable training for new staff members."
"We think that IBM SPSS is expensive for this function."
"The solution requires a subscription."
"I do not exactly know the costs, but one of our clients pays between $100 USD and $200 USD monthly."
"Databricks is a very expensive solution. Pricing is an area that could definitely be improved. They could provide a lower end compute and probably reduce the price."
"The price of Databricks is reasonable compared to other solutions."
"The licensing costs of Databricks is a tiered licensing regime, so it is flexible."
"Databricks are not costly when compared with other solutions' prices."
"We implement this solution on behalf of our customers who have their own Azure subscription and they pay for Databricks themselves. The pricing is more expensive if you have large volumes of data."
"I rate the price of Databricks as eight out of ten."
"It is pretty expensive."
"There is some additional licensing that we needed to purchase because we were touching data outside of our core data platform. The cost was approximately $25,000 for the additional licenses, which were approximate 45 licenses. For the application itself, updates, and the core platform it was approximately $50,000. Giving a total cost of $75,000 annually for our usage of IBM Cognos."
"Pricing should be improved."
"The licensing costs are a little bit higher for IBM Cognos. I don't think there is any additional cost apart from the licensing charges."
"Cognos is super expensive compared to Tableau ($70/month) and Power BI ($20/month) — I think Cognos is roughly $200 a month."
"IBM Cognos offers competitive pricing similar to other BI vendors in the market."
"IBM Cognos is priced reasonable. However, it is more expensive than Power BI and Tableau."
"It is averagely priced."
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Comparison Review

it_user79932 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 4, 2015
Comparison of SAP BO, Tableau, QlikView, Cognos, Microsoft, OBIEE and Pentaho
1. SAP BO/BI Enterprise scalability Security Ease of use Semantic layer 2. Tableau Visualization Data discovery Turnaround time 3. IBM Cognos Enterprise scalability Security In-memory feature 4. MS BI - Flexibility 5. Pentaho - Open source but still enterprise grade 6. QlikView Data…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
Educational Organization
55%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
4%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM SPSS Statistics?
The software offers consistency across multiple research projects helping us with predictive analytics capabilities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM SPSS Statistics?
The cost of IBM SPSS Statistics is managed by organizations, not individual researchers. It is a very expensive produ...
What needs improvement with IBM SPSS Statistics?
IBM SPSS Statistics does not keep you close to your data like KNIME. In KNIME, at every stage, you can see the result...
Which do you prefer - Databricks or Azure Machine Learning Studio?
Databricks gives you the option of working with several different languages, such as SQL, R, Scala, Apache Spark, or ...
How would you compare Databricks vs Amazon SageMaker?
We researched AWS SageMaker, but in the end, we chose Databricks. Databricks is a Unified Analytics Platform designe...
Which would you choose - Databricks or Azure Stream Analytics?
Databricks is an easy-to-set-up and versatile tool for data management, analysis, and business analytics. For analyti...
Seeking lightweight open source BI software
It depends on the Data architecture and the complexity of your requirement. Some great tools in the market are Qlik ...
What do you like most about IBM Cognos?
The solution's most valuable feature is its ease of use, which makes it easily compatible with other tools.
What needs improvement with IBM Cognos?
I need improvements, particularly with the Framework Manager, which has an outdated user interface from older version...
 

Also Known As

SPSS Statistics
Databricks Unified Analytics, Databricks Unified Analytics Platform, Redash
Cognos, Cognos Analytics, IBM Cognos Analytics
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

LDB Group, RightShip, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Capgemini Consulting, TEAC Corporation, Ironside, nViso SA, Razorsight, Si.mobil, University Hospitals of Leicester, CROOZ Inc., GFS Fundraising Solutions, Nedbank Ltd., IDS-TILDA
Elsevier, MyFitnessPal, Sharethrough, Automatic Labs, Celtra, Radius Intelligence, Yesware
More than 23,000 leading organizations across multiple industries use Cognos. Some examples of Cognos customers include BMW Financial Services, Quinte Health Care, Troy Corporation, Michigan State University, and GKN Land System.
Find out what your peers are saying about Databricks, Knime, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Data Science Platforms. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.