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

IBM Cognos Reviews

Vendor: IBM
4.1 out of 5
Leave a review

What is IBM Cognos?

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.

Get the IBM Cognos Buyer's Guide and find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cognos, Microsoft Power BI, Tableau Enterprise and more!
IBM Cognos is the #4 ranked solution in top Reporting Tools and #7 ranked solution in top Business Intelligence Tools. PeerSpot users give IBM Cognos an average rating of 8.2 out of 10. IBM Cognos is most commonly compared to Microsoft Power BI: IBM Cognos vs Microsoft Power BI. IBM Cognos is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 59% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 14% of all views.
Buyer's Guide
IBM Cognos
January 2026
Get the report
Helped 881,346 peers since 2012

Featured IBM Cognos reviews

Read more reviews

IBM Cognos mindshare

Product category:
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
As of February 2026, the mindshare of IBM Cognos in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category stands at 1.3%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Cognos1.3%
Microsoft Power BI8.9%
Tableau Enterprise6.2%
Other83.6%
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

PeerResearch reports based on IBM Cognos reviews

TypeTitleDate
CategoryBI (Business Intelligence) ToolsFeb 1, 2026Download
ProductReviews, tips, and advice from real usersFeb 1, 2026Download
ComparisonIBM Cognos vs Microsoft Power BIFeb 1, 2026Download
ComparisonIBM Cognos vs Tableau EnterpriseFeb 1, 2026Download
ComparisonIBM Cognos vs DomoFeb 1, 2026Download
Suggested products
TitleRatingMindshareRecommending
Microsoft Power BI4.08.9%93%327 interviewsAdd to research
Tableau Enterprise4.26.2%90%309 interviewsAdd to research
 
 
Key learnings from peers
Last updated Feb 1, 2026

Valuable Features

IBM Cognos offers powerful tools like Report Studio, ad-hoc reporting, dashboards, and visualization capabilities, providing extensive customization and integration with diverse data sources. It enables robust data modeling and scalability, supports self-service BI, and ensures security and reliability. Users value the platform for its scheduling, Excel flexibility, AI-driven insights, seamless data integration, and efficient data management. The platform significantly enhances workflow efficiency, analytical capabilities, and decision-making processes, saving businesses substantial time in data analysis and reporting.
  • "IBM Cognos has positively impacted my organization since implementing this tool, as it has been very helpful with a particularly strong data analysis capability that helps us in business planning."
  • "Precisely, we have been able to save about 60% of our time from IBM Cognos Analytics, which helps us to make data decisions easily while also saving a lot of time."
  • "In my opinion, IBM Cognos is very stable, and the benefits of choosing it, aside from cost savings, include having institutional knowledge for maintaining this infrastructure and a reliable solution that enhances developer productivity, given our team's extensive experience with IBM Cognos."

Room for Improvement

IBM Cognos requires enhancements in data visualization, user interface simplicity, and self-service analytics capabilities. Performance speed and report execution need optimization. Users find it challenging to learn and use without technical support. Integration with newer technologies and ease of connecting to various data sources are areas of improvement. Licensing complexity and cost management are concerns. Improved error messaging and administrative tools are necessary. Importing and managing large datasets and creating personalized reports are also points for enhancement.
  • "One area where IBM Cognos can be improved is that customer service sometimes is not very responsive, and I would love to see the user interface improved, especially to look somehow updated."
  • "One area where IBM Cognos falls short is that sometimes the application breaks for no reason many times and is fixed on restart."
  • "We are generally satisfied, but I am not certain if IBM Cognos meets every feature request from users since we only provide IBM Cognos as our standard and do not maintain infrastructure for other tools."

ROI

IBM Cognos can offer significant ROI, depending on implementation. Companies have seen substantial savings and improved efficiency. It helps identify data quality issues and operational inefficiencies. Many users report enhanced insights and productivity gains. Cognos’ ability to automate processes translates to time savings and error reduction. While some find it costly, management appreciates its benefits. Users note the improved decision-making through tailored reports, though effectiveness depends on organizational mindset and usage.

Pricing

Enterprise buyers evaluating IBM Cognos should note its pricing can be high, with licensing complexities and potential scalability costs. IBM Cognos is viewed as costly compared to competitors like Power BI and Tableau, yet offers extensive features that may justify the expense for larger organizations. Discounts may be available through negotiation, IBM partners, or strategic timing of purchases. It's advisable to assess user roles and license needs carefully to avoid additional costs and compliance issues.
  • "IBM Cognos is priced reasonable. However, it is more expensive than Power BI and Tableau."
  • "My company uses IBM Cognos with another IBM product, so I think only one license is used."
  • "The licensing costs are a little bit higher for IBM Cognos. I don't think there is any additional cost apart from the licensing charges."

Popular Use Cases

IBM Cognos is primarily used for reporting and analytics in enterprise settings, leveraging its capabilities for financial analysis, dashboard creation, and business intelligence tasks. Companies utilize it to manage large datasets, generate customized reports, and schedule reporting tasks. It integrates with other systems for enhanced data processing and analysis, supporting predictive analytics, forecasting, and proactive planning. Businesses in sectors like banking, insurance, and education benefit from IBM Cognos for data-driven insights and decision-making.

Service and Support

IBM Cognos support is costly with varying effectiveness. Online resources provide skill enhancements, but responses can be slow. Technical support helps with common issues but struggles with unique challenges. Several report that enhancements take time to implement. Overall ratings range between 6 to 9, with user experiences depending on the support structure and representatives involved. Many express that interaction with partners complicates resolution processes, sometimes delaying urgent issue resolutions.

Deployment

IBM Cognos's initial setup varies in complexity. While some find it straightforward, others note it can be difficult. Expertise often enhances the process. Advanced configurations require more effort, especially for distributed systems or complex integrations. Smaller environments face fewer issues, but larger setups demand attention to detail and technical knowledge. Proper planning, documentation, and guidance from experienced professionals aid in overcoming challenges. The setup experience depends heavily on organizational needs and infrastructure.

Scalability

IBM Cognos demonstrates significant scalability, supporting thousands of users across various company sizes. Many reviewers find its scalability excellent, accommodating large data and user volumes. However, some observe issues with performance and concurrency, especially when running large queries or across multiple sources. Proper configuration and infrastructure are essential for optimal scaling. With diverse licensing models and an enterprise-oriented design, Cognos is appreciated for its ability to adapt to growing organizational demands efficiently.

Stability

IBM Cognos is highly stable, with multiple users citing its strong performance even under significant load. Occasional issues arise, often linked to improperly configured environments or large datasets. Many users experience no stability problems, highlighting the platform’s reliability. Some report minor glitches or performance dips, usually resolved with server optimization or updates. Overall, Cognos is praised for its robust architecture, with few reports of significant downtime, making it a preferred choice for many organizations.
These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.
Download our IBM Cognos Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise68
By reviewers
By visitors reading reviews
Company SizeCount
Small Business543
Midsize Enterprise280
Large Enterprise1163
By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Insurance Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
7%
University
5%
Healthcare Company
5%
Comms Service Provider
4%
Retailer
4%
Educational Organization
4%
Energy/Utilities Company
2%
Construction Company
2%
Wholesaler/Distributor
2%
Performing Arts
2%
Outsourcing Company
2%
Real Estate/Law Firm
2%
Media Company
2%
Legal Firm
2%
Transportation Company
2%
Consumer Goods Company
2%
Hospitality Company
1%
Pharma/Biotech Company
1%
Non Profit
1%
Recreational Facilities/Services Company
1%
Aerospace/Defense Firm
1%
Marketing Services Firm
1%
Logistics Company
1%

Compare IBM Cognos with alternative products

Go!

Learn more about IBM Cognos

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:

  • IBM Cognos Insight: Create personal and managed workspaces for data analysis. Using these interactive workspaces, you can share insight results with managers. Cognos Insight supports write-back, and you can also use these workspaces to capture and integrate management goals, commitments, and forecasts.

  • IBM Cognos Workspace: With IBM Cognos Workspace, you can create rich, interactive workspaces using IBM Cognos content as well as data from external sources. You can view and open your favorite workspaces and reports, edit content in your workspaces, and share your workspaces via email.

  • IBM Cognos Analytics: IBM Cognos Analytics utilizes built-in AI and intuitive searches which helps users to quickly create the visualizations and a wide range of reports. Cognos Analytics provides cognitive and managed self-service, enabling you to gain insights from controlled and trusted data.

  • IBM Cognos Report Studio and IBM Cognos Query Studio: Easily create structured and query reports. IBM Cognos allows users to create application and report templates. In addition, report authors can reuse report objects to apply filters, fields, and styles to reports. Users can set the language of the user interface and report content according to the user's native language.

  • IBM Cognos Event Studio: Receive notifications of events that occur within your organization in real time. Event Studio enables the creation of agents that detect the occurrence of business events, failures, or anomalies, based on the change of specific events or data conditions. Notification can be sent via email, publication in the portal, or by triggering reports.

  • IBM Cognos Connection: This is the Web portal for IBM Cognos BI and is the central area for accessing all the IBM Cognos functions. In the web portal, users can schedule and distribute reports, create tasks, administer the server and the access permissions, and more.

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.”

IBM Cognos was previously known as Cognos, Cognos Analytics, IBM Cognos Analytics.

IBM Cognos 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.

Related questions

  • 83
What are the main differences between IBM Cognos and Anaplan for small businesses to perform budget and forecast cycles?
  • 71
When evaluating Business Intelligence Tools, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?
  • 50
BI Tool Replacements, What Do You Recommend?
  • 54
Which one is best for ETL - Pentaho or Jaspersoft?
  • 18
Seeking advise on going with Birst, BOARD or Pentaho as an OEM platform solution where we could end up with 1,000's of users over time.
  • 48
BI Tool Evaluation Criteria Rating Matrix -- anyone have one they've used in making a tool selection?
  • 61
QlikView or Tableau - Which is better?
  • 25
BI tools for tactical decision-making?
  • 68
What is a good BI tool in the Oracle world?
  • 36
I currently use Panorama Necto as a viewer on SQL Analysis services cube--what other solutions are out there?

Product Categories

Product Categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
Reporting
Legacy BI Tools

Popular Comparisons

Popular Comparisons
Microsoft Power BI vs IBM Cognos Logo
Microsoft Power BI vs IBM Cognos
Tableau Enterprise vs IBM Cognos Logo
Tableau Enterprise vs IBM Cognos
Teradata vs IBM Cognos Logo
Teradata vs IBM Cognos
Amazon QuickSight vs IBM Cognos Logo
Amazon QuickSight vs IBM Cognos
Domo vs IBM Cognos Logo
Domo vs IBM Cognos
SAP Analytics Cloud vs IBM Cognos Logo
SAP Analytics Cloud vs IBM Cognos
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs IBM Cognos Logo
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs IBM Cognos
Oracle OBIEE vs IBM Cognos Logo
Oracle OBIEE vs IBM Cognos
MicroStrategy vs IBM Cognos Logo
MicroStrategy vs IBM Cognos
QlikView vs IBM Cognos Logo
QlikView vs IBM Cognos
Oracle Analytics Cloud vs IBM Cognos Logo
Oracle Analytics Cloud vs IBM Cognos
TIBCO Spotfire vs IBM Cognos Logo
TIBCO Spotfire vs IBM Cognos
ThoughtSpot vs IBM Cognos Logo
ThoughtSpot vs IBM Cognos
Board vs IBM Cognos Logo
Board vs IBM Cognos
Adaptive Insights vs IBM Cognos Logo
Adaptive Insights vs IBM Cognos
See all alternatives
 
IBM Cognos Reviews Summary
Author infoRatingReview Summary
Sr. Project Manager at GlaxoSmithKline4.0I've used IBM Cognos for nine years to efficiently deliver reports and dashboards, appreciating its AI insights and data integration, though I find the interface outdated and customer support occasionally slow to respond.
Senior Software Engineer at McKinsey and Company4.0I've used IBM Cognos for seven years primarily for reporting and scheduling, saving significant time with its automation and data transformation features, though setup is slow and customer support could improve; overall, it's reliable and cost-effective.
EDW Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees4.5I use IBM Cognos for scheduled and regulatory reporting at a university, where it's valued for its stability, familiarity, and strong support. While it meets most needs, feature limitations exist, and we primarily maintain on-premises infrastructure.
head of commercial at Assimil8 Ltd.3.0Our clients use IBM Cognos for static and business reporting, benefiting from its robust security and excellent graphics. Although it delivers significant ROI with comprehensive updates, improvements are needed in self-service analytics and predictiveness.
Senior Data Engineer at LTI LATAM and Toubro Improtech4.5I've used IBM Cognos for over three years to analyze complex data through its intuitive visualizations, AI-driven insights, and predictive analytics, though it has a learning curve due to its wide range of powerful features.
Senior BI-ETL Consultant at CMA Consulting Services4.5I'm using IBM Cognos Analytics for dashboarding and reports, enjoying its ad hoc analysis feature, although enhancements have been slow. We also consider Power BI for its easy setup and cloud availability, especially for recent projects.
Senior Business Analyst at HSBC4.5We use IBM Cognos for report creation and performance monitoring, especially in handling large datasets efficiently, although formatting issues in the cloud and drag-and-drop limitations exist. It's easier than Tableau and Power BI, but formatting resolutions take time.
Junior Consultant at CMA CGM4.5I use IBM Cognos for standard and audit reports, as well as dashboards. While it offers strong dashboard capabilities, connectivity and database memory issues need addressing. Additionally, the tool's SMTP integration can cause full .mdp files, requiring improvement.