IBM Cognos Tutorial

Data-driven culture is at the heart of what organizations are using today to manage their business processes. However, there are various complexities that may be due to non-standardized practices, limited regulatory exposure, etc. To overcome this, IBM developed Cognos to provide a standard and efficient approach to data analytics and business intelligence. So let us see what the IBM Cognos is and how it helps us the organizations to manage their data analytics workflow.

Table of Contents

• What is IBM Cognos?
• Features
• Architecture
• Components
• FAQs

 

What is IBM Cognos?

IBM Cognos is a set of integrated business intelligence tools that helps in data-driven decision-making capabilities. It provides the complete set of features like reporting, dashboarding, and data visualization features that allow the users to extract insights from large datasets with ease. It enables us to use predictive modeling, trend analysis, and what-if scenarios to predict future outcomes in the business. 

It has support for multiple data sources like relational databases, OLAP cubes, big data platforms, etc. Additionally, it provides self-service BI capabilities to make the business process more efficient. To understand Cognos in more detail, let us now look at its features.

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Features of IBM Cognos

• It provides a default Dashboard with Real-Time Insights: IBM Cognos has the default dashboard that provides process owners or team managers with concise, real-time insights. This dashboard enables stakeholders to make informed decisions promptly, directly influencing business process improvements.
• It is easy to Install and Configure: We can easily deploy the CognosStandard and Advanced Editions due to its single-cluster network deployment capability. Hence, faster configuration of the Cognos environment reduces time spent on the setup tasks.
• It allows the Graphical Process Modeling with BPMN: Cognos simplifies the process design phase with the BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) interface. With the drag-and-drop interface, we can easily create process diagrams for various activities, such as account setup, customer verification, and document collection.
• It can automate the Business Processes: IBM Cognos can automate business processes with predefined rules to ensure consistency in business operations. We can automate tasks like incident management, change management, and deployment, streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity.
• It enables the Guided Workflow Integration with SAP Transactions: It supports the creation of guided workflows for the business processes involving SAP Transactions. This enables the flow of information between SAP Transactions and IBM Cognos. Thus, the process synchronizes the operations efficiently.

Now, we will see how the various components are organized within the Cognos. 

IBM Cognos Architecture

IBM Cognos has a web-based architecture in which multiple components communicate with each other to manage the data workflow. Its architecture typically consists of a web-based presentation layer, a middle-tier server layer, and a back-end data layer. The following diagram shows the organization of various business layers within the Cognos Environment. Let us discuss each of these component in detail.

1. Web Server

The web server in IBM Cognos architecture serves as the entry point for users to access Cognos environment through web browsers or mobile devices. It hosts the web-based presentation layer, providing an intuitive and interactive interface for users to interact with reports, dashboards, and other BI content. 

The web server handles incoming HTTP requests from users and communicates with middle-tier server components to retrieve requested content and deliver it to the user's browser. It supports integration with various web servers like Apache HTTP Server, IBM HTTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), and others. 

2. Applications (Web Clients)

Applications are software components responsible for delivering specific functionalities within BI ecosystem that are deployed in the middle-tier server layer. These are discussed briefly as follows.

• Report Service: The Report Service generates and delivers reports to users based on their requests. It retrieves data from various data sources, processes it according to predefined report layouts and formats, and presents finalized reports to users through web-based presentation layer.
• Query Service: The Query Service handles ad-hoc querying capabilities and optimizes query performance through query caching, query optimization techniques, and efficient data retrieval methods from back-end data sources.
• Analysis Service: This service includes multidimensional analysis and OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) features in the Cognos. It allows users to create interactive dashboards, pivot tables, and drill-down reports. 
• Event Studio: The Event Studio Application allows users to define and manage business events, triggers, and notifications based on predefined conditions or thresholds. It automates monitoring and alerting process, ensuring timely notifications and actions in response to critical business events.

3. Data

Data includes the content store, data sources, metric store, and other structured or unstructured data repositories. The various types of data stores are listed as shown below: 

• Relational Databases: Relational databases are the primary data source for transactional data that store structured data in tables with predefined relationships. 
• Data warehouses: They store historical and aggregated data from multiple sources. Users perform ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes to integrate data from disparate sources and transform it into a consistent format suitable for analysis.
• Big Data Platforms: It supports integration with big data platforms such as Hadoop, Spark, and NoSQL databases. 
• Other Data Sources: IBM Cognos can also connect to various other data repositories, including flat files, XML files, web services, and cloud-based data sources.

[ Related Blog: Report Studio in Cognos ]

IBM Cognos Components

Various components in the Cognos Environment communicate with each other through BI Bus that uses the SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and WSDL( Web Services Description Language). The various components in the Cognos are listed below. 

1. Gateways

Gateways reside on the web server and transfer the information to other web servers. Thus, the communication happens through the gateways. In other words, we can say that each gateway acts like a bridge between the web server and the Cognos environment. Following are the gateways in the IBM Cognos:

• CGI (Common Gateway Interface): It is the default gateway in Cognos, compatible with any supported web server. 
• ISAPI (Internet Server Application Programming Interface): It is specific for Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) to optimize server speed.
• Apache Mod: It utilizes the Apache web server with Apache mod gateway for the integration.
• Servlet: It is mainly used for the web server infrastructures supporting servlets or application servers.

2. Application Components

This mainly includes two components namely, Dispatcher and the Application Firewall. The dispatcher performs the service operation and request routing, operating as a multithreaded service to process requests efficiently. It also implements the load balancing mechanisms to distribute requests among specific dispatchers for optimizing the performance.  

3. Content Manager

Content Manager contains the Access Manager which is the primary security component in the Cognos Environment. It provides various APIs and support for the Cognos Namespace along with security capabilities like user authentication, authorization, and encryption.

[ Check out Top Cognos Interview Questions and Answers ]

IBM Cognos FAQs

1. What is the difference between IBM Cognos and Tableau?

Tableau is a data visualization tool that is mainly used by analysts and business users to create the interactive dashboards and reports. On the other hand, Cognos is a set of multiple BI Tools that help us with reporting, analytics, and performance management features. 

2. Is IBM Cognos an ETL tool?

Cognos provides data integration capabilities, its main focus is on business intelligence and analytics. However, it is not mainly used as the ETL Tool. Instead of data extraction, transformation, and loading, Cognos is suitable for reporting, dashboarding, data visualization, and analysis operations.

3. Does Cognos Supports SQL Language?

Cognos supports SQL (Structured Query Language) for querying relational databases and performing data analysis. It mainly supports three types of SQL, namely Cognos SQL, native SQL, and pass-through SQL for analytical operations. 

4. What are CQM and DQM in Cognos?

Cognos Query Mode (CQM) is the traditional query processing mode in IBM Cognos. In CQM, queries are processed directly by the Cognos server against the underlying data sources. The server retrieves the data, processes it, and then returns the results to the user. However, Dynamic Query Mode (DQM) is the advanced query processing mode in which the processing is optimized by pushing more processing tasks to the data source itself, such as relational databases. 

Conclusion

IBM Cognos is a powerful tool for managing data workflow within organizations. It offers a range of tools and a user-friendly interface for process modelling and integration. Its interactive graphical interface provides full visibility over business processes, simplifying design, execution, monitoring, and optimization. Additionally, IBM Cognos supports configuration at various complexity levels to meet diverse business requirements. With a clear understanding of IBM Cognos, it is now time to utilize its capabilities for effective business process management.