QlikView and IBM Cognos are strong competitors in the business intelligence software category. QlikView seems to have an upper hand in terms of speed and ease of development, while IBM Cognos excels in scalability and comprehensive feature sets.
Features: QlikView leverages AQL™ (Associative Query Logic), which allows flexible data analysis without complex OLAP cubes. Its in-memory processing enables fast analysis of large datasets. Also, it includes a built-in ETL engine that simplifies the development process. IBM Cognos offers a comprehensive suite for data discovery and reporting, focusing on scalability and integration with multiple data sources. It provides robust reporting and visualization capabilities, especially noted for its OLAP support.
Room for Improvement: QlikView has a steep learning curve and scalability is limited by RAM constraints. The interface needs modernization to stay competitive with tools like Tableau, and users desire better version control and licensing simplification. IBM Cognos is complex and would benefit from enhancements in visualization options and ease of report development to compete with agile platforms like Power BI. Users also point to the need for improved interfaces and expanded self-service capabilities.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: QlikView is mainly on-premises but some use it with public cloud services. Users value its partner network for support, though full 24/7 technical support is lacking. IBM Cognos offers on-premises, hybrid, and private cloud deployments, with support accessible through IBM's network, which is highly rated though engaging comprehensive IBM support can be complex.
Pricing and ROI: QlikView can be costly, with additional feature costs making scalability expensive. Yet, users note its competitive pricing and ROI through effective data visualization. IBM Cognos is viewed as expensive compared to Tableau and Power BI. However, users justify the cost due to its enterprise-level capabilities and integration options, recommending consideration of total cost of ownership for ROI assessment.
The biggest return on investment is the time saving for the customer.
I rate technical support from IBM as eight out of ten, indicating a high quality of service.
I would rate the customer support a solid 10.
It can be scaled out to other teams, but requires building cubes and implementing policies.
I rate the stability of this solution as nine out of ten, indicating it is highly stable.
There is room for improvement in self-service analytics and predictiveness.
In QlikView, I believe the improvement that should be made is to bring the costs down, as you'll have to be competitive with Power BI, aiming for at least a 30% reduction to stop the hemorrhaging to Power BI.
I rate pricing as a four, meaning it is more expensive compared to other solutions.
The license cost per user or per year for QlikView is about 500 Euros annually.
IBM Cognos is a robust governed platform with significant security features and provides excellent graphics and reporting.
The best features in QlikView are rapid development, the fact that I can do what I want in QlikView, and full control along with ease of use.
IBM Cognos Business Intelligence provides a wide range of tools to help you analyze your organization's data. IBM Cognos BI allows businesses to monitor events and metrics, create and view business reports, and analyze data to help them make effective business decisions.
IBM Cognos applies techniques to describe, summarize, and compare data, and draw conclusions. This allows users to see trends and discover anomalies or variances that may not be evident by simply reading data. Data sources that contain information from different areas of a business can be stored in separate packages. Users can see only information that they have been granted access to, based on their group or role.
IBM Cognos BI consolidates the following business intelligence functions into a single web-based solution:
Reviews from Real Users
IBM Cognos stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its powerful analysis tool and its reporting capabilities.
Prasad B., a senior software engineer at a financial services firm, notes, “The product is a very good reporting tool and is very flexible. It allows for the users to get a scheduled report. We can receive automated reports as well. They are easy to schedule on a weekly or monthly basis. It is very fast. I mean in means of report output, it's very fast compared to the actual clients involved.”
QlikView is a Business Intelligence tool that allows you to keep tabs on all of your business-related information in a clean, clear, and easy to access database that is intuitive to build and simple to navigate. It is ideal for business owners who wish to improve overall output by creating the most productive system possible.
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