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
Features
4.2
Ease of Use
3.8
Customer Support
3.8

Browse IBM Cognos Analytics Reviews

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Joseph
Joseph
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
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.

Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Features
5
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
3

4
Reviewed on 7/10/2020

Enterprise Reporting and Analytics Tool

It has been a solid tool for our company for last so many years. IT meets out current needs in terms of performance and capabilities. However, as we start exploring more cutting edge technologies like cloud, SAAS and Advanced Analytics, we see the tool is not in the top 3.

Pros

Well established took with huge user base and support. Being IBMs main BI tool, it comes with a lot of Support and Knowledge Base. There are tons of supporting products for Advanced Analytics, Visualization and AI/ML which makes the tool both powerful and versatile. It fits into both departmental BI as well as for Enterprise wide reporting.

Cons

IBM should increase the support the provide for their products. It is difficult to get quick help from IBM.Self service features of the tool and not as easy as other contemporary tools like Tableau and Qlikview. IBM has catching up to do in this area. Also cloud based SAAS is not yet advanced for COGNOS.

Justin
Justin
  • Industry: Higher Education
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
2
Features
3
Ease of Use
2
Customer Support
3

2
Reviewed on 14/02/2019

Used to be good, showing age

General business intelligence tool that is showing its age and needs to be geared more for agile. Not a great solution for small user numbers or more towards hardcore analyst/data scientist.

Pros

The latest versions have improved the report writer experience by consolidating a few of the modules. Generally robust at connecting to single data sources.

Cons

Steep learning curve for writing reports and setting up Framework Manager packaging is way too time consuming. The end user interface got more complicated and less easy to use in their attempt for more flashiness. The latest versions have been extremely buggy. Data blending and quick turnarounds are not its strong point.

Top IBM Cognos Analytics Alternatives

Microsoft Excel

SAP Crystal Reports

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

MicroStrategy Analytics

Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Banking
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
N/A
Features
4
Ease of Use
2
Customer Support
3

4
Reviewed on 10/01/2020

One Of The Best Self-service BI Software

one of the best complete solution for delivering insights from data at enterprise level

Pros

the powerful framework manager, allow us to implement complicated logic into model and deliver a package to end user, business user can do ad-hoc report easily.

Cons

steep learning curve for beginners. not mention people who doesn't have BI experience, Had a few new team members from tableau background. the FM package complexity is much more than they have done in the tableau data source.

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

5
Reviewed on 8/06/2022

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.

Verified Reviewer
  • Company size: 51–200 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 6-12 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 5/04/2018

I recommended this SW of BI to a company that had several departments to connect and collab...

uses multidimensional and relational data source transforming data into metadata, Cognos is a complete platform for data experts

Pros

It is a very complete software already from the basic version (it already offers the map graph). it allows real-time monitoring useful also for predictive analysis. It allows you to work anywhere even offline, producing interactive reports being able to consult them even without connection. It's easy to use even without having followed a specific training program. Charts that can be customized at the the maximum level (so complete from this point of view).

Cons

Not captivating and innovative graphics with the times (it seems like an office pack years 2000). when the graphics are very complex they are difficult to display on web pages, they do not always fit. there isn't a feature where you can search where a particular data field is located/stored. The scheduler it's not easy to use and automating the sending of static reports to users is not easy

Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Banking
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
N/A
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 13/11/2018

Excellent data source

Excellent, I really like the reports included and the accuracy of the data

Pros

It has a lot of reports included and providing the information needed

Cons

Some reports were not easy to run and I have to go to the home page to run a different report

Verified Reviewer
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
N/A
Features
3
Ease of Use
2
Customer Support
N/A

4
Reviewed on 27/12/2017

Seems a bit archaic and was not easy to learn how to use

Pros

Once you have mastered the learning curve and know exactly where to click and what to type to querie your data, you are able to get what you need

Cons

Not intuitive and knowing where to go or click for different queries/reports/data searches and you really need a colleague who has done it before to show you how.

Gerson
Gerson
  • Used for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
4

5
Reviewed on 22/02/2018

A great solution for your financial planning

Take your time and implement it right and the rewards will be very good.

Pros

It has integration with with other IBM products like business intelligence. The excel functionality is great for finances. The product to meet our needs perfectly for all our needs.

Cons

Creating reports is overwhelming at the beginning but if you dedicate time and resources there will be the face of your deployment.

Alvaro
  • Industry: Management Consulting
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
3
Customer Support
4

5
Reviewed on 11/06/2017

The best software for business forecasts with functionalities for creating scenarios and...

TM1 allows you to build business models that display online results available to all authorized users of the organization.

Pros

IBM Cognos TM1 facilitates the creation of business models with the participation and contribution of users throughout the organization regardless of their physical location.
TM1 is a enterprise-level platform that allows an integral, flexible, rigorous and perfect control over the users that contribute with the creation of the budget.
It allows building multidimensional models that incorporate the business rules that govern the financial processes of the company.

Cons

IBM Cognos TM1 needs to train personnel to administer the platform.
The construction of the models requires specialized IT staff.
The cost of the licenses is for medium and large companies.

Michelle
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
3
Features
4
Ease of Use
3
Customer Support
3

4
Reviewed on 29/03/2018

This report writer is linked to our accounting software.

Pros

You can write your own reports and pull out the data you need from our accounting software. You have the ability to create advanced reports and format in multiple ways.

Cons

Sometimes the fields that are in Cognos do not match exactly or have different names from the actual software so it is a guess at what field you are pulling. The report studio portion is advanced report writing and in order to create these reports it is recommended to have additional training in order to make reports be beneficial for your company.

Beena
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
3
Features
4
Ease of Use
3
Customer Support
3

4
Reviewed on 26/02/2018

I feel Cognos is the best BI Product that I have come across.

Data Analytics, Dashboards, Complex KPI reports, Event studio objects

Pros

Very structured, Reporting features are very good and we can make use of various functions, Event studio tool is the most powerful.

Cons

I wish if natural language feature is added to Cognos. When it comes to the calculated fields we need to write functions in Cognos, but if IBM Cognos can make built in functions like Microsoft power BI then that would be awesome. High pricing is another factor.

Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Higher Education
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
N/A
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
N/A

5
Reviewed on 14/02/2019

Good Tool for Data Reporting

IBM Cognos Analytics is a great enterprise tool for data reporting. There are a lot of report options and it is easy to collaborate and share reports with colleagues.

Pros

IBM Cognos Analytics is a great tool for data reporting. It is easy to use and easy to see data relationships. It has a lot of reporting options and the folder structure is nice.

Cons

It can be kind of hard to learn and there are not a ton of helpful resources online.

Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 3/02/2022

Cognos- All in one tool for data analytics

Pros

decreases support because of complete report inclusion and a zero-impression climate.
abbreviates detailing time because of consistent reconciliation and versatile composing.
Further developed independent direction reports and dashboards present information in handily gotten designs.

Cons

Investment in Cognos R&D by IBM is declining.
Won't work smoothly with large data sets having many parameters.
Cross-browser compatibility is often problematic.

Kristin
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
N/A

4
Reviewed on 7/06/2017

Cognos is a very easy to use application for most areas of the business's finances

Pros

Easy to use, easily connects to many ERP softwares.
Houses budgeting and planning, financial reporting and dashboarding and metrics all in one suite.

Cons

Requires in-house administration, is not an out of the box software and requires monthly maintenance on the reports and the planning applications.

Luigi
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
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

worapot
  • Industry: Utilities
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
3
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
N/A

4
Reviewed on 12/05/2017

Good product for BI Tools.

Pros

I like the ability to create reports its has many functions ( Explore, Analysis, Report Studio, Event Studio).

Cons

I dislikes its. Because of so hard of setting page or design report page when it set wide and height.

George
  • Industry: Higher Education
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 6-12 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
N/A
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 21/12/2019

IBM Cognos Analytics allows me to access our data warehouse

I mainly use it to get data from the customer information system. Cognos allows me access to customer information without getting access to the other system.

Pros

We use Cognos to access our customer info. The IT team set ups the report and we are able to export it for viewing and analysis. If built correctly, the reports can be easily run by the users. The users do need to know how to enter the parameters and known the data structure to fully utilitzed Cognos. We run Cognos through the browser. No need to install software.

Cons

Users need to understand the data structure in order to enter parameters. If the parameters are not entered correct, there will be no data, exports, or graphs. You also need to make sure the back-end servers are fast if you have a lot of data.

Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Accounting
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Features
5
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 12/04/2018

One of the best time keeping software in the market

Pros

Most employers love this software because it is easy for employees to use. Since it is fast, efficient, simple, and does its job well. You can also run great reports in it too.

Cons

Sometimes the software has a glitch here and there, but every product does. I am sure there are less expensive products on the market, but why use something that isn't tried and true?

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

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

Nazeer
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
5

4
Reviewed on 30/01/2017

One of the best report generating tools

It is easy to generate reports. Customized dashboards can be created for quick and usage. On demand menus for access to full capabilities. Easy to use. It is a good product.

Pros

Easy to create report

Verified Reviewer
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
2
Features
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

Deb
  • Industry: Primary/Secondary Education
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
3
Features
4
Ease of Use
3
Customer Support
N/A

4
Reviewed on 9/07/2018

Expensive but Good

Pros

This product will do just about anything you want it to do. It does take more of a skilled employee in order to create things. However, anyone can run things once they are created.

Cons

This product is pricey, especially for a mid range company. It takes a lot of training and setup to get the product going as one would like.

Tony
  • Industry: Primary/Secondary Education
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
4

4
Reviewed on 19/09/2016

Business intelligence for the novice users.

Pros

The flexibility of the product and scalability of the solution.

Cons

Enterprise offerings are a bit pricey. For SMBs it can be a difficult conversation to justify the costs.

139 reviews