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IBM Cognos vs Oracle HFM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Cognos
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
134
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (7th), Reporting (4th)
Oracle HFM
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Business Performance Management (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Business Intelligence solutions, they serve different purposes. IBM Cognos is designed for BI (Business Intelligence) Tools and holds a mindshare of 3.8%, down 4.3% compared to last year.
Oracle HFM, on the other hand, focuses on Business Performance Management, holds 9.8% mindshare, up 8.9% since last year.
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
Business Performance Management
 

Featured Reviews

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.
AhmedHaridy - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers flexibility and ease of configuration
The initial setup of Oracle HFM is generally straightforward and not overly complex. The deployment time for Oracle HFM varies with the resources, but it usually takes around three to eight months, with an average of three to four months. The deployment process for Oracle HFM involves several key steps. It begins with the installation of Oracle software, followed by gathering requirements and relevant documents. These documents help define the report formats and service needs. Next, the team configures the system, starting with the enterprise structure, which needs to align with the ERP system. Data loading and configuration follow, with Oracle HFM typically requiring more resources compared to other systems like SuccessFactors.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The three IBM Cognos features I find the most valuable are Dynamic Cubes, PowerPlay, and Watson."
"Cognos' most valuable features are the bundled studios, simple UI, and advanced features like the ability to create data modules."
"The most valuable feature of IBM Cognos is security. The solution has updated features that other competitors' solutions come out with long after IBM Cognos has had them."
"The most valuable features are Report Development (Functionality) and Information Distribution (Flexibility)."
"The product is a very good reporting tool and is very flexible. It allows for the users to get a scheduled report."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Even while a user is using a cube for reporting, there will not be a situation as ' Cube file locked; unable to build or deploy'."
"When it comes to decision-making, the product is very useful and used in many departments since a lot of people prefer the reports to be generated by IBM Cognos."
"It is a very user-friendly software."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility and ease of configuration in terms of testing and formula creation."
"The tool is stable."
"You can bring in data from any source and from multiple sources, and you can consolidate that data in HFM."
"Financial consolidation and reporting tool with good built-in features such as currency exchange and elimination."
"It is an expensive product but delivers what it promises, ensuring regulatory compliance, reducing risks associated with spreadsheets, and providing a better return on investment based on usage."
"The most valuable features are around consolidations, eliminations, conversions."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"There are a lot of limitations with the out-of-the-box tool."
"They were lacking in the initial phases of development in the area of big data, and they still need to improve that aspect of the product."
"It is a costly product; it is comparatively expensive."
"The charts and graphics are weak."
"We would like to see development of the product's UI function, to make it more of a UI tool that can be configured as required."
"In terms of what could be improved, I would say, monitoring, monitoring, monitoring. Some improvements in monitoring would be helpful. I'd like to see more monitoring of specific reports and fields. The way the auditing is now is very limited, so I'd like to see more of that - of the monitoring."
"The tool needs to improve the connectivity since I see that, at times, there is a need to increase the memory in the database."
"There are some problems with how Cognos handles huge data sets and when connecting with multiple sources and searching the data."
"In terms of improvement, one challenge with Oracle HFM is the need for technical knowledge in writing SQL syntax for custom extensions."
"The complexity is okay. I don't see it as super complex. The solution could have more functionality to make it a little bit more flexible."
"If there could be data integration between HFM and the accounting software that would be ideal."
"It's a difficult process to try to edit, configure, or change the business rules that exist and work within HFM."
"Improvements can be made by possibly different interfaces to modernize it, more automation in scripting, and better integration with third-party solutions and reporting capabilities."
"Integration is an area where it lacks and can be improved."
"The intercompany reporting function in this tool needs improvement, particularly being able to run reports in batches, rather than one at a time."
"The solution has integration challenges. We need a simple tool that is fool-proof for the data that is submitted not only for consolidation purposes but also for performance management and reporting purposes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"There is a standard license required to use this solution. There are some additional tools but I am not sure if they are an extra cost."
"It is my understanding that the cost is very low. It's not very expensive."
"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 pretty expensive."
"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."
"It is averagely priced."
"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."
"Oracle Hyperion Financial Management (HFM) uses the named user licensing model. There's different pricing depending on HFM and Essbase planning."
report
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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
Educational Organization
55%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
4%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Healthcare Company
5%
 

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...
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 versions like IBM Cognos 10 or 8. Additionally, the Event Studio, which offered great f...
What do you like most about Oracle HFM?
The most valuable feature is the flexibility and ease of configuration in terms of testing and formula creation.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle HFM?
It depends on the discount offered by Oracle. It is an expensive product but delivers what it promises, ensuring regulatory compliance, reducing risks associated with spreadsheets, and providing a ...
What needs improvement with Oracle HFM?
Improvements can be made by possibly different interfaces to modernize it, more automation in scripting, and better integration with third-party solutions and reporting capabilities.
 

Also Known As

Cognos, Cognos Analytics, IBM Cognos Analytics
HFM
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

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.
B&B Hotels, Goldwind, Drake & Scull
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