Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IBM Cognos Dashboard vs Tableau Enterprise comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 4, 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
Tableau Enterprise
Ranking in Data Visualization
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
307
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (2nd), Reporting (2nd), Embedded BI (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Data Visualization category, the mindshare of IBM Cognos Dashboard is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tableau Enterprise is 19.2%, down from 29.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Visualization Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Tableau Enterprise19.2%
IBM Cognos Dashboard0.9%
Other79.9%
Data Visualization
 

Featured Reviews

Unes Ay - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides efficient data modules, but it could be more user-friendly
We use IBM Cognos Dashboard for data manufacturing, reporting, costing, quality check, etc The product helps us update the KPI automatically. We can access reports and analyze if a particular solution fits the requirements. The product's most valuable is the concept of data modules. IBM Cognos…
Uzair Faruqi - PeerSpot reviewer
Ease of developing dashboards and receiving strong technical support have enabled efficient data visualization
Introducing custom features, such as NLP-based reports, is not very good in Tableau. My MD has been asking us for a way to write in natural language to request reports that the system should generate, but that isn't very effective with Tableau. As a developer, I can develop an on-demand report in Python quite easily, but exposing a REST API on the Tableau platform is not a very easy task. AI enablement is an area for improvement for Tableau, and that is something they might have to work upon. I have heard that ThoughtSpot is quite better in this regard, but the cost of ThoughtSpot is much higher. ThoughtSpot has lots of natural language-based report generation features that Tableau lacks.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a pretty stable solution."
"The main feature that is useful is the on-demand report generation through the dashboard."
"The tool's valuable features are that it is easy to use and stable."
"The product helps us update the KPI automatically."
"It's very easy to set everything up."
"The geospatial maps representation and the visualizations are nice."
"You can create attractive dashboards that inform users using Tableau."
"The ability to deploy is the added ability to centralise the Tableau repository for all Tableau Developers."
"Tableau is saving me time, money, and resources, which I would rate as ten."
"One of the most valuable features is that the solution allows users to build interactive dashboards. This allows the end user to modify the criteria or the filtering if need be. As far as for my personal use as a QA Engineer, I really value how extensive their API document support has been."
"It is easy to adapt visualizers to have interactive conversations among decision-makers."
"Gradual scalability from simple to complex situations"
 

Cons

"The scalability of the product's on-premises version is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"Visualization is an area where the product lacks."
"The price point is one of the major areas to be improved."
"They should include proper documentation to learn more about the product."
"Tableau's data modeling, mining, and AI library features need improvement."
"The Hyper Extract functionality is not as strong as that provided by Microsoft SQL."
"Tableau's data blending feature could use some improvement. Previously, I used other tools, such as Alteryx, for data blending because Tableau had limitations."
"The user story model is the most deceptive part of Tableau. It is a big marketing option, however, the reality is that it is not enough."
"The data entered into Tableau must be clean. Otherwise, it won't work properly."
"It will be good if the server, could be more stable, and I would like to have the technical service to be more reliable."
"I find data prepping in Tableau challenging to understand, perhaps because I am new to it. It sometimes requires extensive investigation to determine why the data does not appear correctly."
"The data processing in Tableau is pathetic compared to Qlik."
 

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."
"We pay for the enterprise license for Tableau. The licensing could be cheaper and more flexible."
"One of the biggest drawbacks of Tableau is the price, it is expensive. The price should be reduced."
"Tableau is an expensive solution, though it comes with its advantages."
"The pricing is $70 per month. You have to pay about $800 or something in that ballpark annually for one license."
"I believe it has a lifelong license, and once you purchase it, you don't have to renew it, but I'm not sure."
"It is fairly expensive. I have no idea what they paid. We were on an enterprise license, so whatever it is they licensed at the enterprise level is what we paid."
"There is a license for this solution and we pay on an annual basis."
"The cost is high."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Visualization solutions are best for your needs.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user6330 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 2, 2013
MicroStrategy vs. Tableau
After a recent presentation, several attendees asked me about the applications of Visual Insights and Tableau. Many companies are investing in both tools and are trying to figure out the right tool for specific applications Tableau has found its sweet-spot as an agile discovery tool that analysts…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business117
Midsize Enterprise66
Large Enterprise182
 

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...
Seeking lightweight open source BI software
It depends on the Data architecture and the complexity of your requirement. Some great tools in the market are Qlik Sense, Power BI, OBIEE, Tableau, etc. I have recently started using Cognos Enter...
Tableau vs. Business Objects - Which is a better solution for visualization and analysis?
Both tools have their positives and negatives. First, I should mention that I am relatively new to Tableau. I have been working on and off Tableau for about a year, but getting to work on it consta...
Which would you choose - Tableau or SAP Analytics Cloud?
Tableau is easy to set up and maintain. In about a day it is possible for the entire platform to be deployed for use. This relatively short amount of time can make all the difference for companies ...
 

Also Known As

Cognos Dashboard
Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server, Tableau Online
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Accenture, Adobe, Amazon.com, Bank of America, Charles Schwab Corp, Citigroup, Coca-Cola Company, Cornell University, Dell, Deloitte, Duke University, eBay, Exxon Mobil, Fannie Mae, Ferrari, French Red Cross, Goldman Sachs, Google, Government of Canada, HP, Intel, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Macy's, Merck, The New York Times, PayPal, Pfizer, US Army, US Air Force, Skype, and Walmart.
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cognos Dashboard vs. Tableau Enterprise and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.