Cognos Analytics vs Klipfolio

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.

Klipfolio is a business intelligence tool that empowers users to visualize, analyze and share business data to track product trends. With powerful data querying capabilities via SQL and APIs, the solution integrates well with a multitude of applications. Users leverage its rich visualization libraries and strong data modeling capabilities to create impactful data dashboards, though some users said that the platform was sometimes buggy and had a limited scope in managing complex KPIs. With its vast range of features, users create and share reports on data that matters via URLs, PDFs, scheduled emails and snapshots to power decision-making processes. Approximately 96% of users who mentioned the platform’s support services said that the team was helpful and responsive. Most of the users who mentioned pricing said that the solution was affordable for organizations of all sizes and provided value for money. The solution does have some limitations though. All users who reviewed it for speed said that the platform slowed down, especially when applying filters, large file uploads and data refresh. Of users who reviewed its data integration capabilities, some said that the data source limit of 10 MB that comes with certain pricing plans can be limiting, especially when working with larger Excel and CSV files. Of users who mentioned cost, a few said that the additional fee for the periodic data refresh feature was a burden, though the introductory free trial offer could be quite attractive for new users. In summary, Klipfolio is a web and cloud-based BI solution that offers a range of data integration, KPI monitoring and dashboarding capabilities to empower data-driven decision-making across organizations.