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IBM Cognos vs Salesforce Einstein Analytics 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:
 

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
5.8
Salesforce Einstein Analytics provides varied ROI experiences, with smaller companies and implementation stages influencing overall satisfaction and value.
 

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
7.1
Salesforce Einstein Analytics' customer service is praised for effective support, professionalism, and satisfactory response time despite occasional delays.
I rate technical support from IBM as eight out of ten, indicating a high quality of service.
Tech support for Salesforce Einstein Analytics is generally 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
7.7
Salesforce Einstein Analytics is highly scalable, integrating well and accommodating large user bases efficiently, despite licensing cost challenges.
It can be scaled out to other teams, but requires building cubes and implementing policies.
 

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
8.2
Salesforce Einstein Analytics is praised for stability and reliability, with minor issues resolved quickly and rated highly by users.
I rate the stability of this solution as nine out of ten, indicating it is highly stable.
 

Room For Improvement

IBM Cognos needs UI upgrades, better data visualization, improved performance, and advanced self-service features to compete with rivals.
Salesforce Einstein Analytics needs improved usability, affordability, and integration, with enhanced reporting, customization, and transparency features.
There is room for improvement in self-service analytics and predictiveness.
There is a learning curve associated with Salesforce Einstein Analytics, particularly since users need to learn a new language.
 

Setup Cost

IBM Cognos is costlier but offers extensive features, complex licensing, and competitive SaaS options for SMEs, emphasizing negotiation.
Salesforce Einstein Analytics is subscription-based, perceived as costly, but value can be found in bundled pricing agreements.
I rate pricing as a four, meaning it is more expensive compared to other solutions.
A benefit is that the pricing is available online, ensuring there are no hidden costs.
 

Valuable Features

IBM Cognos offers powerful analytics, flexible reporting, strong visualization, and robust security with scalability and ease of use.
Salesforce Einstein Analytics provides intuitive data handling, AI-powered insights, seamless integration, and scalable solutions for efficient decision-making and workflow management.
IBM Cognos is a robust governed platform with significant security features and provides excellent graphics and reporting.
It allows for a personalized customer experience by providing insights.
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Cognos
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
134
Ranking in other categories
Reporting (4th)
Salesforce Einstein Analytics
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Cognos is 3.4%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Einstein Analytics is 1.2%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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.
Parker Goodson - PeerSpot reviewer
Helpful consistent measurements, high availability, and scales well
When it comes to generating reports, it appears that many users rely on experts to handle technical aspects. For instance, if you require a weekly report displaying accounts transitioning in and out of your modules, it seems challenging to accomplish without consulting experts for assistance. Such tasks should be user-friendly and easily achievable without external assistance. It would be beneficial to have visibility into any changes made to your account by individuals other than yourself or your team. It is also important to clearly track the history of these modifications and identify the responsible parties.
report
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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
Educational Organization
54%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
4%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

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 Sense, Power BI, OBIEE, Tableau, etc. I have recently started using Cognos Enter...
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 Salesforce Einstein Analytics?
The tool is valuable. It's one of the greatest programs I'm currently working with, and I believe it will continue to be crucial in the next four to five years. It's the future of our operations. I...
What needs improvement with Salesforce Einstein Analytics?
Salesforce is working very rigorously on improvements with each release.
What is your primary use case for Salesforce Einstein Analytics?
I am a Salesforce CPQ developer. I have also worked on Einstein Analytics for reporting purposes.
 

Also Known As

Cognos, Cognos Analytics, IBM Cognos Analytics
Einstein Analytics, Salesforce Wave Analytics
 

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.
ADS Securities, Alstom Grid, American Express, Barclays Bank, Coca-Cola, CoderDojo, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, Financial Conduct Authority
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cognos vs. Salesforce Einstein Analytics and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.