As we all know, the latest version of IBM Cognos Business Intelligence (BI) is 10.2.2. With great expectations from business users, it was released on November 21, 2014 with the branding of “IT-Driven Self-Service Reporting”. The greatest advantages of this version were its ease of use, high independence or self-service and large data import for presenting it to perfect audiences. The simplified deployment and end-user functionality for easier and faster deployments lead to improved tool management and faster time to value. Let us explore the new features of IBM Cognos BI 10.2.2.
Quick Set Up & Installation
The Quick Setup feature of Cognos 10.2.2 allows you to quickly install and configure all Cognos components for testing and prototyping and IBM DB2 10.5 Advanced Workgroup Server Edition for holding Content Store. This feature is available only on Windows 64-bit installer. The IBM Cognos Connection Page is launched after successful setup process.
Dynamic Cubes
Import IBM Cognos Framework Manager Package
In Cognos 10.2.2, you have the ability to directly import metadata from IBM Cognos Framework Manager Package into Cube Designer and reduce Cognos Dynamic Cube development time.
Easily Estimate Your Hardware Size
You can determine the minimum hardware requirements required for cube implementation. Using the calculator, you can compute the required memory size, the number of CPU cores, and the hard disk space by just providing the user count and average number of widgets per workspace.
My Data Sets for Personal Data
My Data Sets feature helps the business users to perform more analysis on their own personal data. They can create standalone Cognos packages for analysis or reporting by importing their own MS Excel or text files, which can even contain large spreadsheet. This data can be used for report generation and is persevered on the Cognos server as specified by the user or Cognos administrator.
Extensible Visualization Enhancements
Three new enhancements made to Extensible Visualization are:
Chord Chart – To view the strength of relationships between items
Tornado Chart – To compare measures against a vertical category
Combination Chart – To replicate the standard combination type of chart in Cognos Report Studio
This enhancement allows the business user to switch between different types of visualization charts without modifying the data items in the original visualization. The users can also change the look and feel of the report without creating a new one.
Interactive Cognos Maps
The Map Manager allows the users to add and change layers. The maps that are displayed in the form of Chart in the previous version are now made dynamic and included in the visualization.
Cognos Active Report with Live Preview
The Active Report Preview feature allows the user to directly preview the report in real-time from the Report Studio by just clicking on a button. This avoids the download of an MIME HTML (MHT) file every time for viewing the report. Thereby, reducing the development and testing time and improving the experience of the users.
Templates and Report Style References
Both Report Studio and Cognos Workspace Advanced possess Templates and Report Style References. The New from Template feature allows the users to quickly create a highly standardized report from a template by either selecting an actual template or any other regular report. Choose the appropriate template as required and fill in the metadata information. The Style References feature allows you to choose and apply style references to your reports.
Report Outputs
Cognos 10.2.2 allows the users to view their report outputs in the form of tabs or HTML pages by just choose the required option.
In Memory Aggregates
The User-Defined In Memory Aggregates feature allows the Cognos administrator to manually define the aggregates and the level of aggregation for each dimension in the aggregate. This prevents the user from completely replying on the Aggregate Advisor recommendations.
The Automatic Optimization of In Memory Aggregates feature automatically improves the in-memory aggregates according to the report queries. The report performance is drastically improved by adjusting the number of in-memory aggregates to better match the report query activity over a period of time.
Framework Manager Enhancements
The Bridge Query Subject feature allows the modeler to create a bridge table by just setting the usage property of a query subject to Bridge. The Filter Join Optimization feature effectively increases the Report performance up to 100 times in IBM Lab testing by filtering one side of a join using the values retrieved from the other side. The Parameter Map Refresh feature allows the Cognos Administrators to control the refreshing time of the parameter map values and specify different refresh values for diverse users, groups, or roles. The Summary Query Subjects feature provides more user friendly experience to the report authors and analysts by allowing them to specify grouping and aggregation in the framework model query subject.
Custom User Interface (UI) Profiles
This feature allows the Cognos administrators to customize the features and functionality of each Studio in Cognos according to different needs, skills, and comfort levels of the users. The default UI will still remain. Though you cannot modify the Report Studio Professional and Cognos Workspace Advanced profiles, you can edit their copies.
Conformance Updates
Data Sources
- Cloudera Impala 1.3
- IBM Netezza® V7.1, V7.2
- IBM DB2 for i 7.2
- IBM Cognos TM1® V10.2.2
- IBM InfoSphere® BigInsights™ V2.1, V3.0
- Apache Hive 0.11, 0.12
- Microsoft SQL Server 2012 R2, 2014
- Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services 2012 R2, 2014
- MySQL 5.7
- PostgreSQL 9.3, 9.4
- Teradata 15
Security Libraries
- GSKit
- Web Servers
- Apache HTTP Server 2.4
- Microsoft Internet Information Services 8.5
Content Store
- IBM DB2® 11 for z/OS®
- Microsoft™ SQL Server 2012 R2
- Microsoft SQL Server 2014
Portal Servers
- IBM WebSphere® Portal V8.5
- Liferay Portal
Web Servers
- Microsoft Internet Information Services 8.5
Drivers
- JT400 JDBC driver (IBM DB2 for i)
Mobile
- Apple iOS 7
- Android 4.4
- Phone support for iOS and Android
Application Server
- SAP NetWeaver Application Server 7.4
You can also look at the YouTube videos for more clarity at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfj0kQVlOS52KT10EM0H6gkcsjZLvC3Xx
For information about Downloading IBM Cognos Business Intelligence 10.2.2, visit http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24037529
For information about Cognos Business Intelligence 10.2.2 Supported Software Environments, visit http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27042164
For information about Cognos Business Intelligence 10.2.2 Fix List, visit http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27042898
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