IBM Cognos Analytics Reviews

4.2
Overall rating
Reviews

4.2
Overall rating
Reviews
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User Reviews Overview

About IBM Cognos Analytics

Cognos Analytics is an upgrade to Cognos Business Intelligence (Cognos BI). By adding cognitive guidance, a web-based interface and new data visualization features, Cognos Analytics provides self-service analytics to large and...

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Feature ratings

Value for Money
3.9
Functionality
4.2
Ease of Use
3.8
Customer Support
3.8

Browse IBM Cognos Analytics Reviews

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Glenn H
Glenn H
  • Industry: Oil & Energy
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
4

5
Reviewed on 05/06/2023

Excellent software is easy to implement and use.

I utilized it to complete projects as part of my Coursera studies; it is taught step by step, and cloud computing was much more familiar to me. On a monthly basis, we do key reconciliations to predict, and reports allow us to record all data pieces. IBM Cognos Analytics recognizes business demands and improves job productivity; it can manage big volumes of data; and it makes it extremely simple for all departments to build reports to see the data. While reporting, you may effortlessly combine numerous searches or arrange your data; no background or technical expertise is necessary.

Pros

The software is highly intuitive since it recognizes the demands of the business and promotes work productivity; it can manage a big quantity of data and allows all departments to easily build reports to examine the data. While reporting, you may effortlessly combine numerous searches or arrange your data; no background or technical expertise is necessary. The process is quite fluid, and compared to other cloud services I've tried, IBM Cognos offers a well-designed interface that is simple to educate personnel on. Reports give significant detail that can be exported and edited to explain crucial choices. They are simple to run and compatible with office applications.

Cons

Reports may take some time to execute depending on their size; reporting software may include cautions about where students committed errors and the report will not run; alternatively, more thorough instructions for new employees are provided. You obviously require proper training, and anyone who aren't familiar with SQL will struggle to put it up. I've been seeing some delays while switching sites or loading materials, but I appreciate IBM's ability to work on this issue.

Henri
Henri
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 30/04/2022

Professional dataviz tool which ensures a unique experience to expertsor first-time business...

We have been using Cognos BI for many years for data reporting and performance analysis. Our business analysts were constantly complaining about the long delays to get data extracts. Withe Cognos Analytics we were in a position to give the BA access to pertinent data extracts in record time and with minimum hands-on training. This empowered them and allowed them to spend more time on building predictions and preparing recommendations for corrective actions.

Pros

The quick learning curve which turns every intuition into a positive experience

Cons

The story telling capabilities are not seamless enough and consume too much efforts to be reach the desired effect.

Alternatives Considered

Tableau

Reasons for Switching to IBM Cognos Analytics

Smooth integration with IBM analytics product suite and quality of support provided by the vendor.
Curt
  • Industry: Insurance
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
0
Functionality
3
Ease of Use
2
Customer Support
0

3
Reviewed on 06/12/2022

Cognos - Fantastic In Some Areas; Lags In Others

It’s a means to an end. Not perfect, but no tool is. Pretty much everyone I know in the industry operates in a multi-tool BI environment. Cognos, like most, hasn’t been able to put together the full package.

Pros

Pixel perfect printing. Most competitors have tagged printing as a way of the past, but there’s still a half generation that relies heavily upon it. This can’t be overlooked.

Cons

The flexibility/functionality of the viz tools can’t compete with competitors. I think it also has a more difficult learning curve. It isn’t an intuitive tool.

Top IBM Cognos Analytics Alternatives

Microsoft Excel

SAP Crystal Reports

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

MicroStrategy Analytics

Federico
Federico
  • Industry: Banking
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 26/07/2022

The best BI Product so far

It was the greatest experience we have with a BI tool. We really loved it.

Pros

This solution has everything for Data Analysis, since ETL to Visualization. Great tool for Business Analytics. Supports a wide variety of data sources, great reporting features and capabilities, you can publish to PDF, predictive analytics, and easy to create Dashboards with multiple templates.

Cons

They need to work on their compatibility with web browsers, it did not work with Opera. The price is a little high per user. You cannot share a Dashboard unless the other party has a license.

Alternatives Considered

Qlik Sense, Tableau and Microsoft Power BI

Reasons for Choosing IBM Cognos Analytics

When we analyzed the ratio price benefit, we preferred Cognos.

Switched From

NetSuite

Reasons for Switching to IBM Cognos Analytics

We really loved Cognos, it is easy to use and have great capabilities.
Avineet
Avineet
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
4

5
Reviewed on 08/01/2020

New age and Traditional BI tool

Cognos is used for operational reporting and analytics and schedule reports to be sent via email to users on a duly basis. Used in mobile as well.

Pros

Cognos 11 comes with all the latest features expected in a BI tool, the graph generations and story buildings as well as predictions.

Cons

Interactive pdf is not available for reports. Can be difficult to implement without admin support for end users.

Alternatives Considered

MicroStrategy Analytics

Reasons for Switching to IBM Cognos Analytics

As it was cheaper and had more skills available in the market to support the tool.
Sameer
  • Industry: Chemicals
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1-5 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
3
Customer Support
3

4
Reviewed on 22/07/2020

Cognos

it is a great software depends on the the organisation ability to set up and master its capabilities

Pros

Capabilities of this software is far reaching and varied and it depends on the organisation ability to use it to their advantage.

Cons

the support from the consultant was great but costly.

Edward
  • Industry: Banking
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 09/06/2024

Cognos review

Overall, it was great once it was up and running

Pros

It generated reports from data warehouse very well

Cons

The cubes were not easy to define at first

Joseph
Joseph
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 18/05/2023

Agrxis Review on IBM Cognos Analytics

My experience with IBM Cognos Analytics has been great. I have used the platform and discovered it to be exceptionally robust and user-friendly. I can navigate and access the many features and functionalities with ease because to the user-friendly UI. The excellent reporting and analytics tools allow me to easily derive insightful conclusions from my data. The platform's powerful collaboration tools have also significantly increased our team's effectiveness and productivity. IBM's customer service has been outstanding, with quick responses and useful advice whenever needed. In general, IBM Cognos Analytics has changed the game for our company by enabling us to make data-driven decisions that are both effective and efficient. Anyone in need of a complete and dependable analytics solution should definitely consider it.

Pros

In my experience using IBM Cognos Analytics, I discovered a number of features that I genuinely valued. One of the features I enjoyed the most was how capable and thorough the reporting was. I was able to show data in a relevant and interesting way thanks to the software, which offered a variety of possibilities for designing visually appealing and interactive reports. The customization and flexibility features in IBM Cognos Analytics were very appealing to me. I was able to add my own branding and layouts to reports and dashboards to match my own business demands. The capability to smoothly link to diverse data sources was another noteworthy feature. I was able to access and analyze a variety of datasets with ease because to IBM Cognos Analytics' support for integration with various databases and file types. Additionally, the software offered robust collaboration and sharing features, enabling me to collaborate with team members and stakeholders efficiently.

Cons

In my experience with IBM Cognos Analytics, there were a few aspects that I found challenging and could be improved upon. One of the areas that I liked least was the learning curve associated with the software. It took some time and effort to become familiar with the platform and its features. The complexity of certain functionalities and the lack of intuitive user interfaces made it a bit difficult for me to navigate and utilize the tool effectively at first.

Sally April
Sally April
  • Industry: Semiconductors
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 21/06/2022

Tool that improves decision making

Pros

It has a nice user interface, with multiple customization options, attractive panels and excellent performance. It has the useful drag and drop tool that makes it easy to manipulate data to create nice visualizations. Provides high quality and visually pleasing real-time reports. The mobile application works very well, giving the platform greater mobility.

Cons

I would like them to improve the documentation to start using the platform more easily and get the most out of all its functions. Its cost is considerably high.

Nicolas
Nicolas
  • Industry: Financial Services
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
4

5
Reviewed on 08/06/2022

Robust BI tool

It provides a set of highly flexible and customizable features that help improve our analytics and positively impact our decision-making.

Pros

It allows you to connect the data thrown by different sources and create personalized reports that you can share in real time. It allows planning operations based on pre-established rules to model the entire business process and obtain the best results on the implemented strategies.

Cons

Its license has a high cost compared to similar platforms. It has a steep learning curve and its user interface has a lot of room for improvement.

Phil
  • Industry: Oil & Energy
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 11/08/2023

IBM Cognos Analytics 11

Cognos Analytics is currently meeting our financial and operational reporting needs.

Pros

We like the ability to create custom reports to meet user requirements. This includes being able to link data coming from databases using Cognos Framework Manager, plus the ability to create SQL select queries within Cognos that pull data directly from custom SQL objects. We also appreciate that Cognos Analytics still supports the use of Portals that we created in a previous version of the product. Other features that we appreciate are Bursting, Conditional Styling and Rendering, Exports to Excel and PDF, and drill-through reports, to name a few.

Cons

Crosstabs could use more features and provide more flexibility in formatting.

Catarina
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
0
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
0

5
Reviewed on 17/06/2020

My Review of IBM Cognos Analytics

I use IBM Cognos daily, as this is the tool made available by SAP Concur to work with Business Intelligence reports. I use it to provide the necessary information to those who require it, and it works more or less like a database, where you can apply SQL language - but in a slightly different format.

Pros

I think this tool is quite good, since it allows the user several functionalities: create and adapt BI reports, automate the export of a report in a set period and for the necessary containers (they do not need a license to receive), etc. . I love working with this tool from IBM. It allows some SQL language, and some configuration features that are very good too.

Cons

One thing I can point out as a cons of this tool, is the fact that it does not always return the correct information (because the user, without knowing it, can mix incompatible information) - and only at a more advanced stage do we notice that the information is not correct - because we have no error information.
When we actually have information about the errors, this is also not very detailed, that is, we are left without knowing what the error is anyway. It is difficult to make correct associations in this tool, because it is very restricted in relation to the use of the database and the compatibility of the data between them.

Nabeel
  • Industry: Government Administration
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
2
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
3
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 18/11/2017

Cognos Review

Overall, if there is a company that wishes to automate it's reports and improve efficiency across their organization, Cognos is a must-have tool. There is a bit of upfront cost involved to get the reports created in Cognos but the efficiency achieved is almost unparalleled.

Pros

Cognos is an incredibly powerful reporting tool offered by IBM and it has a wonderful ability to be customized across different industries and companies. It can transform work efficiency but automating virtually any data that exists in a company's primary accounting and finance system.

Cons

Cognos is not very user-friendly and often times it can take a while for an individual working with Congos to get familiar with the functionality and the power this tool possesses. Furthermore, report writing and query studio functionality require some database knowledge so the true power of the tool is sometimes limited by these factors.

Michael
  • Industry: Primary/Secondary Education
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
0
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
3
Customer Support
0

4
Reviewed on 23/02/2017

IBM Cognos Review

My company has been using IBM Cognos for the past 4 years. When we purchased IBM Cognos it was the best fit for our situation. It has been a valued piece of software in our business. It has given us the ability to tie data from multiple data sources. It has given the ability for our departments to run reports that we haven't been able to in the past.

Pros

The software is very intuitive. If you have knowledge of SQL, it is a very easy software to pick up. The Help portion of the Cognos interface is very helpful also.

Cons

Customer Support for this product isn't the best. We have been on Cognos 10.1.1 for a while and when it came up for licensing renewal, we were charged for a newer version of Data Manger. When we inquired about this through our support contract we were going to be charged for the new software.

natasha
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
4

5
Reviewed on 23/08/2019

valuable yet expensive

overall its good and it is one of the initiators in the reporting market. We are still using it and find it quite useful to fulfill our client requirements.

Pros

you can combine multiple queries in one report to create your desired report, which can be formatted in multiple ways to meet your desired structure.

Cons

its little bit tricky to handle. You need to understand it thoroughly which actually takes time to began working with it from scratch. Also lacks the graphics and user interface.

Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Medical Devices
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1-5 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
3
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
4

5
Reviewed on 20/08/2022

IBM Cognos is a top business analytics software keeping internal reporting easy

It has been good, but I am still looking for the best to match my business practices

Pros

It allows the user to create reports and customize based on user needs

Cons

It is expensive compared to a lot of the other software out there

Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Financial Services
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
0

5
Reviewed on 10/05/2018

Intuitive BI and Reporting Software

Good enterprise product for business intelligence and trend analysis

Pros

We have used IBM Cognos to create customer insights and patterns to help in our marketing and targeting campaigns. The dashboards and graphs have multiple styles and formats and can be scheduled to be generated at specific times

Cons

Larger reports tend to be slow to generate from the report studio. Installation can also be challenging and may require purchase of vendor support

Kim
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
2
Functionality
2
Ease of Use
2
Customer Support
0

3
Reviewed on 08/06/2017

Almost unworkable product

A reporting framework that can be used to access back end data.

Pros

Unfortunately, there is not much to write in this section. The only possible "pro" in all cases would be the flexibility offered in the product as far as setting up the framework. Other than that, not much to like.

Cons

User interface was slow and clumsy. The user experience was not smooth at all. There was no ease of use whatsoever. The retrieval times from the back end were even worse. We had to retrofit an existing n-tier system to use the reporting side of this software and it was a disaster. There is no way I would recommend to anyone to purchase this system.

Verified Reviewer
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
2
Functionality
3
Ease of Use
2
Customer Support
2

3
Reviewed on 22/05/2018

Before leaving their Web version, they had a very good desktop application

with it we can visualize in a more comfortable way our information of DW and cubes

Pros

Before leaving their Web version, they had a very good desktop application, but they discontinued it. is a powerful tool, with ease for the reporter

Cons

it is traumatic for its administration, it depends on the active directory, which can be an advantage, but in other cases it makes it cumbersome

Jian
  • Industry: Civic & Social Organization
  • Company size: 5,001–10,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
0
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
3

4
Reviewed on 07/01/2019

A self-service analytics platform that is able to fulfill almost all BI needs

Pros

Handles all BI products very well, including but not limited to self-served reporting structure, reports, cubes, dashboards, and scorecards.
Project deployment and duplication are easy and quick.

Cons

User administration could be very time-consuming and we use a third-party tool (which is not free of charge).
Product upgrade is not simple enough and has to be planned and conducted with extra caution.

Verified Reviewer
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
3
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 07/04/2018

Used by team members across the world and in different markets worldwide

Pros

standard reports are great to pull from the system and tbhe user interface allows us to easily create new reports

Cons

file size get pretty large due to the data and the other info it needs to pull and regenerate charts.

Terrill
Terrill
  • Industry: Mechanical or Industrial Engineering
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 6-12 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Functionality
3
Ease of Use
3
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 20/01/2020

Best review

My overall experience with the software was very good and productive

Pros

The software was very productive and have very professional support . It was very useful and fast

Cons

The cons was pricing and overall learning curve of the software . But once the software was up and running it really was productive

Luigi
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
3

5
Reviewed on 15/01/2019

IBM Cognos 11 Analytics, the easy and reliable BI Tool

Pros

Reliability, easy of use, complete set of functions, integration with other web tools, security and maintenance

Cons

The price is not for small companies, the implementation of the whole functions always requires an expert

Sue
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
3
Functionality
3
Ease of Use
3
Customer Support
3

3
Reviewed on 30/05/2018

Ok tool

Pros

I had used the IBM Cognod Sales Compensation tool while working a global high tech company. It took a while to learn the system but once you figure it out then it was easy to use and configure the plans.

Cons

The only issue I had at the time was the very long time it would take to run a calculations. Average was an hour.

Tanzeela
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 51–200 Employees
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

4
Reviewed on 14/02/2021

One of the most recommended Software for Dashboarding

Pros

I would definitely recommend this to people who want to create effective dashboards and reports. It has user friendly interface. I is good alternative for tableau or power BI.

Cons

It needs to upgrade a little bit to give features like Power BI

140 reviews