Cognos updates BI suite

27.03.2006
Cognos Inc. Monday announced an update to its Cognos 8 business intelligence (BI) tool set, adding a new search capability and access to enterprise applications.

Cognos 8.1.2 is the first major release since the BI suite was launched in September. It includes Cognos Go Search Service, which offers a browser-based search bar designed to help users find BI information housed in reports, scorecards, dashboards and analysis, said Paul Hulford, senior product marketing manager at Cognos.

'Companies that have BI spent a lot of time creating reports,' he said. 'It is really important that end users be able to find reports quickly and easily. Search is really key, because you are trying to get the value of key insight to users.'

Because reports are indexed within the tool, the search engine can find data without actually having to run a report, which ensures a quick response time, he added.

In addition, the new version includes report packs for mySAP (R/3) and Siebel CRM that allow users to combine historical data from a data warehouse with current data from those applications in a single report or dashboard. The report packs include predefined content for more than 60 commonly used reports for mySAP and Siebel CRM data.

For SAP NetWeaver users, Cognos 8.1.2 provides access to data in SAP's data warehouse, runs on the SAP Web application server and can present information through the SAP NetWeaver portal. It also allows users to view, interact with and refresh Cognos 8 BI reports, analysis and metrics within Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel.