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IBM Cognos vs Oracle Hyperion vs Tableau comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
IBM Cognos offers mixed returns; some save significantly, others find it costly, but generally enhances insights and processes.
Sentiment score
5.7
Opinions on Oracle Hyperion's ROI vary, with mixed experiences in financial benefits, time savings, and data accuracy improvements.
Sentiment score
7.1
Users see fast returns with Tableau, noting time savings and efficiency, though initial costs and adoption can be challenging.
This saves a significant amount of time, particularly for reports that would have needed around fifty people.
The ROI of using Tableau extends to its seamless integration across various platforms, as it's from Salesforce and thus not limited to any specific cloud provider.
Tableau is saving me time, money, and resources, which I would rate as ten.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
IBM Cognos support is responsive and expert but criticized for high costs, slow resolutions, and complexity in customer service.
Sentiment score
5.6
Oracle Hyperion's customer support experiences vary, with mixed reviews on responsiveness and effectiveness, depending on issue priority and service levels.
Sentiment score
6.1
Tableau's customer service is generally rated positively, but response time and effectiveness can vary by region and support package.
I rate technical support from IBM as eight out of ten, indicating a high quality of service.
Support is generally fast for Sev1 or Sev2 tickets but slower for lower-severity tickets.
I rate Oracle's technical support as very good, giving it a score of 8 to 9 out of 10.
The response time is not that good.
They provide quick email and phone responses and have Thai-speaking personnel.
There should be consistent standards for all users.
The technical support for Tableau is quite good.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
IBM Cognos offers scalable solutions, supporting large deployments with proper server architecture, powerful hardware, and seamless software integration.
Sentiment score
7.2
Oracle Hyperion is scalable for large corporations but faces challenges as user numbers increase, evolving to meet user needs.
Sentiment score
6.7
Tableau is highly scalable, flexible, and integrates well but may face performance issues and license cost concerns.
It can be scaled out to other teams, but requires building cubes and implementing policies.
I rate the scalability of Oracle Hyperion as an 8 out of 10 because it remains a top choice in the market.
Tableau is easy to use across various dimensions, whether on-premises or on the cloud.
The solution is fully scalable and performs well even with large datasets, provided there is proper supporting hardware.
Tableau is easy to scale.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
IBM Cognos is praised for stability and performance, surpassing competitors, with minor issues often due to server configuration.
Sentiment score
7.1
Oracle Hyperion is generally stable with occasional issues, praised for reliability and improved post-upgrade performance, rated 7-9/10.
Sentiment score
7.3
Tableau is stable but may face issues with large data sets, updates, and network infrastructure, usually resolved by support.
I rate the stability of this solution as nine out of ten, indicating it is highly stable.
Cloud configurations have not exhibited issues like crashing or slowing down for significant data volumes.
We sometimes encounter bugs and need to connect with Oracle Support.
The application hangs after continuous use due to the buildup of cache.
I rate the stability a five or six because Tableau updates very often with new versions or patches.
 

Room For Improvement

IBM Cognos needs UI upgrades, better data visualization, improved performance, and advanced self-service features to compete with rivals.
Oracle Hyperion needs better UI, integration, performance, and security, while facing complexity, pricing, flexibility, and cloud scalability issues.
Tableau struggles with cost, complexity, performance, and integration, needing better analytics, interoperability, and more user-friendly features.
There is room for improvement in self-service analytics and predictiveness.
After moving to PBCS and EPBCS, the per-user license fees can be reduced, particularly for bulk users.
It is user-friendly and offers several advantages in financial reporting and consolidation.
The pricing model could be more flexible as it's more expensive than its competitors.
We cannot send the entire Excel file reports via email within Tableau.
The product owner should enhance its benefits or clarify its role.
It sometimes requires extensive investigation to determine why the data does not appear correctly.
 

Setup Cost

IBM Cognos is costlier but offers extensive features, complex licensing, and competitive SaaS options for SMEs, emphasizing negotiation.
Oracle Hyperion is costly yet comprehensive, with high initial and ongoing fees, requiring detailed setup knowledge.
Enterprise buyers should weigh Tableau's pricing models and costs against its features, ROI, and competitors like Power BI.
I rate pricing as a four, meaning it is more expensive compared to other solutions.
The pricing model is on the higher side compared to its competitors.
Power BI as a much cheaper alternative.
A license for 150 users costs around $17,000 USD per year.
Looker is known to be quite expensive.
 

Valuable Features

IBM Cognos offers powerful analytics, flexible reporting, strong visualization, and robust security with scalability and ease of use.
Oracle Hyperion excels in data integration, scalability, and security, offering powerful budgeting, forecasting, and consolidation features with global deployment.
Tableau provides intuitive data visualization, seamless integration, and scalability, enabling easy report creation and insightful decision-making with minimal IT support.
IBM Cognos is a robust governed platform with significant security features and provides excellent graphics and reporting.
It enables me to input data directly based on my security and business lines, with an inbuilt calculation engine for data aggregation and reporting.
The feature that allows automation of the budgeting and forecasting process is extremely valuable, especially when compared to Excel.
Anaplan allows for quick module changes, where adjustments in one module reflect throughout the user experience.
A significant feature for me is the real-time connection to data sources because it effectively manages large data sets.
Tableau serves as a stable dashboarding tool for higher management, aiding in quick decision-making.
Building hyper extracts and visualization capabilities make Tableau a robust tool for data analysis.
 

Mindshare comparison

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
Business Performance Management
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
 

Featured Reviews

AMOL JAJU - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers ad hoc analysis reports and good for operational dashboarding
There used to be many valuable features, but in the last three or four years, whatever IBM is doing with enhancements, it has taken a lot of time to build and develop. But the best usage of Cognos is the ad hoc analysis reports. I really like that. Our customers also like that. But now the usage of Cognos and OBIE is reduced by various business users because people and business users are now more focused on analytics, slice and dice, and the dashboard, and the widgets.
Pranit Chhajed - PeerSpot reviewer
Automation of financial processes streamlines operations but pricing needs improvement
Our clients mostly use Hyperion for their financial requirements, including budgeting, forecasting, and planning The feature that allows automation of the budgeting and forecasting process is extremely valuable, especially when compared to Excel. The workflow management of planning and the…
Nattawat Choosuwan - PeerSpot reviewer
Real-time data connection enhances workflow and decision-making process
An area for improvement in Tableau is the Explorer license type. It is not as useful, and the product owner should enhance its benefits or clarify its role. Additionally, the frequent updates with many versions available for download can be confusing and could affect stability. They should avoid providing access to older versions on their website.
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Comparison Review

it_user79932 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 4, 2015
Comparison of SAP BO, Tableau, QlikView, Cognos, Microsoft, OBIEE and Pentaho
1. SAP BO/BI Enterprise scalability Security Ease of use Semantic layer 2. Tableau Visualization Data discovery Turnaround time 3. IBM Cognos Enterprise scalability Security In-memory feature 4. MS BI - Flexibility 5. Pentaho - Open source but still enterprise grade 6. QlikView Data…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Educational Organization
13%
Insurance Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
University
6%
Educational Organization
17%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
What do you like most about IBM Cognos?
The solution's most valuable feature is its ease of use, which makes it easily compatible with other tools.
What needs improvement with IBM Cognos?
There is room for improvement in self-service analytics and predictiveness.
What do you like most about Oracle Hyperion?
We can collect data from various sources, which is very useful for budgeting and planning.
What needs improvement with Oracle Hyperion?
Oracle Hyperion is fundamentally a good technology and does not require significant improvements compared to other te...
What is your primary use case for Oracle Hyperion?
My experience of working with Oracle Hyperion is that it is basically a cloud technology used mainly for budgeting an...
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 be...
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....
What do you like most about Tableau?
Tableau is a fantastic tool that provides impressive dashboards and customized reports.
 

Also Known As

Cognos, Cognos Analytics, IBM Cognos Analytics
Hyperion
Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server, Tableau Online
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

More than 23,000 leading organizations across multiple industries use Cognos. Some examples of Cognos customers include BMW Financial Services, Quinte Health Care, Troy Corporation, Michigan State University, and GKN Land System.
ITNL, Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd., Zaklady Farmaceutyczne Polpharma S.A., Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd., Barco N.V., SITA, McGregor Fashion Group B.V., PCCW Ltd.
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 Microsoft, Salesforce, SAP and others in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools. Updated: July 2025.
862,077 professionals have used our research since 2012.