We performed a comparison between IBM Cognos and Microsoft BI based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Microsoft BI has a slight edge in this comparison. According to its reviewers, it is a more lightweight solution than IBM Cognos.
"We use the account statement report. When you use an account in HSBC, you receive various types of accounts, such as the stock market, fixed accounts, credit cards, and business accounts. We can create one consolidated report called CCS support, which includes all these accounts. In that statement, we are consolidating all those accounts."
"Mapbox integration for geospatial analytics down to longitude/latitude layers."
"The product is a very good reporting tool and is very flexible. It allows for the users to get a scheduled report."
"A positive feature is Report Studio, where we create beautiful, complex reports."
"The most valuable features are Report Development (Functionality) and Information Distribution (Flexibility)."
"We use IBM Cognos for enterprise analytics and reporting."
"I have worked on the features like dashboards and stories, and I do like them a lot."
"When it comes to decision-making, the product is very useful and used in many departments since a lot of people prefer the reports to be generated by IBM Cognos."
"One of the most valuable features of Power BI is the ease of use. It is comfortable and there is not a steep learning curve for this solution. If you have some idea of the data and basic visualization ideas, you can use this solution comfortably."
"Other people can access data much more easily than before. Its usability is the main advantage, people in the company are using it."
"In my opinion, Microsoft BI is a low-cost solution, and it could be an interesting solution for a tourism company."
"You don't need much support with Microsoft Power BI because it has such a large base of users who can answer your questions on their forums. There are also many video tutorials and webinars available online that offer solutions to whatever problems you may have."
"Provides a full platform (database, ETL, reporting, analysis, and so on)"
"It's a great tool for visualization data, and it's free for engineers."
"The product is user-friendly."
"What I have found valuable about Microsoft BI is its performance and ease of use. The interface is very simple and it is accessible to everyone. If someone is new to this type of solution it is straightforward to understand."
"It could have more options for themes."
"I would like for the platform to become more standard. If we make a development on our report and our dashboard, it will not be used in another solution. That means there is no portability for the developers."
"There are some problems with how Cognos handles huge data sets and when connecting with multiple sources and searching the data."
"It would be good if the solution had conditional formatting."
"Extending dynamic cubes aggregate awareness with calculated measures."
"The AI-based features could be further enhanced by the solution."
"They were lacking in the initial phases of development in the area of big data, and they still need to improve that aspect of the product."
"There are some small features that are missing. It would be nice if the graphics were better. You can use external sources for charts, but it's quite complex to use and not easy to implement. If you want a new chart, you can download it from multiple tools and implement it into IBM Cognos."
"BI is scalable, but there are some problems with limited online storage."
"It seems that the solution could use more analytics to help users draw more contextual business insights. Right now, you need other solutions for that."
"It should be easier to use when there are multiple system sources."
"I believe the price should be degressive, and we should have a lower, or better unit price if we have more users."
"Microsoft BI has its own challenges in terms of user interface and how quickly somebody can learn how to use it."
"I think because I'm moving more into RPA, I'd definitely like to see integration across the RPA, Power BI, or Tableau platforms, because that integration could then make automation and mundane reporting much faster."
"I would like to see better, undisturbed stability without any interruptions."
"There is no column-level security in Microsoft BI, and this is a feature that most of our customers are looking for. That is something that should be implemented."
IBM Cognos is ranked 4th in Reporting with 132 reviews while Microsoft Power BI is ranked 1st in Reporting with 297 reviews. IBM Cognos is rated 8.0, while Microsoft Power BI is rated 8.0. 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 Microsoft Power BI writes "A complete ecosystem with an builtin ETL tool, good integrations with python and R, and support of DAX and Power Query (M languages)". IBM Cognos is most compared with Oracle OBIEE, Tableau, SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform, Oracle Hyperion and Amazon QuickSight, whereas Microsoft Power BI is most compared with Tableau, Amazon QuickSight, KNIME, Domo and SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform. See our IBM Cognos vs. Microsoft Power BI report.
See our list of best Reporting vendors and best BI (Business Intelligence) Tools vendors.
We monitor all Reporting 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.