What is IBM Cognos Analytics?

IBM Cognos Analytics is a business intelligence tool designed to aid in data preparation, reporting, and visualization. It serves as a platform to clean and connect data, facilitating a more streamlined data analysis process.

As a comprehensive solution, Cognos Analytics not only assists in preparing and reporting on data but also creates visualizations to help interpret complex data sets. This feature enables users to grasp insights quickly and make informed decisions based on tangible data representations.

Moreover, IBM Cognos Analytics extends its capabilities to predict future trends within a business. This predictive feature enhances strategic planning by providing foresight into potential outcomes based on existing data patterns.

What is IBM Cognos Analytics

IBM Cognos Analytics is a web-based business intelligence platform that provides AI-powered automation. It enhances data discovery, preparation, and visualization capabilities for users. Leveraging trusted data, Cognos Analytics delivers interactive dashboards, enterprise reports, and insights that enable businesses to predict and forecast future outcomes. Its AI features assist in explaining why certain outcomes may happen, transforming business teams into power users through advanced analytics.

Data Modeling and Exploration

With web-based data modeling, Cognos Analytics facilitates the upload, connection, joining, and modeling of data. It supports data exploration and prediction, making it possible to identify patterns and gain insights for strategic decision-making.

Integration and Reporting

Cognos Analytics integrates with a variety of data sources, including CSV files, spreadsheets, SQL databases, Google BigQuery, and Amazon Redshift. Users can create dynamic and personalized reports quickly, leveraging the platform’s AI assistant for natural language interaction and time-series modeling for seasonal trend prediction.

Accessibility and Usability

The platform is accessible on the go via a mobile app. It is designed to improve user experience with faster performance, enhanced AI capabilities, and features that promote easier and more efficient data handling, such as automated data cleaning and preparation.

IBM Cognos Analytics vs ThoughtSpot Analytics

Overview

IBM Cognos Analytics is a comprehensive business intelligence suite designed for larger deployments with functionality such as Query Studio, Reporting Studio, Analysis Studio, and Event Studio. ThoughtSpot is an AI-Powered Analytics platform that focuses on natural language search and interaction with live cloud data platforms.

Usability

IBM Cognos Analytics integrates with Microsoft Office and offers a web-based interface but has been reported to have a slow web application. ThoughtSpot is praised for its ease of use, offering natural language search capabilities and better in-person training than IBM Cognos Analytics.

AI and Predictive Features

Both platforms provide AI capabilities, but Cognos Analytics emphasizes AI-powered automation, predictive forecasting, and decision trees, while ThoughtSpot is recognized for its AI-Powered Analytics, providing better insights through user-friendly tools.

Cost and Accessibility

IBM Cognos Analytics is available at $10 per month per user with a free trial option, while ThoughtSpot starts at $95 per month with a free version available. ThoughtSpot Analytics Pro and Enterprise offer consumption-based pricing, starting at $30,000 per year.

Training and Support

IBM Cognos Analytics offers good online courses and self-contained virtual machine environments, though it does not always make these environments available. ThoughtSpot has a stronger reputation for in-person training and support services.

Data Handling and Security

Both platforms feature ad hoc reporting, data discovery, visualization, access control, security, and mobile capabilities. IBM Cognos Analytics is said to handle dimensionally modeled relational data poorly, but it has a robust security model.

Integration and Data Sources

Cognos Analytics can integrate with various data sources, including SQL databases, Google BigQuery, and Amazon Redshift. ThoughtSpot allows users to interact with data from popular cloud data platforms seamlessly.

Alternatives

BrightGauge and Jaspersoft Community Edition are suggested as alternatives to both IBM Cognos Analytics and ThoughtSpot.

SourceTable: Centralized Data Analysis Platform

SourceTable emerges as a leading alternative to traditional analytics tools like IBM Cognos Analytics and ThoughtSpot Analytics. It stands out by syncing and centralizing business data from multiple sources into one networked spreadsheet. This approach caters to the evolving landscape where spreadsheets become the future of work.

As an operating system designed for the future of work, SourceTable allows seamless analysis of data from both databases and SaaS tools. By providing an always-on, always connected environment, users can access and query data in real-time, akin to a spreadsheet-like interface, without the complexity of traditional analytics tools.

SourceTable's ability to store and access large files within a spreadsheet format simplifies the data manipulation process, making it a practical solution for businesses. With its current availability in private beta and a 14-day free trial, SourceTable is an accessible option for those looking to streamline their data analysis processes.