What´s new in IBM Cognos Analytics 12.0?

Maximize efficiency and gain insight with powerful AI wizard and intuitive user interface with IBM Cognos Analytics 12.0

IBM has released version 12.0 of the IBM Cognos Analytics Software Suite just in time for the start of the summer. This release offers exciting new features and highlights IBM’s commitment to self-service analytics. Even though the first thing you’ll notice when you log in is that Cognos Analytics no longer has the somewhat cumbersome addition “with Watson,” IBM is once again expanding its AI capabilities in version 12.

Once you’re in, the program’s AI capabilities are almost a bit intrusive, since the welcome page is now dominated by the Analytics Assistant, whereas the previous version still advertised introductory videos. But of course these still exist, and the assistant can also be banished into the background if you wish. However, it’s now just one click away on the toolbar at the top right and it works much more intuitively.

The AI now even understands a little bit of German. Once you’ve gotten a first impression, however, as things stand you can get along with English or a healthy mix of languages. But we’re still at Release 0. One nice new feature is a gratifying approach to comparisons and comparatives (greater, best, least, etc.).

The answers read better, and as “narrative insights” they are no longer reserved exclusively for dashboards. That’s exciting, as is the possibility to share visualizations created during a chat with the assistant directly by e-mail, through Teams or Slack. With the mobile app, these can also be processed directly as PINs, regardless of the fact that the assistant is listening intently for language inputs.

The Analytics Assistant seems to have become a serious AI tool that, once you get used to it, can help you work more efficiently. This dialog-oriented method will play an increasingly important role; IBM is very forward-looking here.

But of course there are also a lot of improvements to existing and proven features. There are some nice reporting innovations, such as the central parameter default management with -Hallelujah! – dynamic default values for date prompts. These can now be defined consistently with a dynamic validity period. This is an innovation that cannot be overestimated, and for some people, it was sufficient reason for an update.

Conclusion

The new version is fun, and it runs smoothly. It may be worthwhile to switch soon, but of course we can expect some exciting features from the upcoming releases to the “official” LTS version. IBM still has a lot on its roadmap. For your users, we recommend a brief update training so that they can find everything they need quickly in the improved interface and do not miss out on productivity-enhancing innovations.

Optimize your IBM Cognos Analytics upgrade: Safe, fast, and cost-effective

To take full advantage of the new version, we recommend an upgrade this year. How can companies upgrade quickly and efficiently while cleaning up their content store to ensure accurate reports and satisfied users?

Time savings of up to 70%

Motio’s upgrade management solution can save businesses up to 70% of the time required to evaluate and perform updates. Motio checks reports in the content store for accuracy, timeliness, and reliability. Reports that do not meet these criteria are identified and optimized or cleaned up. The result: A tidy content store that improves the validity and performance of IBM Cognos Analytics with Watson after migration.

Do the self-check! If you answer “yes” to three or more of the following statements, you should consider Motio’s solutions to benefit from a high level of automation during the upgrade:

• More than 100 reports in the Cognos content store.
• Unknown number of unused reports in the content store.
• Many complex reports.
• Last migration took longer than a week.
• Poor experiences with Cognos migrations.
• Frequent non-compliance with existing migration project plans.
• Little overview of changes and sources of error.
• Migrations are implemented “on the side.”

Learn how to upgrade to IBM Cognos Analytics with Watson safely, accurately, and quickly, and automate the performance and quality of your Cognos reports. Our expert Martin Vierrath is at your disposal for a free consultation.

Learn more about IBM solutions here.