We performed a comparison between IBM Cognos and Tableau based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: In this comparison, IBM Cognos comes out on top. Users are happier with the support than Tableau users are, and IBM Cognos users also report an ROI.
"We are able to generate quality reports easily which allows us to decrease response time."
"For planning, forecasting, in-boxing, modeling in general and for predicting numbers and doing work analysis, they are excellent."
"This solution allows you to input a wide range of file formats."
"The most valuable features are Report Development (Functionality) and Information Distribution (Flexibility)."
"The solution's initial setup process is easy."
"IBM Cognos improves the effectiveness of the sales team."
"The initial setup is quite straightforward."
"IBM Cognos offers tools so that you can design and develop your own test queries and reporting solutions."
"The solution has a lot of customization when comparing to Microsoft BI."
"You are able to see and follow trends."
"Although Tableau isn't the best for us when it comes to processing and working on live data, it is very good at extracting data for analysis."
"It's very easy to set everything up."
"The ease of presenting findings is very helpful."
"Tableau is easy to use and it has great predictive features."
"Tableau's initial setup was straightforward."
"The most valuable features are the visualizations, the way they show the combination charts."
"The solution's support could be better."
"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."
"It would be good if the solution had conditional formatting."
"Compared to Tableau and PowerBI, the IBM interface is easier to use. However, the drag-and-drop functionality isn't as straightforward. Formatting is also more challenging in the cloud than in other applications, like Power BI. Also, if you encounter an issue, it takes more time to resolve it on the formatting side."
"The charts and graphics are weak."
"Cognos is quite slow - it's missing the performance of the PowerPlay cubes."
"Cognos charts are not as fast as those of the other tools, even with DQM (dynamic query mode)."
"The technical support team’s response time is slow and needs to be improved."
"It should offer better features for customization."
"The price of Tableau is too high."
"The solution could improve the scalability, it is difficult to make changes."
"Tableau's data modeling, mining, and AI library features need improvement."
"Include forecasting on table calculation fields."
"In the cloud sometimes the performance is a little bit slow."
"More integration with Python or something related to machine learning would be a good improvement."
"The customization in the front end is a bit difficult."
IBM Cognos is ranked 7th in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools with 132 reviews while Tableau is ranked 2nd in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools with 293 reviews. IBM Cognos is rated 8.0, while Tableau is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of IBM Cognos writes "Improved the quality of our KPIs, while reducing calls to the IT department". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Tableau writes "Provides fast data access with in-memory extracts, makes it easy to create visualizations, and saves time". IBM Cognos is most compared with Microsoft Power BI, Oracle OBIEE, SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform, Oracle Hyperion and Amazon QuickSight, whereas Tableau is most compared with Microsoft Power BI, Amazon QuickSight, Domo, SAS Visual Analytics and QlikView. See our IBM Cognos vs. Tableau report.
See our list of best BI (Business Intelligence) Tools vendors and best Reporting vendors.
We monitor all BI (Business Intelligence) Tools reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.