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 feature Key IT initiatives reshape the CIO agenda While cloud, cybersecurity, and analytics remain top of mind for IT leaders, a shift toward delivering business value is altering how CIOs approach key priorities, pushing transformative projects to the next phase. By Mary Pratt May 30, 2023 10 mins IT Strategy IT Leadership opinion Managing IT right starts with rightsizing IT for value While there are few universals when it comes to saying unambiguously what ‘managing IT right’ looks like, knowing how to navigate the limitless possibilities of IT is surely one. By Thornton May May 30, 2023 6 mins Digital Transformation IT Strategy IT Leadership feature Red Hat embraces hybrid cloud for internal IT The maker of OpenShift has leveraged its own open container offering to migrate business-critical apps to AWS as part of a strategy to move beyond facilitating hybrid cloud for others and capitalize on the model for itself. By Paula Rooney May 29, 2023 5 mins CIO 100 Technology Industry Hybrid Cloud feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers 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