Cognos upgrades its flagship business intelligence system, while stepping closer to final approval of its merger with IBM. What will the changes mean for end users? Cognos shareholders yesterday gave the nod to IBM’s proposal to acquire the Ottawa-based business intelligence vendor for $5 billion. Today Cognos launched a third and major upgrade of its business intelligence and performance management system, Cognos 8, version 3. It’s a big week for Cognos, but what will it mean for customers? On the bright side, analysts don’t predict that this new marriage will get off to rocky start. MORE ON BI The Changing BI Landscape Cognos Acquires Applix No announcements about the IBM-Cognos road map can be made until the deal wins final legal approval in Canada; that’s being sought tomorrow, according to a company press release. Following final approval, end users can expect to start hearing more on integration plans and how the various products and services will fit together, says Helena Schwenk, senior analyst at IT consultancy Ovum. However, she expects the integration of IBM and Cognos to go more smoothly than it did for the other two major BI mergers last year, SAP-Business Objects and Oracle-Hyperion. Cognos is a natural complement—rather than an overlap—for IBM, she says, adding, “Cognos has a lot of tools and technology that complements IBM, but it also has products that are not as familiar territory.” As for the Cognos new products announced today, the third version of Cognos 8 represents a major overhaul to the array of products, features and functionality in the Cognos 8 services and platform, such as core BI, search, budgeting, planning, forecasting and consolidation capabilities. This new version seeks to deliver targeted information to a broader set of users in both enterprises and midsize companies. For example, it includes a new portal-based dashboard, as well as a self-service reporting interface for business and financial analysts who want to tap financial and operational data sources and create statement-style reports. Cognos 8 users may want to note that the version 3 upgrade does not include the company’s entire portfolio. For example, the company’s most popular OLAP tool, PowerPlay 7, has not moved to Cognos 8. The company also has plans to integrate Applix, which it acquired in September 2007, with the Cognos 8 platform. The integration of Cognos’s own product lines may make the integration with IBM smoother, says Schwenk. “Cognos will obviously hope that the bulk of PowerPlay and Applix integration work is finished before the IBM acquisition completes,” she says. Related content brandpost Sponsored by SAP Generative AI’s ‘show me the money’ moment We’re past the hype and slick gen AI sales pitches. Business leaders want results. By Julia White Nov 30, 2023 5 mins Artificial Intelligence brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers capture real economic value with zero trust Unleashing economic value: Zscaler's Zero Trust Exchange transforms security architecture while cutting costs. By Zscaler Nov 30, 2023 4 mins Security brandpost Sponsored by SAP A cloud-based solution to rescue millions from energy poverty Aware of the correlation between energy and financial poverty, Savannah Energy is helping to generate clean, competitively priced electricity across Africa by integrating its old systems into one cloud-based platform. By Keith E. Greenberg, SAP Contributor Nov 30, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation feature 8 change management questions every IT leader must answer Designed to speed adoption and achieve business outcomes, change management hasn’t historically been a strength of IT orgs. It’s time to flip that script by asking hard questions to hone change strategies. By Stephanie Overby Nov 30, 2023 10 mins Change Management IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe