Tag Archive for: Best Practices

Using Cognos we can generate reports in Excel, Microsoft Word and Power Point. In this article we will see what components we need to produce these reports in Microsoft Office.

Required Components and Installations:

1. You need to have Cognos environment ready and useable for generating reports, as shown below.

Cognos Connection

2. You have to install Microsoft Office in all the destination systems or client machines where we are going to access Cognos reports using Microsoft Office components. Read more

The Ironside Group and IBM are hosting a series of complimentary Lunch N’ Learn’s where we will discuss benefits that our customers are experiencing with Integrating Budgeting, Reporting, Consolidation and Forecasting using IBM Business Analytics Solutions. Read more

Business Intelligence tools have been one of the most prolific software investments for many organizations in the last decade; from Fortune 100 companies to small 100 person organizations. Providing historical, current, and predictive views of business operations, BI tools offer limitless possibilities within your organization. From analysts identifying and analyzing opportunities and trends to helping business decisions makers such as CEOs and CFOs to quickly review and understand business issues, a well designed BI application can provide significant ROI to your corporation. 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

For those starting out with Cognos 8, or even those who have worked with it for quite a while, Framework Manager model design can seem like a daunting or even overwhelming task. With so many options available, it can be hard to know what to consider during design, and how to promote stability and sustainability.

This is the first in a two-part article that will focus on the best practices, organization and overall methodology of Framework model development. As is often the case with complex tools, even developers who have worked with Cognos for a while can be confused on at least some of the concepts and considerations of model design. The focus of this first article will start from the beginning, and describe an overall 4 layer approach, detailing the purpose and reason for each of the four layers. Next month’s article will describe advanced best practices, and other tips. Read more