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PeerSpot user
Sr Programmer Analyst at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
You get KPIs out of the box about the usage of your environment. The metadata tool needs to go cloud-based.

What is most valuable?

Robustness:

  • The environment is super stable, once you have the right environmental resources (CPU, memory, etc.), the platform will be rock solid.
  • BI on BI: You will get KPIs out of the box in the Cognos administration about the usage of your environment.
  • Audit: plenty of user information regarding running, modifying reports and other objects.
  • Granular security and degree of access control.
  • Lots of logging information, this will help you diagnostic any issues you might encounter.

Scalability:

  • You can size the environment specs and configuration from 10 all the way to thousands of users.
  • You just have to add more resources (CPU, memory, etc.) or another component (Application Server, Content Manager).
  • And if you have the right design and architecture, you can achieve multi-tenancy.

It is a very complete solution: versatile, flexible, robust, and scalable.

How has it helped my organization?

It is serving as the single source of truth, consolidating information from various systems.

What needs improvement?

At the moment ,the metadata tool (Framework Manager) is client based, meaning, you have to install the tool itself in a workstation. You will also need any ODBC/OLDB and database drivers installed on that computer to access data and start modeling. This tool design and the way it works is already outdated. Your models can get corrupted for numerous reasons; that's why it is always good to back up and save your work. The tool does NOT support multi-user development, meaning only one developer per model is allow at any given time. You also rely on the file system all the time. A cloud-based / multi-user solution would be more than welcome.

IBM Cognos and the entire suite does NOT come with any source/version control capabilities out of the box. If you made a change to a report and, for whatever reason, you want to go back to the previous iteration, you will need to restore a backup or an export; if you didn't make a backup, you will be out of luck. Same with every single object in the environment (packages, queries, security, administration, settings, etc).

They also need to take more advantage of new in-memory technology, and have better integration with other visualization tools.

It would be nice if we could use standard XML as a data source.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used it for 11 years.

Buyer's Guide
IBM Cognos
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about IBM Cognos. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

After going to a full distributed environment (Content Manager, App Server, Gateway), we have not encountered any stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have not encountered any scalability issues.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is good, solid. They gotten better lately.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used Crystal Reports; a more powerful platform was needed, plus IBM Cognos is easier for front-end/business users.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up a full-fledged distributed environment is not for the inexperienced administrator. On a scale from 1 to 10, the complexity level is definitely above 7.5. You need to have low to mid-level network knowledge; need a sense of how database connective and security works. Your average system admin might be able to do a single-server installation.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Don’t be cheap; try the product and scale accordingly. Pricing is a lot more competitive these days.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

It was already in place when I was hired, but I had already have seen various products, such as OBIEE, Crystal, MicroStrategy, Qlik, etc. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses.

What other advice do I have?

Make sure you try this product well before implementation.

Accommodate resources.

Also make sure your users and internal assets (administrators, developers, and architects) get formal training.

Hiring professional services is always a plus during implementation and the first wave of development.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Amir Amin - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect - Data Engineering at Tenx
Real User
Top 5
Can join data from different sources, write back to databases, generate alerts, and be customized to our preferences
Pros and Cons
  • "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."
  • "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."

What is our primary use case?

I use IBM Cognos for various purposes in our business. We use it to generate email triggers based on alerts as a self-service BI tool where users can drag and drop for analysis and predictive analysis using the integrated IBM Watson. We also use it for presentations and business reporting.

You can customize your data according to your needs. It has all the functions and capabilities, making it easy to use. You can customize datasets at the business layer based on your preferences, which is very convenient. Compared to Power BI, IBM Cognos offers more flexibility, like joining data at the report level and applying any needed customizations. You can also set up role-level security so users only see the data they need. Additionally, you can distribute reports as needed. It's easy to integrate with other systems like Active Directory.

The tool integrates IBM Watson, which is used for predictive analysis. Simply dragging and dropping your data, IBM Watson provides trends and insights, making Cognos stronger in AI than other tools.

What is most valuable?

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.

What needs improvement?

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.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with the product for eight years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the solution's stability a seven out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate the tool's scalability a seven out of ten. 

How was the initial setup?

The tool's installation and maintenance are easy, and the setup process is quite easy—I'd rate it an eight out of ten. Deployment only takes about 30-40 minutes, involving exporting a package from development and importing it to production.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

IBM Cognos is priced reasonable. However, it is more expensive than Power BI and Tableau. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
IBM Cognos
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about IBM Cognos. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.
PeerSpot user
Managing Partner at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Stories developed with Visual Storytelling provide descriptions over time and are actionable in nature.

Valuable Features

One of the features I find most valuable in the latest release is the Visual Storytelling functionality and being able to tell stories visually with your data. While stories are similar to dashboards in that they use visualizations to share insights, they differ as they provide a description over time and are actionable in nature.

Improvements to My Organization

This product has improved the way our organization and our customers truly interact with information, really putting the capabilities into the hands of the key decision makers and not having to rely on IT resources that do not have the business knowledge to do this for them; true self-service analytics.

Room for Improvement

The key areas for improvement are the administrative capabilities that are largely the same from the series 8/10 versions and the ability to use Framework Manager packages and models on new dashboards, etc. The introduction of data sets in the latest version demonstrates that this functionality is going to be offered around the corner.

Use of Solution

While IBM Cognos Analytics has been on the market for under a year, I have been using the Cognos platform for nearly 15 years and have seen it continue to grow and mature.

Stability Issues

I have not encountered any stability issues. The IBM Cognos platform has been around a while and with the right people doing the install/configuration/management of the environment, it is pretty rock solid. IBM is coming out with new minor releases every 2-3 months, which is great for customers as you can tell the commitment to excellence with the product is there.

Scalability Issues

I have not encountered any scalability issues.

Customer Service and Technical Support

Technical support has been pretty responsive. I run an IBM Cognos professional services organization and we become the front-line support for many of our customers.

Initial Setup

I have been installing/configuring IBM Cognos BI environments for years and I will have to say the documentation for the first iteration of IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0.0 was not complete and created a few challenges. The subsequent releases have been more complete and the latest version is pretty solid.

Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing

Pricing and licensing really comes down to what customers are looking to achieve, as there are lots of options out there. IBM Cognos Analytics offers a fully managed SaaS Cognos in the cloud offering, where a customer does not have to deal with infrastructure, maintenance, administration, or provisioning. This is a great option for many SMBs out there. For other larger customers, it comes down to the number of users, what roles they will have, and internal IT capabilities that they have. One of IBM Cognos’ greatest strengths is the ability to cover the whole spectrum of customers at a price point that is acceptable to all.

Other Solutions Considered

I led a large vendor selection process at a former company around 13 years ago where I had 10 vendors come in and do a product demonstration based on our business requirements and from there, I was able to narrow the field down to Information Builders and SAP BusinessObjects. For the flexibility, self-service capabilities, and in-memory OLAP functionality, Cognos was the clear winner for us.

Other Advice

I am a strong believer in having the right tool to do the right job. I believe IBM Cognos BI has been and continues to be a solution that I have seen great results in and continue to recommend. However, I recognize that there are strengths that other vendors bring to the table and solutions that could be a better fit in some circumstances.

It does a fantastic job of promoting true self service and allowing line of business users the ability to load their data without the need for IT involvement. Non-technical people can easily upload their data and start to perform analyses of their business creating attractive dashboards and asking key questions based on empirical data.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: I run an IBM Cognos professional services organization that is an IBM Business Partner.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Senior Manager of IT at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor
The dashboards and visualizations are valuable. The UI has changed, and some of the functionality is different.

What is most valuable?

Dashboards and visualizations are the product’s most valuable features. Most of my customers are moving from reporting to dashboards and mobile. They are keeping reporting only for daily/weekly/monthly basic reports. All other communication of metrics/KPIs and operational information are moving to dashboards and visualizations and many are looking for mobile solutions.

How has it helped my organization?

  • Better collaboration

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement in the user interface, which might simply be a learning curve issue. It has changed dramatically and some of the functionality is very different. For example, getting a list of reports requires some extra clicks to get the full list and the entire file name is not visible in all views.

Some important bugs still exist in the product, including:

  • Not being able to change packages on a published report
  • Some issues with Framework Manager in Cognos 11 not connecting properly when the 10.2.2 version is still installed

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used it for two months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have not encountered any stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have not encountered any scalability issues.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used Cognos 10.2.2; upgraded for new features.

How was the initial setup?

Initial setup was complex. Cognos is a very complex tool to configure.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Get bulk licensing if at all possible. IBM has a very structured pricing model.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Before choosing this product, we did not evaluate other options.

What other advice do I have?

Make sure you have good IBM support in place before installing, and read all associated documentation. Third-party or IBM installation would be recommended.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Bob Edis - PeerSpot reviewer
Bob EdisPrincipal Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Top 20Consultant

I found Cognos Analytics 11 to be the easiest version I've every installed. Though only on Windows Servers so far, my team mate has done it on RedHat Linux and also said it was fast and straight forward. I installed 11.0.4 to run concurrent with 10.2.2 on the same server and found no issues with FWM or any other part of the tool set. I upgraded to 11.0.6 (in situ) recently and it was a breeze.

Director - Metrics & Analytics at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Great storyboarding and storytelling feature with an easy initial setup
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is quite straightforward."
  • "The AI-based features could be further enhanced by the solution."

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are the AI-based questions.

The storyboarding and storytelling features of Cognos Enterprise are both very good.

The solution offers excellent dashboard creation capabilities. I use this extensively.

The initial setup is quite straightforward.

What needs improvement?

Overall, there aren't any features that are lacking in the product.

The AI-based features could be further enhanced by the solution.

I'd like to see more predictive analytics enhancements in future releases.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for our years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. We don't worry about bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash on us at all. It doesn't freeze. It's reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

You can scale the solution if you need to. That's not a problem.

At our organization, we have between 150 and 200 people using it at any given time.

How are customer service and technical support?

We've dealt with technical support in the past. We found them to be helpful. We've been satisfied with the service provided.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did use Cognos Express originally. It's built for smaller deployments, and we were on the margins in terms of parameters. In the end, our organization found that it was too small for our needs and we moved up to their Enterprise option.

We also use Phillips and Oracle Business Intelligence as well as Power BI.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup isn't very complex. It's mostly straightforward. However, due to the setup of our organization and its architecture, we did face a few specific complexities during implementation.

We have seven people who handle the administration as needed.

What about the implementation team?

We had someone who helped us set everything up and provide the required technical training.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We'd like the pricing to be reduced, of course. We'd like to reduce the cost period.

What other advice do I have?

I'm a user, not a vendor or a reseller.

We use the enterprise version of the product.

In terms of BI tools, I'd advise others that this is one of the best. It was easy to use once we had the initial training that is required. The features such as storytelling, AI based sessions, are great. I would recommend it to other companies for sure.

On a scale from one to ten, I'd rate it at an eight.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer2112948 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 5
Offers ease of use but needs to improve its documentation
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution's most valuable feature is its ease of use, which makes it easily compatible with other tools."
  • "There are many problems with the product's stability part, making it an area where improvements are required."

What is our primary use case?

I use the solution in my company to do some reports about the activity.

What is most valuable?

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

What needs improvement?

The tool does not have much documentation on the internet. It is not easy to resolve issues by finding the reason for the problem on the internet. The tool needs to have more documentation on the internet.

There are many problems with the product's stability part, making it an area where improvements are required.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using IBM Cognos for two years. I use the solution's latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I believe that my company did not configure the product very well, so we did not use the product with full capacity and its scalability features. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

Around 50 percent of my company uses the product.

My company has no plans to increase the number of users of the solution. The product is useful mainly for people who make decisions in the organization, meaning it has limited usage in our company.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

My company has worked with Microsoft Power BI.

How was the initial setup?

The product's initial setup phase is easy, but we are using it with another tool. When we use IBM Cognos with another tool, meaning when you plug it in for the first time, it is a little bit complicated, but once you have done it, the next time, it will be okay.

For the product's deployment phase, you have to follow the setup guide to create the deployment plan. My company plugs IBM Cognos with our database, which is populated by our main tool. My company gets the data from the database or one of the other tools we use and from the vendor of IBM Cognos.

What was our ROI?

The tool's ROI part is something that can only be discussed by the managers who are responsible for using the product. I think the product is useful because my company gets many requests from our customers to upgrade or change some reports.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

My company uses IBM Cognos with another IBM product, so I think only one license is used.

What other advice do I have?

I would describe a specific scenario or project where the solution improved our company's decision-making process by giving us some organization.

My company uses the tool for reporting.

My company manages IBM Cognos with another tool. My company has seven people to manage not just IBM Cognos but also other tools. One person will be enough to manage IBM Cognos.

Honestly, IBM Cognos won't be the first choice if I have to recommend a solution to others.

If the price of IBM Cognos is not very expensive, people can buy it, but for the same price, they can have Microsoft Power BI. I think I will recommend Microsoft Power BI to others.

I rate the tool a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Resp offre IBM Cognos, Lyon at Talan
Reseller
Top 20
Good stability and suitable tool for large enterprises
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a stable product."
  • "The solution's support could be better."

What is our primary use case?

I have used the solution for business intelligence across various commercial sectors, including banking, finance, luxury goods, etc.

What is most valuable?

The solution's most valuable feature is scalability.

What needs improvement?

The solution's support needs improvement. Also, they should add better administrative tools.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for 25 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable product. I rate it an eight for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have 3000 end users of the solution as our customers. I rate its scalability a nine.

How are customer service and support?

The solution's technical support could be better.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

I rate the solution's initial setup process as a five. It takes a year to complete.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is averagely priced. I rate it as a five for pricing. We have to pay extra to buy third-party administrative tools.

What other advice do I have?

It is a good tool for a multinational enterprise. I rate it as an eight.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
reviewer1803024 - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Intelligence Data Warehouse Architect
Real User
Highly reliable, robust system, and minimal maintenance
Pros and Cons
  • "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."
  • "IBM Cognos's error messages seem to be a bit ambiguous. An error will be encountered and a message will be sent out very ambiguous and after investigating the error message it could be any number of issues. There was never a direct answer to the question or a direct answer to the error messages. Sometimes it would be a generic error message for 21 different solutions. It wasn't very specific, which required a lot of digging around and trial and error trying to fix the problem. The messaging in their error messaging is something needing improvement."

What is our primary use case?

We use IBM Cognos for reports. We build customized reports from our vendor.

How has it helped my organization?

IBM Cognos did provide information and data that was utilized by the lines of businesses, in order to make their business decisions. It was a database of record information type reporting, that was disseminated out into the different lines and they made their business decisions based on that data.

What is most valuable?

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.

What needs improvement?

IBM Cognos's error messages seem to be a bit ambiguous. An error will be encountered and a message will be sent out very ambiguous and after investigating the error message it could be any number of issues. There was never a direct answer to the question or a direct answer to the error messages. Sometimes it would be a generic error message for 21 different solutions. It wasn't very specific, which required a lot of digging around and trial and error trying to fix the problem. The messaging in their error messaging is something needing improvement.

In order for IBM Cognos to survive, they need to keep up with dashboarding. I know they're becoming more agile as far as being able to move away from a framework manager and use modules, which is great in order to build the models. They need to be able to compete with Microsoft B because Microsoft BI has beaten them up as far as reporting and dashboarding. They need to improve to better compete with other solutions.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using IBM Cognos for approximately nine years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The performance of IBM Cognos is good. However, it is important that it is implemented correctly with the proper resources available. The person managing it has to have the skill sets to understand how to operate the application. It's very reliable for what it does.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

You could scale IBM Cognos to any size. I don't believe that the institution that I worked with or worked for had it implemented to the best of the application's ability. Therefore, it was undervalued as far as how it was utilized.

We have approximately 500 to 600 people in my organization using the solution.

IBM Cognos was used extensively for its purpose. It could have been used more. We did not need the additional application that was bought by the company. The task that these other applications were being bought for, could have been performed very well with IBM Cognos. However, the management lack of understanding of the application, and they didn't have the skill sets to work with the equipment nor did they have the willingness to work with it.

How are customer service and support?

IBM Cognos technical support is very cumbersome. A large organization, such as IBM is very cumbersome when it comes to technical support because without having a dedicated support person for our company every time a ticket was called in, it was the same basic fundamental send me this file, send me that file. They didn't understand and we didn't have a dedicated source. 

I rate the technical support from IBM Cognos a three out of five.

What about the implementation team?

We have a team of two that did the maintenance and support of the solution. I did all of the maintenance and upkeep of the application and the upgrade and everything else. 

Overall IBM Cognos is not maintenance heavy. Once you set it up properly, it runs close to maintenance-free.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated Microsoft BI.

What other advice do I have?

Once you develop the skill set to operate the IBM Cognos application, it's a very robust system.

IBM Cognos has come a long way and they've done a lot of things with dashboarding, but it could be a little, too late, and not enough. They need to do better.

I rate IBM Cognos an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free IBM Cognos Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free IBM Cognos Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.