IBM Cognos vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Reporting category. IBM is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.2, while Microsoft is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.9. IBM holds a 4.9% mindshare in RT, compared to Microsoft’s 3.6% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Cognos

Read 135 IBM Cognos reviews

5,101 Views
2,685 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Read 20 Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services reviews

3,123 Views
2,137 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

IBM Cognos

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Cognos and Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Reporting solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cognos vs. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cognos vs. Microsoft SQL Servering Services

January 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

IBM Cognos

Ranking in Reporting

4th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

135

Ranking in other categories

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (7th)

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Ranking in Reporting

6th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of IBM Cognos is 4.9%, down from 6.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is 3.6%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Reporting

Featured Reviews

AMOL JAJU

Senior BI-ETL Consultant at CMA Consulting Services

Offers ad hoc analysis reports and good for operational dashboarding

There used to be many valuable features, but in the last three or four years, whatever IBM is doing with enhancements, it has taken a lot of time to build and develop. But the best usage of Cognos is the ad hoc analysis reports. I really like that. Our customers also like that. But now the usage of Cognos and OBIE is reduced by various business users because people and business users are now more focused on analytics, slice and dice, and the dashboard, and the widgets.

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Gnanavel-Chakkarapani

Junior Consultant at CMA CGM

Offers useful templates but needs to improve the connectivity offered

In Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, not much of the interface part is used. With Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, its users face issues with the interface after they use Excel or create Microsoft SSIS Packages. The tool's interface is an area of concern requiring improvement. There needs to be an improvement in the product's connectivity so that the tool can connect easily with other third-party databases. In the dashboard, drag and drop functionality needs to improve, especially when compared to other tools like IBM Cognos Analytics and Qlik Sense. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is useful only for standard reports. In IBM Cognos Analytics, query studio can be used by users to drag the data and simply download the reports, so the user doesn't need to have any technical knowledge like developers. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is to be improved to offer features like query Studio, which is provided in IBM Cognos Analytics.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IBM Cognos improves the effectiveness of the sales team."

"The solution's most valuable feature is its ease of use, which makes it easily compatible with other tools."

"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."

"The solution's initial setup process is easy."

"I have worked on the features like dashboards and stories, and I do like them a lot."

"The tool can join data from different sources, write back to databases, generate alerts, and be customized to our preferences. It's an enterprise BI tool that's more powerful than just visualization tools like Power BI or Tableau."

"The initial setup is quite straightforward."

"We are able to generate quality reports easily which allows us to decrease response time."

More IBM Cognos pros

"The SQL Server Reporting Services makes it very easy to get the data whenever we need it."

"The solution is known for its robust security features."

"We can create quality reports in real time."

"It is scalable."

"We were able to embed the report builder within our internal proprietary systems, improving our reporting capabilities."

"Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services has been functional whenever I needed to use it."

"I am impressed with the product's seamless integration. It can work with different databases like Oracle."

"Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is reliable for management dashboard and reporting purposes. It is helpful for user reporting and administrative tasks, such as monitoring progress. It is easy to use since it is lightweight and integrates well with the SQL Server database, making reporting straightforward. The visualization capabilities enhance our reporting needs with good pagination and KPI features. It integrates well with data servers and workbooks, allowing us to publish reports on mobile applications and tablets easily. Integrating other tools and platforms in our tech ecosystem is generally straightforward. However, if we need to perform something very specialized, we might have to use third-party tools rather than inbuilt options."

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services pros

Cons

"The data uploads that we do, such as Excel files, have a lot of restrictions. If we can make it a bit more user-friendly, allowing us to have more flexibility it would be a great help."

"I think the GIS pieces maybe not as good as we would like."

"The performance is a bottleneck and something that can be improved."

"I would like them to reinclude PowerPlay. One thing that I am missing in the current Cognos is what was formally named PowerPlay. They have basically removed PowerPlay from it, which is something that I fail to understand because it was the most wonderful tool for business intelligence that I've ever used. As far as I know, they don't provide this functionality anymore, so this is one thing that I dislike about Cognos."

"IBM Support can be slow at times, but they can usually deliver in a timely manner."

"There are a lot of limitations with the out-of-the-box tool."

"It would be good if the solution had conditional formatting."

"One thing that we really want is the ability to have data portrayed on an image. Cognos is not able to do it at the moment, and that's becoming a requirement from the business side: having an image and then plotting your dataset on top of the image as a map."

More IBM Cognos cons

"In this solution, the cost should be reduced for the enterprise edition."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing model."

"Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services needs to improve performance."

"Sometimes, we need to make sure that the configuration stays consistent across the reporting instances. They all connect to the same database. So, it shares that same backend, but the reporting services itself can also be configured. On the application level, for reporting level. And it is, based on my own experience, it is a manual effort to make sure that the reporting servers are configured the same across the environment."

"I would like the solution to add the scheduling feature for reports."

"The complex tuning for report performance is complicated. There is a lack of native support for source code control. We often need to use separate tools like VS Code or other software to manage version control and changes in the database. It would be beneficial if source code management were integrated directly into SSRS, thus eliminating the need to rely on external tools. While CLI-based operations are exemplary, the trend is towards GUI for a better user experience. Integrating both visualization and source code management within SSRS would simplify the process for users."

"It would be really nice to have better integration between the solution and Power BI."

"The setup is difficult because you have to install different servers."

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's more expensive than similar solutions like Tableau and Power BI."

"The cost of IBM Cognos it's more or less the same as most of the other solutions on the market. They're very competitive with the rest of the market and it is not the most expensive product."

"I rate the product price as four or five on a scale from one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."

"It is my understanding that the cost is very low. It's not very expensive."

"The solution is affordable."

"Pricing should be improved."

"IBM Cognos offers competitive pricing similar to other BI vendors in the market."

"I don't know the exact cost, but I believe Cognos is quite expensive, especially when it comes to the support consultants and the procedures that need to be applied."

More IBM Cognos pricing and cost advice

"The solution is free to use for developers."

"Value-wise, the solution's pricing is good for the price that we pay."

"The solution is expensive."

"The product pricing is reasonable in terms of suitable features for business."

"The tool's licensing costs are expensive."

"The solution is cheaper than its alternatives."

"The pricing is high."

"The price is pretty good."

See which vendors are best for you

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Comparison Review

it_user79932

Senior Manager - BI Head at NVidia

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…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

56%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

12%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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 Sense, Power BI, OBIEE, Tableau, etc. I have recently started using Cognos Enter...

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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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Cognos?

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 f...

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What do you like most about Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?

I mainly use the solution for the ease of reporting and for executive dashboards.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services should be okay if you're within the budget. We're just using open-source solutions if you're not within the budget. Sometimes, we use MySQL or something simi...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?

QL Server can support the customer language in the long term, so we can use another language to build some components.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Power BI vs IBM Cognos

Compared 13% of the time

Oracle Hyperion vs IBM Cognos

Compared 9% of the time

Tableau vs IBM Cognos

Compared 9% of the time

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs IBM Cognos

Compared 8% of the time

Oracle OBIEE vs IBM Cognos

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Cognos Competitors

TIBCO Jaspersoft vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 22% of the time

Tableau vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 16% of the time

Oracle OBIEE vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 14% of the time

SAP Crystal Reports vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Power BI vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 8% of the time

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cognos

February 2025

Download IBM Cognos product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft SQL Servering Services

February 2025

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

Download Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services product report

Also Known As

Cognos, Cognos Analytics, IBM Cognos Analytics

SQL Server Reporting Services, Microsoft SSRS, SSRS, MS SQL Server Reporting Services

Overview

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence provides a wide range of tools to help you analyze your organization's data. IBM Cognos BI allows businesses to monitor events and metrics, create and view business reports, and analyze data to help them make effective business decisions.

IBM Cognos applies techniques to describe, summarize, and compare data, and draw conclusions. This allows users to see trends and discover anomalies or variances that may not be evident by simply reading data. Data sources that contain information from different areas of a business can be stored in separate packages. Users can see only information that they have been granted access to, based on their group or role.

IBM Cognos BI consolidates the following business intelligence functions into a single web-based solution:

IBM Cognos Insight: Create personal and managed workspaces for data analysis. Using these interactive workspaces, you can share insight results with managers. Cognos Insight supports write-back, and you can also use these workspaces to capture and integrate management goals, commitments, and forecasts.
IBM Cognos Workspace: With IBM Cognos Workspace, you can create rich, interactive workspaces using IBM Cognos content as well as data from external sources. You can view and open your favorite workspaces and reports, edit content in your workspaces, and share your workspaces via email.
IBM Cognos Analytics: IBM Cognos Analytics utilizes built-in AI and intuitive searches which helps users to quickly create the visualizations and a wide range of reports. Cognos Analytics provides cognitive and managed self-service, enabling you to gain insights from controlled and trusted data.
IBM Cognos Report Studio and IBM Cognos Query Studio: Easily create structured and query reports. IBM Cognos allows users to create application and report templates. In addition, report authors can reuse report objects to apply filters, fields, and styles to reports. Users can set the language of the user interface and report content according to the user's native language.
IBM Cognos Event Studio: Receive notifications of events that occur within your organization in real time. Event Studio enables the creation of agents that detect the occurrence of business events, failures, or anomalies, based on the change of specific events or data conditions. Notification can be sent via email, publication in the portal, or by triggering reports.
IBM Cognos Connection: This is the Web portal for IBM Cognos BI and is the central area for accessing all the IBM Cognos functions. In the web portal, users can schedule and distribute reports, create tasks, administer the server and the access permissions, and more.

Reviews from Real Users

IBM Cognos stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its powerful analysis tool and its reporting capabilities.

Prasad B., a senior software engineer at a financial services firm, notes, “The product is a very good reporting tool and is very flexible. It allows for the users to get a scheduled report. We can receive automated reports as well. They are easy to schedule on a weekly or monthly basis. It is very fast. I mean in means of report output, it's very fast compared to the actual clients involved.”

IBM

At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is grounded in both the world in which we live and the future we strive to create. Today, we live in a mobile-first, cloud-first world, and the transformation we are driving across our businesses is designed to enable Microsoft and our customers to thrive in this world.

We do business in 170 countries and are made up of 114,000 passionate employees dedicated to fulfilling our mission of helping you and your organization achieve more.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

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.

CMS Wire, The New York Times

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cognos vs. Microsoft SQL Servering Services

January 2025

Free Report: IBM Cognos vs. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

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