Cognos Analytics vs Chartio

IBM Cognos Analytics is an excellent BI tool and rates very highly with users on all major counts. Users are unanimous in their praise of its data management and data analysis capabilities to provide a single source of truth. Having ventured into AI-powered tools with the 11.1.3 version in 2018, IBM is making bold strides to incorporate augmented intelligence into the platform. IBM has astutely combined this solution with the capabilities of one of its other offerings, Watson Analytics, for natural language processing - a game-changer for empowering non-technical users to create a vast range of dashboards. With AI-enabled exploration, users can review key drivers of metrics and identify gaps in data, though some users feel that more tools are needed for content store exploration through its relational database. It also rates excellently with users for its data integration and ad-hoc reporting capabilities, efficient metadata management and extensive data modeling features. Several strong features of this platform, as noted by reviewers, include Jupyter notebooks, regular updates to the platform and enhancements to data modules, though when it comes to integrating with Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) data sources and IBM Planning Analytics in particular, it comes up short. Version 11 of the platform comes with over-the-top installs for upgrades, which reduces time to set up; though some users feel that integrations built with the current SDK solution can be tedious to implement and maintain. Being part of the IBM software suite, it connects seamlessly to other IBM products under the same umbrella. However, integration with MS-Sharepoint is not supported; this can be managed with workarounds, but only for on-premise setups, not cloud-based deployments. The platform has a rich reporting repertoire with report burst capabilities, pivots and Cognos Event Studio for event-driven reports. However, many users feel that Report Studio should provide the write back capability, which is crucial for business. As for the cost, a majority of users feel that its licensing models are restrictive, especially when compared to other BI solutions; though the vendor seems to address pricing and ease of use with version 11.1.3. In summary, Cognos Analytics is among the best BI solutions in the market today and IBM, with its ear to the ground, is delivering enhanced data analysis and reporting capabilities at scale.

Chartio is a SaaS BI tool that rates quite highly with its user base, thanks to a myriad of unique benefits and features that help companies save time and increase productivity. Most significantly, many reviews focused on its ease of use — not only is the platform user-friendly and intuitive, with a clean, drag-and-drop interface, but it’s also designed to help users build SQL queries without coding knowledge. Easy to pick up, it’s also easy to master, with a remarkably short learning curve due to built-in tools and tips, as well as an abundance of vendor-provided documentation, online resources and proactive customer support. Many users reported that this tool increased organization-wide data literacy and reduced reliance on their IT, R&D and analyst departments by providing truly self-service BI. In addition, it facilitates smooth collaboration and painless sharing of insights. Users also praised its data analysis functionality, which gives insight into overarching trends while inviting deeper exploration at a granular level through flexible filters, slice-and-dice tools and drill-down capabilities. This tool’s data visualization and dashboarding features, while lacking in some customization compared to competitors, help users track KPIs and see metrics from all of their data sources in one place. However, some reviews mentioned that this solution suffers from slow loading times and refresh rates, especially with larger data sets. Another con cited by several users is its cost: while some say that it’s affordable, others say that it’s too expensive for what it provides and that the price hike associated with adding embedding to pricing plans is too high. For businesses specifically looking for a mobile app, this tool may not be the right fit, as there is currently no mobile app. Though it lacks some advanced features needed by power users or provided by other alternatives, some reviews said that this is a trade-off for its ease of use with business users. Overall, Chartio is a great fit for businesses seeking to empower all their employees with data-driven decision making and encourage them to discover their own insights, while reducing the burden on their IT department.