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.
"The main difference that I like about Cognos compared to other solutions is its data splitting functionality. We have all our company data inside the Cognos environment and so we prefer to split the information Cognos itself. It's more efficient this way."
"The most valuable feature is developing reports from different data sources, making it a reliable data source."
"I have worked on the features like dashboards and stories, and I do like them a lot."
"The initial setup is quite straightforward."
"Cognos' most valuable features are the bundled studios, simple UI, and advanced features like the ability to create data modules."
"IBM Cognos improves the effectiveness of the sales team."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its ease of use, which makes it easily compatible with other tools."
"It is a stable product."
"It's a very good, flexible product, and it's easy to learn."
"The solution deployment was straightforward."
"It provides supporting data for critical policy and operational changes"
"This service is the combination of very pleasant, interactive graphical visualizations along with the application of advanced statistical models (in some cases)."
"The solution has great features which nobody can beat, you can do a lot of customizations, such as use different dimensions and colorize them. Additionally, you can use the numeric values for the customization, which is an exceptional feature."
"The solution is configurable and flexible. We can customize the dashboards and configure the interface the way that we want. The data can be manipulated and arranged in different ways, such as columns."
"The solution offers very good reporting."
"It is easy to use, and it can handle a large amount of data."
"Cognos charts are not as fast as those of the other tools, even with DQM (dynamic query mode)."
"I would like to have predictive and forecasting capabilities in Cognos. It's one thing to do reporting, and another thing to easily predict or forecast certain data points, which is very important for all the clients."
"The tool needs to improve the connectivity since I see that, at times, there is a need to increase the memory in the database."
"I would like them to reinclude PowerPlay. One thing that I am missing in the current Cognos is what was formally named PowerPlay. They have basically removed PowerPlay from it, which is something that I fail to understand because it was the most wonderful tool for business intelligence that I've ever used. As far as I know, they don't provide this functionality anymore, so this is one thing that I dislike about Cognos."
"We need more predictive analytical functions, not only diagnostic or decryptic analytics."
"There are some problems with how Cognos handles huge data sets and when connecting with multiple sources and searching the data."
"Cognos is quite slow - it's missing the performance of the PowerPlay cubes."
"They should provide improved visual reporting."
"Licensing and pricing options could be made better so that more users would be able to use it."
"Some of our clients are looking for better UI when using Tableau as they often work with this solution directly."
"When there are millions of records, scaling up is quite difficult."
"Tableau could be improved by introducing a data manipulation layer within the tool itself. Currently, data manipulations require using additional tools like Alteryx. If Tableau included these capabilities, it would reduce the need for external dependencies. The tool gets slower when we feed huge amounts of data."
"Creating empty extracts is not easy."
"Its integration with Microsoft products such as Teams should be improved."
"I have noticed that Tableau is not very compatible with ClickHouse. There's no direct connection to ClickHouse; you have to set up an ODBC connection."
"There are not enough language options. It needs to be offered in more than just English."
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, Oracle Hyperion, SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform and Amazon QuickSight, whereas Tableau is most compared with Microsoft Power BI, Domo, Amazon QuickSight, 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.