Written by Heather L. Cole, February 24th 2022
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket! It’s quote we often hear in reference to investing. There are horror stories of people who put all their money in the stock of one company like Enron or one investment advisor like Bernie Madoff only to watch their life savings go poof! But did you know that saying also applies to hiring consultants? Today we will discuss the Benefits of Diversifying your IBM Planning Analytics and Cognos Consultants. Diversifying your IBM Cognos and IBM Planning Analytics Consultants means you work with more than one consulting firm.
Having a Second Set of Eyes
Have you ever had a problem you were trying to solve and just wanted to have a second set of eyes? Or maybe you have a repetitive task, and you think, “there has to be a better way”. Whenever I have that thought, I reach out to someone I think will know the answers. It took me years to learn, but I now know that although I probably could figure out the problem myself, time is the most limited resource we have. And if I just phone another IBM Planning Analytics or Cognos expert in my network, I can solve the problem in a fraction of the time.
If you diversify and contract with multiple Cognos consulting firms, and you have access to not just the consultants assigned to you, but also their teams. The bigger your network the faster you will get answers.
But let me share a little secret, if a consultant makes a mistake, many firms will back them and their work. They don’t want to admit that a mistake was made. By diversifying and using more than one Cognos or IBM Planning analytics consulting firm you have a built in BS detector.
Diverse Offerings & Experience
The next benefit of diversifying your IBM Cognos and IBM Planning Analytics consultants is that firms often time have different offerings. One might be really good at Data Warehousing and Planning Analytics, whereas another might offer executive strategy sessions to discover what really needs to be designed. Additionally, one might have a financial service background while another distribution. Believe it or not, you can benefit from someone with industry expertise that is different from your own, as they can bring innovative ideas to your project.
Different Cognos and IBM Planning Analytics partners have different offerings and expertise. You can benefit from their wealth of knowledge. In the U.S. most of the partners know each other and many partner with each other all the time.
Knowledge of New Releases
Not all Cognos and IBM Planning Analytics consulting firms invest in educating their teams on the latest versions. Candidly if they are primarily focused on billing and revenue generation, training takes away from billing. So, there could be functionality that is available in a new release that your consultant doesn’t know about. By diversifying your Cognos consultants, you increase the likelihood of leveraging the latest functionality. At Lodestar Solutions, we pride ourselves on educating our clients on what’s new every quarter.
Knowledge of IBM Licensing
Did you know there are Cognos and IBM Planning Analytic consulting firms that don’t know IBM licensing? Yes, there are some amazing consultants that are fabulous on the product but don’t know how to save you money on your IBM licensing and IBM support renewals. Lodestar Solutions has many clients that came to us after working with another partner and failing an IBM Audit. It doesn’t have to be that way! By diversifying and working with a partner that understands licensing you can save money and reduce the risk of failing an audit. Here’s a link to our webinar on, How to Avoid Failing an IBM Analytics Audit. And our blog, How to Save Money on Support Renewals.
If you have IBM licensing questions or are in the middle of an IBM audit, email us at Services@lodestarsolutions.com.
Additional Client Offerings
Finally, a big benefit of working with multiple Cognos and IBM Planning Analytics consultants is that some offer client only benefits. For example, at Lodestar Solutions we host a client only virtual user group every quarter where we share the new releases, what works and what doesn’t, and have straight talk. We share 3rd party tools we think clients will benefit from and we network with our peers. But that’s not all, we record the sessions, so clients can access our client only portal and watch the sessions at any time. Our clients love the user groups, but it is a closed group.
Want to participate, in our next user group? Have us quote your IBM support renewal. Email Renewals@lodestarsolutions.com for a license evaluation and renewal quote.
Tips in Working with Multiple IBM Planning Analytics and Cognos Consulting Firms
Now that I have shared some of the benefits of diversifying your IBM Planning Analytics and Cognos Consultants. I want to share a few more tips.
- Be transparent. Don’t hide the fact you are working with multiple firms, find firms that can work together.
- Find a firm like Lodestar that is willing to subcontract other firms, so you have the diversification but one stop shopping.
- Interview a few firms and ask around about their strengths. Here’s a link to where you can find IBM Partners.
- Check Linkedin and see how well connected their team members are. A strong network can provide rapid, creative solutions.
Next Step
Let’s talk about your project and challenges. Lodestar Solutions can help you diversify your consultants, save money on IBM licensing and support, learn the latest version and network with your peers. We would love the opportunity to be one of your go to partners and show you the benefits of diversifying your IBM Planning Analytics and Cognos Consultants. Contact us at Services@lodestarsolutions.com for a complimentary review.