IBM Cognos 8 and SAP Business Objects XI comparison
By John ETL
IBM and SAP business intelligence products comparison
Cognos and SAP Business Objects comparison
The comparison is based on competetive battlecards offered by the two companies. First the strengths and weaknesses of Cognos are shown, then strong and weak points of SAP Business Objects.
IBM Cognos 8 Business Intelligence
Platform architecture
+ complete Performance management system on a single SOA platform ensures no gaps and overlaps in decision making process, offers uniform backbone, facilitates global deployment and new user adoption, enables efficient collaboration and homogeneous view of information in all departments, Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) server available
- no benefit to use Web services for intra process communication, low offline analytical capabilities, possible platform instability, no linear scalability with possible bottlenecks (only one active Content Manager allowed at time)
Heterogeneous data access
+ can combine heterogeneous data source in the semantic layer (mySAP R/3, SAP BW and non-SAP included), uses common metadata and delivers a consistent view of information presented in a business-friendly way
Business focus
+ focused on Performance Management, provides industry specific solutions supported by online communities of interest and Cognos Innovation Center, easily adaptable applications
- the industry specific solutions are rather blueprints than applications, users have to learn how to use new tools
ETL solutions
+ ability to combine heterogeneous data sources without having to extract data
- poor ETL capabilities, Extract-Transform-Load and data quality tools available via partners
Data query, reporting and analysis tools
+ all the tools cooperate within one platform, different reports can be linked if they use the same semantic layer, intuitive and self-service (no participation of IT developers required)
- three separate tools for data query (Query Studio), reporting (Report Studio) and data analysis (Analysis Studio)
Data dissemination and collaboration
+ ability to create a full range of reports (production, management, statutory, personalized, analytical, transactional) and to publish them in any language (multilingual environment), format (HTML, PDF, Excel and more available), or location (portal, email, mobile, office)
- collaboration limited to scorecards, separate tools for scorecarding (Metrics Studio) and dashboarding (Report Studio) that rely on third party vendors, limited interactivity and insight into ready reports
SAP Business Objects XI
Platform architecture
+ good offline analytical capabilities, ensures data quality and lineage, closely integrated with other BI tools
- lower level of integration within the platform, products included in the platform are inconsistent at technological level
Heterogeneous data access
+ provides good ETL tools to manage inconsistent data
- no direct counterpart
Business focus
+ universal and intuitional trending and what-if analysis available besides traditional BI reporting improve Performance Management capabilities
- no industry specific solutions
ETL solutions
+ competitive data integration and data quality tools, can create and maintain metadata as well as perform complete analysis
Data query, reporting and analysis tools
+ Web Intelligence – an integrated and powerful tool performing end user queries, reporting and analysis, additional Crystal Reports tool for reporting, and Xcelsius for presentation of interactive visual reporting
Data dissemination and collaboration
+ Encyclopedia tool providing capabilities such as documenting reports and providing guided analysis, discussion threads available
- inconsistent location of reports created, location limitations
More information and further reading on SAP BusinessObjects, Cognos and other Business Intelligence providers:
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