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Data collection has become more relevant to companies than it was before data visualization tools became mainstream business products. Businesses from all over the world use business intelligence tools for their company for a reason. These tools gather and collect data from different sources where companies can view it on a single dashboard.
When it comes to data analytics solutions, your company deserves the best BI tool. IBM Cognos and MicroStrategy might be the BI tool that will help your company succeed in the long run. In this article, we will review and compare the different features of IBM Cognos vs. MicroStrategy and how each feature can help your business.
If you’re ready to skip the research, use our Product Selection Tool to quickly get a list of recommended BI vendors that meet your company’s feature requirements.
IBM Cognos vs. MicroStrategy: An Overview
IBM Cognos is a BI tool that allows its users to create, manage, and visualize activity dashboards to present, track, and analyze relevant data for the company. The included analytics tools help your company make sense of data. IBM Cognos also connects you with the company data you collect on their numerous platforms for marketing, manufacturing, and IT.
When it comes to business intelligence tools, MicroStrategy is well known for its intuitive data collecting features. This program delivers a detailed overview of the data that it receives. MicroStrategy is leading organizations around the world to process and unite huge amounts of data that are stored across their company.
Pros and Cons in IBM Cognos vs. MicroStrategy
At first glance, the software choices come off as similar business intelligence tools. However, we quickly uncover the individual strengths and weaknesses of the tools. To give you an idea of helpful features, here are the pros and cons of IBM Cognos and MicroStrategy.
IBM Cognos
Pros:
- It has integration with other IBM products.
- The Excel functionality is great for finances.
- It’s excellent for customizing reports and it provides detailed reporting.
Cons:
- Creating reports is overwhelming at the beginning.
- The interactive pdf is not available for reports.
- It has a steep learning curve for beginners.
MicroStrategy
Pros:
- The software is easy to install and get up and running immediately.
- It can bring in and process multiple different sources from different data types.
- It can handle a wide variety of data types and has many options for displaying data.
Cons:
- The software can sometimes respond slower than expected and the map scaling is not perfect.
- Some of the features might not respond as expected.
- Setting up dashboard frames to fit various screen sizes is a little complicated.
Pricing in IBM Cognos vs. MicroStrategy
Pricing is an essential part of a business intelligence tool. Here are the price and available packages for IBM Cognos vs. MicroStrategy:
Read also: The Best Embedded Analytics Software Options for Small, Medium, and Enterprise Businesses
IBM Cognos
- Free Trial
- Proof of Concept
- Workgroup
- Standard
- Enterprise
- Hybrid Entitlement
MicroStrategy
- Web Package
- Mobile Package
- Architect Package
- Server Package
Similar features in IBM Cognos vs. MicroStrategy
IBM Cognos and MicroStrategy both have great data visualization tools that help users access and interpret data in any way. However, if you look closely at their features, you will see they both have numerous tools that provide for different solutions. Here are some features both IBM Cognos vs. MicroStrategy share:
Dashboard creation
The IBM Cognos dashboard creation feature allows you to create and customize dashboards on your mobile devices. This feature focuses on convenience and accessibility when it comes to creating dashboards. Whether you are using your desktop or your mobile device, the IBM Cognos dashboard creation feature provides a consistent user experience.
MicroStrategy’s dashboard creation feature connects your data via third-party applications, databases, and external files. Connecting to third-party applications let you create a more interactive dashboard based on external data. MicroStrategy’s dashboard creation feature also lets you create an intuitive and interactive dashboard.
Customizable reporting
The customizable reporting feature in IBM Cognos lets you find and share different insights across your business. The main function of this feature is to allow users to share insights by customizing the kind of report that your team will process. IBM Cognos’ reporting features also let you report directly off a data source.
MicroStrategy’s customizable reporting feature covers a larger area when it comes to gathering and processing data. It covers data sources such as sales figures, inventory, and payroll data to help its users create a well-rounded report. MicroStrategy’s customizable reporting feature also allows you to analyze internal and external business data.
Which BI software is better for your business? IBM Cognos or MicroStrategy?
Now that you’ve discovered the different features and benefits of IBM Cognos vs. MicroStrategy, it’s time to choose which of these BI tools works best for your company.
If you’re looking for a business intelligence tool that lets you create interactive dashboards on the go, we suggest you try IBM Cognos. This BI software allows you to create and customize dashboards on your mobile devices as if you’re working on your desktop.
If you’re looking for a BI tool that allows you to collect and process data from various sources, we suggest you buy MicroStrategy. With MicroStrategy’s customizable reporting feature, you can gather and process data from internal and external sources.
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