IBM Cognos 10 launched this week at IBM Information on Demand in Las Vegas, but the show is just getting started. IBM is taking Cognos 10 on the road to 48 local launch events that will give you the opportunity for an up close and in depth look at the latest evolution in enterprise business intelligence. Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to explore the new Business Insight BI Workspace, or learn about exciting new features like Active Reports, Statistical Reports, Human Tasks, External Data Integration, the Dynamic Query Analyzer, and many more. Read more
As consultants, we have found that the majority of struggling IBM Cognos implementations we encounter are due to either poor framework model design, or more often, a flawed database architecture. The case of the latter can present itself in a number of ways, but in the worst cases, we’ve discovered reporting applications built upon highly normalized OLTP systems that are ineffective and detrimental to both analytical and operational performance of an organization’s information systems. Another common case is an implementation of Cognos upon an existing data warehouse where users are provided with unfettered ad-hoc access to the data source for the first time, exposing previously unforeseen or unknown data quality issues. Read more
IBM has executed a total of 12 acquisitions since January 2010, proceeding with its strategy of continually enhancing their product portfolio with best-of-breed technologies that are complimentary to their present solutions. Most noteworthy are three of such acquisitions that have occurred since mid-August:
- Unica, a Marketing Planning company on August 13, 2010
- OpenPages, an Integrated Risk Management company on September 15, 2010
- Netezza , a Data Warehousing and Advanced Analytics company on September 20, 2010
Like any system or application you are using, performance is one of the most important factors in successful adoption by the user community. As for IBM Cognos users, optimal performance means that their reports run fast and without error; for system administrators like you, it means that the Cognos environment is stable and that the users are happy. That being said, there is no question that performance tuning is always on a system administrator’s must-do list. By properly tuning the IBM Cognos configuration settings of dispatcher and services, you can optimize the speed and efficiency of the IBM Cognos server. Read more
Investing in a robust enterprise business intelligence platform like IBM Cognos can be a gateway to improving your organization’s performance in a multitude of ways. One such area of improvement which cannot be dismissed or overlooked is to respond to the call for greater corporate social responsibility. We now live an age where achieving success is no longer measured in simple dollars and cents alone, but also by how large and indelible a mark we leave upon our surroundings in the process. We have already begun to realize the directly proportional relationship between the sustainability of our success and that our own environment.
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Ironside is a data, analytics, and AI consulting and technology implementation company. We work with clients to understand their business objectives and day-to-day challenges, then employ our deep expertise in data strategy, architecture and engineering, integration, business intelligence, AI, and generative AI. We create technical solutions and practical approaches designed to drive smarter, data-driven decisions across a company and help it move further and faster toward its business goals.