CognosExpress

 IBM Cognos® Express is the only integrated business intelligence (BI) and planning solution created to meet the needs of midsize companies. It delivers the reporting, analysis, dashboard, scorecard, planning, budgeting and forecasting capabilities that midsize companies need at a price they can afford. Everything is included in a pre-configured solution that is easy to install, easy to use and easy to buy.

• Find new opportunities and spot trends across your operation, in the market and with your existing customers.
• Deliver better customer service with improved insight into customers.
• Optimize and transform a business with integrated planning, analysis and reporting that drives profitability and revenue growth.
• Create “what if” business scenarios and modify plans, forecasts and budgets. 

Product Editions:

Cognos Express Reporter – Self-Service Reporting and ad hoc query

Cognos Express Reporter is reporting software that delivers complete, self-service reporting and ad hoc query capabilities for midsize companies.

Express Reporter allows users to access, modify or create reports with a self-service design for quick, easy reports that can be shared throughout an organization.

• Built-in reporting for: financial, production, operational, transactional, managed or ad hoc reports.
• Provides a complete data consistently for a common understanding across the company.
• Offers flexible reporting and access to all corporate data in any combination.
• Has simple, intuitive, drag-and-drop capabilities for self-service reporting.
• Can be used with other Cognos Express modules as part of a single, integrated BI and planning solution purpose-built for midsize companies.

·         Simple, intuitive, drag-and-drop authoring capabilities that are easily accessible from a Web browser for self-service reporting by any user, from novice to expert.

·         A common metadata model that presents information to users in business terms they understand, so they can be productive right away.

·         Access to all corporate data in any combination, including relational, analytical OLAP or even desktop files for comprehensive, accurate reporting.

·         Broad report coverage to meet the needs of different users, including financial, production, operational, transactional, managed or ad hoc reports.

·         Flexible report delivery that includes the ability to write once and immediately publish reports to the Web, PDF files, Excel spreadsheets, email messages and the Cognos Express Web portal.

·         Interactive dashboards that can be shared company-wide and support collaborative feedback.

·         The ability to easily maintain and update a report throughout its life cycle using a common, shared interface that can be accessed by all business users.

Planning, budgeting and forecasting

·         Define goals

·         Communicate strategy

·         Gain insight into future business results.

·         Extend and transform the Excel front-end with a powerful in-memory analytics engine.

·         Perform multidimensional analysis and strategic planning tasks, enabling a new level of insight and action.

 Cognos Express Advisor – Freeform analysis and visualization

Cognos Express Advisor is analysis software that quickly translates raw data into sophisticated analysis with rich visual presentations.

Express Advisor gives business users and analysts at midsize companies the ability to quickly analyze complex data and easily share analysis using graphs to show trends and insights. Adviser has write-back capability which enables users to take immediate action for the most effective business outcomes.

• Flexible delivery using Web-based dashboards and interactive reports.
• Offers analytics through an intuitive Web-based interface that enables simple publishing to a common portal for widespread adoption by business users.
• Includes bar, line, area, pie, radar, bubble, scatter and range charts and graphs, plus geo maps and heat/performance maps for high-impact visualization.
• Use in-memory analytics for real-time calculations and slicing and dicing of data by swapping, stacking and switching dimensions in any combination.
• Delivers power and speed through an in-memory analytics server which quickly connects to operational data and creates a dimensional view of your business.
• Uses simple drill-down and drill-up capabilities and flexible graphics for quick analysis of key areas, such as customers, products and geographies.
• Can be used with other Cognos Express modules as part of a single, integrated BI and planning solution built for midsize companies.

Features & Benefits

Cognos Express Advisor delivers:

·         Powerful, fast in-memory analytics.

·         Freeform analysis of any combination of data without the need for IT to develop the data model, build custom cubes and dimensions.

·         Conditional formatting and traffic lights to signal important variances.

·         Data entry and spreading capabilities that enable “what-if” business scenario modeling and forward planning based on actual data.

·         Write-back capabilities that link analysis and planning processes for effective business optimization.

Cognos Express Xcelerator – Microsoft Excel-based planning and business analysis

Cognos Express Xcelerator transforms common Excel spreadsheets to a real-time planning and business analysis resource.

Cognos Express Xcelerator integrates Excel with a powerful in-memory analytics engine which is perfect for multidimensional analysis and strategic planning tasks.   

• Give Excel the capability to quickly deliver multidimensional analysis and plans.
• Build and test “what if” scenarios.
• Update and share plan changes immediately using write-back.
• Eliminate data silos and inconsistencies by implementing centrally managed data, hierarchies, rules and calculations.
• Use with Cognos Express modules for midsize companies.

Features & Benefits

Cognos Express Xcelerator extends Excel, transforming it into a front-end tool with a powerful in-memory analytics engine behind it. It’s perfectly suited for multidimensional analysis and strategic planning tasks, enabling a new level of insight and action.

Cognos Express Xcelerator delivers:

·         Centrally managed data, business hierarchies, rules and calculations to eliminate data silos and inconsistencies throughout the organization – all powered by an in-memory analytics server.

·         Streamlined and continuous planning, aggregation and analysis, so you can focus your attention on effectively operating and growing your business.

·         A Web-based interface that allows non-finance users to easily contribute to and view current plans, analysis and reports.

·         Pre-built blueprints for key planning tasks, including expense and capital planning, workforce management and profitability analysis.

·         Role-based security, structured workflows and clear audit trails to improve accountability and accuracy.

·         Excel-authored reports and applications that can be instantly accessed through a Web browser and portal with no “coding” skills required.

·         Write-back capabilities that link “what-if” modeling results with business optimization and planning.