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IBM Cognos Dashboard vs Informatica PowerCenter comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Cognos Dashboard
Ranking in Data Visualization
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Informatica PowerCenter
Ranking in Data Visualization
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Data Visualization category, the mindshare of IBM Cognos Dashboard is 1.2%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Informatica PowerCenter is 1.1%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Visualization Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Informatica PowerCenter1.1%
IBM Cognos Dashboard1.2%
Other97.7%
Data Visualization
 

Featured Reviews

SM
Freelancer at 0
A tool that helps create creative dashboards while offering high performance and stability
For reporting and data visualization, the tool is mainly used based on the data dimensions, which are stored in the data warehouse since it is where IBM Cognos Dashboard is used to bind the data and visualize the reports. The integration with our company's business intelligence workflows is based on the existing connectors that IBM Cognos Dashboard has. I am not aware because I do not manage that in the application, but what I see is that it is mainly through the connectors that the tool is connected to the data warehouse. The editor in IBM Cognos Dashboard is the most beneficial for creating an interactive dashboard. The dashboard customization and the flexibility in the IBM Cognos Dashboard enhance data analysis since it has a graphical builder that is quite user-friendly for creating different dimensions. I recommend the solution to those who plan to use it. The tool is effective when it comes to integration with other data sources because it has the connectors to connect to different data sources. The real-time data refresh in Cognos impacted my decision-making since the tool ensures more business benefits in areas around all the financial reporting or marketing trends of the users or customers, including the billing analytics to know what the RPU or to know the areas that can help in the marketing decisions while being able to create new portfolios or new products for the market. The tool is mainly for marketing and financial reporting. I rate the overall tool a ten out of ten.
Garima Goel - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Principal Engineer at Nagarro
Has supported complex data pipeline creation but performance tuning and monitoring responsiveness need improvement
Sometimes, I see various performance issues with Informatica PowerCenter, including caching concerns, whether it's a joiner transformation or other transformations, so I believe the team can enhance the performance perspectives of these transformations. Additionally, sometimes the Informatica Monitor hangs or takes time to open the current run or logs, which the team can also look into. Informatica is transitioning to cloud solutions and discontinuing on-premise support after 2026, so when we discuss Informatica Cloud and its support, it becomes quite expensive for the organization compared to peers such as SnapLogic or Netezza, which offer lower pricing. Informatica Cloud Intelligence's pricing is notably high.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The tool's valuable features are that it is easy to use and stable."
"It is a pretty stable solution."
"The product helps us update the KPI automatically."
"The main feature that is useful is the on-demand report generation through the dashboard."
"My overall experience with Informatica PowerCenter is positive."
"The features I find most valuable is that the solution is very user-friendly and the graphical design is very easy to understand."
"The setup is straightforward."
"Informatica PowerCenter has been implementing mapping design, data flow, and workflow execution for years."
"The solution is stable."
"The interface is very clean and clear."
"The functions in Informatica PowerCenter that I have found most valuable are the way it manages the volume of data, the push down optimization, and the performance aspects of it, mostly related to parallelism techniques."
"It has good standard features for ETL development."
 

Cons

"They should include proper documentation to learn more about the product."
"The scalability of the product's on-premises version is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"The price point is one of the major areas to be improved."
"Visualization is an area where the product lacks."
"Areas for improvement in Informatica PowerCenter include scalability and high availability or the clustering configuration because that's still very basic. The elasticity or scaling of the platform needs a lot of improvement. For example, when it comes to DR handling or building an active-active or active-passive cluster, Informatica PowerCenter is still not that powerful. Automation also needs improvement in the solution. Improving automation leads to some improvement in the stability of Informatica PowerCenter and other aspects related to it. What I'd like to see in the next release of Informatica PowerCenter is real-time capability because the solution is mainly for patches, and to have real-time integration, you need to count on some additional components from Informatica. I would expect more integration and a complete platform in terms of real-time capability or patching with minimal interventions or minimal components to be aligned together."
"PowerCenter has three clients. I wish they would consolidate everything into one GUI, not three. Also, we had a persistent issue with the Informatica Developer tool but it was solved when we migrated to the newest one."
"I would like to see it be able to import data from NoSQL."
"Lacks ability to calculate cost of the product."
"The documentation could be improved."
"The real-time database connectivity when getting the real-time data using the VPN is an area that needs improvement."
"Informatica PowerCenter could improve by having a single interface because half of the system is still in the legacy interface and many other elements are moved to the developer client. It would be good if there was a single interface for the end user and developers."
"It would be better if I could do all the work within a single window. If I'm working on any mapping and if I have to switch to sessions, I have to open a new window altogether. If I have to get into workflows, I have to open a new window. It was also very expensive. In the next release, I would like it to be more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is expensive for small businesses compared to other vendors."
"Licensing is based on individual usage, and it is more expensive than other providers."
"I am not sure about the most recent price, but I think it should be $100,000 or more."
"Pricing for Informatica PowerCenter isn't cheap, but if I compare it with IBM, it's as expensive as IBM, however, Informatica PowerCenter is more innovative, especially when compared to a giant company such as IBM that has thousands of products. Informatica PowerCenter is limited only to data management, but it has new features that come out every quarter. Points for ease of use and flexibility go to Informatica PowerCenter, but price-wise, IBM and Informatica are equal because they're both expensive."
"I rate the product's price a ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"The price of this solution is high."
"It is for big enterprises. We have leveraged Informatica for big enterprises but not for small and medium enterprises because it is a very costly product as compared to other products. We propose this solution only for enterprise customers. For small to medium enterprises, we would propose the Microsoft solution. Its licensing is currently bundle-wise. It should be features-wise and not bundle-wise."
"Cost could be improved."
"A basic setup can be from $100,000 and up annually."
"The pricing for Informatica PowerCenter is expensive. Some clients have simple needs and only want to integrate and store data. Some clients have small needs, while some clients have bigger needs and focus more on performance and time. The licensing cost for Informatica PowerCenter isn't good. In my project, if I remember correctly, the company pays €20,000 per year for the Informatica PowerCenter license. I'm not aware of additional costs that you need to pay for some features of the solution. On a scale of one to five, I'm rating its price a three."
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Comparison Review

it_user90069 - PeerSpot reviewer
BI Expert at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 20, 2014
Informatica PowerCenter vs. Microsoft SSIS - each technology has its advantages but also have similarities
Technology has made it easier for businesses to organize and manipulate data to get a clearer picture of what’s going on with their business. Notably, ETL tools have made managing huge amounts of data significantly easier and faster, boosting many organizations’ business intelligence operations…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise72
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM Cognos Dashboard?
The tool is good enough to serve the purpose of what it is meant in our company. The scalability of the product's on-premises version is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are req...
What is your primary use case for IBM Cognos Dashboard?
In my company, the solution is mainly used for business reporting where the organization or the business team, especially the marketing department, or even data scientists can actually draw reports...
How does Azure Data Factory compare with Informatica PowerCenter?
Azure Data Factory is flexible, modular, and works well. In terms of cost, it is not too pricey. It offers the stability and reliability I am looking for, good scalability, and is easy to set up an...
Which is better - SSIS or Informatica PowerCenter?
SSIS PowerPack is a group of drag and drop connectors for Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services, commonly called SSIS. The collection helps organizations boost productivity with code-free compo...
Which Informatica product would you choose - PowerCenter or Cloud Data Integration?
Complex transformations can easily be achieved using PowerCenter, which has all the features and tools to establish a real data governance strategy. Additionally, PowerCenter is able to manage huge...
 

Also Known As

Cognos Dashboard
PowerCenter
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, LexisNexis, Rabobank
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cognos Dashboard vs. Informatica PowerCenter and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.