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IBM Cognos vs SAP Analytics Hub 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
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)
SAP Analytics Hub
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
29th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (46th)
 

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 SAP Analytics Hub is 0.3%, down from 0.4% 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.
Hyunwook Kang - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides efficient data integration features, but the technical support services need improvement
We use the product for analytics across various business processes and sectors. It helps us analyze SAP ERP data The platform's main benefit is its integration with SAP ERP data. It’s effective for data integration and integrity. The platform could easily integrate with other ERP data solutions.…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Using custom controls, it is possible to extend the application with even more functionality and make the application intuitive and attractive."
"The dashboarding offered by this solution is very valuable to us."
"Self-service is possible through the use of dashboards, which are also very intuitive. Stories can be used to pin snapshots, tell the story for meetings, etc."
"Mapbox integration for geospatial analytics down to longitude/latitude layers."
"The most valuable feature of IBM Cognos is security. The solution has updated features that other competitors' solutions come out with long after IBM Cognos has had them."
"I have worked on the features like dashboards and stories, and I do like them a lot."
"IBM Cognos is a robust governed platform with significant security features and provides excellent graphics and reporting."
"Cognos' most valuable features are the bundled studios, simple UI, and advanced features like the ability to create data modules."
"SAP Analytics Hub offers a user-friendly interface with effortless configuration, seamless updates, and real-time availability of information. It avoids the complexities associated with batch processing, providing a smooth and efficient experience."
"For report scheduling, I always prefer SAP because it has the most powerful scheduling features, like sending reports to more than 1,000 customers per day. That option is not as good in Microsoft BI and in Tableau it only exists as an add-on option."
"The platform's main benefit is its integration with SAP ERP data. It’s effective for data integration and integrity."
"This product provides good reports using a single pane of glass."
"What I like best about this solution is that it is built into the SAP line, making it easier to integrate with other SAP products."
"Data consistency is also a notable feature; the system takes care of data consistency, so you don't need to handle it manually."
 

Cons

"I think the GIS pieces maybe not as good as we would like."
"One key area for improvement is the need to improve the self-service nature and functionality of the product in terms of visual analytics."
"Cognos is quite slow - it's missing the performance of the PowerPlay cubes."
"The tool needs to improve the connectivity since I see that, at times, there is a need to increase the memory in the database."
"Extending features on dashboards so it becomes a real dashboard building application, not only a data exploration tool."
"We would like to see development of the product's UI function, to make it more of a UI tool that can be configured as required."
"IBM Support can be slow at times, but they can usually deliver in a timely manner."
"Extending dynamic cubes aggregate awareness with calculated measures."
"The interface can be simplified because it is not a user-friendly experience."
"The technical support for Analytics Hub is limited and could be improved."
"The analytics part of SAP has not been that good up until now. They're still in the infant stage and development is still going on. SAP has some cloud analytics and they're trying to configure it in Lumira, but it's not that good at this point."
"Faster implementation of new functions for the new product is an area of improvement in SAP Analytics Hub."
"The platform could easily integrate with other ERP data solutions. Additionally, it should be faster compared to competitors in the cloud space."
"Pricing and support are integrated into the system. However, the support process can be challenging, particularly when navigating the SAP support site, which lacks user-friendliness and ease of access."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't know the exact cost, but I believe Cognos is quite expensive, especially when it comes to the support consultants and the procedures that need to be applied."
"On a scale from one to ten where one is low pricing and ten is high pricing, I would rate this solution at eight."
"The cost of IBM Cognos it's more or less the same as most of the other solutions on the market. They're very competitive with the rest of the market and it is not the most expensive product."
"Cognos is super expensive compared to Tableau ($70/month) and Power BI ($20/month) — I think Cognos is roughly $200 a month."
"There is some additional licensing that we needed to purchase because we were touching data outside of our core data platform. The cost was approximately $25,000 for the additional licenses, which were approximate 45 licenses. For the application itself, updates, and the core platform it was approximately $50,000. Giving a total cost of $75,000 annually for our usage of IBM Cognos."
"Pricing should be improved."
"There is need to assess the purchase license accordingly so as to avoid audit penalties."
"It is quite pricy. I think Microsoft BI is cheaper. Tableau might also be cheaper, but it also depends on the usage. If you have very many users, Cognos can be a problem. It could be cheaper than Tableau but not for so many users. If you have a few thousand users, Tableau, which is generally quite expensive, can be cheaper than Cognos."
"They are pursuing a highly assertive approach to target businesses of all sizes within the industry."
"The product is expensive."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The pricing is reasonable."
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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
52%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Computer Software Company
19%
Energy/Utilities Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

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 SAP Analytics Hub?
Data consistency is also a notable feature; the system takes care of data consistency, so you don't need to handle it manually.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Analytics Hub?
The product is expensive. The cost starts from $1,000,000 per year. Moreover, there are additional costs involved for customization.
What needs improvement with SAP Analytics Hub?
The platform could easily integrate with other ERP data solutions. Additionally, it should be faster compared to competitors in the cloud space.
 

Also Known As

Cognos, Cognos Analytics, IBM Cognos Analytics
No data available
 

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.
STIB-MIVB
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cognos vs. SAP Analytics Hub and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.