Written by Mike Bernaiche, November 11th 2022 It is that time of year where you start to see top ten[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, September 1st 2022 With the great resignation in full swing, there are a number of[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, August 18th 2022 The mergers and acquisition world has been busy recently.  If your company[...]

Written by Mike Bernaiche, April 21st 2022 I am sure some of you reading can relate to this situation.  Management[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, March 23rd 2022 Are you wondering if you can move your Cognos or IBM Planning[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, March 9th 2022 Are you trying to get funding for a Cognos or IBM Planning[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, January 27th 2022 “Heather wanted to let you know Friday is my last day at[...]

Written by Mike Bernaiche, October 28th, 2021 It is almost that time again!!  Time for the Virtual Cognos User Group[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, June 17th 2021 “This is going to be the year!  I swear this is the[...]

Written by Heather Cole, May 19th 2021 Are you a Cognos Analytics BI or Planning Analytics TM1 client that recently[...]

March 11th, 2021IBM is actively encouraging existing IBM Cognos Analytics and Planning Analytics (TM1) clients to migrate to their new[...]

March 4th, 2021 Has IBM reached out to you stating that you qualify for an upgrade to modernize Cognos licensing?[...]

February 26th, 2021 On February 16, 2021, Lodestar Solutions hosted our 2nd virtual IBM Cognos User Group.  Our IBM Cognos[...]

February 11th, 2021 Are you using software like Cognos Analytics BI and in desperate need of a Cognos upgrade?  Or[...]

December 17th, 2020 In our last blog, Where IBM Cognos Clients Can Go to Get IBM Questions Answered, we discussed where[...]

December 10th, 2020Are you a Cognos or TM1 administrator that inherited IBM Cognos?  Maybe you took a new job, and[...]

Written December 3rd, 2020 by Mike Bernaiche Recently, I was asked several questions about Cognos Analytics Data Sets.  Candidly, I haven’t[...]

November 20th, 2020IBM is on a mission to change how you buy IBM Cognos software.  They are trying hard to[...]

September 3rd, 2020As clients look to drastically cut cost, it’s natural for IT departments to look at all their business[...]

July 16th, 2020 Both Cognos Analytics PVU and Planning Analytics PVU (Processor Value Units) can be confusing and make you[...]

June 25th, 2020 Are you being pressured to cut costs wherever possible?  For many Cognos Analytics and Planning Analytics customers,[...]

June 18th, 2020Stop Struggling to Migrate from IBM Cognos to Power BIHow many business intelligence solutions does your firm have[...]

January 7th, 2020​ As we roll into the New Year at Lodestar Solutions we like to look back at the[...]

December 5th, 2019 Recently, IBM released the new Cognos Analytics 11.1.4, a major update release, and in September 2019 TM1[...]

November 20, 2019Are you still using Transformer Power Cubes? Looking for something to replace them?  Did you know that Cognos[...]

October 15, 2019Cognos Analytics Components ExplainedRecently we were asked to explain the Cognos Analytics Components. This client was new to[...]

September 26, 2019Are you struggling to realize the full benefits of your Cognos investment?  There just doesn’t seem to be[...]

August 15thHow Do I Retrieve My Folder Cognos Content from a Deleted User?As a Cognos BI Administrator, you arrive early[...]

August 8th, 2019 Is an Admin License Needed for a Cognos Services Account?Recently, a Lodestar Cognos Analytics (BI) client reached[...]

August 1, 2019A Cognos Planning Analytics client recently asked Lodestar Solutions for a quote for a few more licenses.  When[...]

July 25, 2019Are you a longtime IBM Cognos Analytics and/or Planning Analytics (TM1) customer?  Are you struggling to get traction[...]

The Importance of Renewing License Support with IBM? I get it.  Your IBM Cognos system has been up and running[...]

4/17/2018 Should I Upgrade IBM Cognos Analytics or Planning Analytics?Upgrade IBM Cognos now!  Do you know why you should upgrade today? [...]

Should Millennials Suck it Up in the Workplace?Are you struggling to understand the Millennials in the workplace? Do you think[...]

What's Your Cognos Analytics Upgrade Evaluation Plan?It’s been almost 2 years since the initial release of Cognos Analytics, aka C11.[...]

Have You Secured Funding Yet?  It's Budget Season.  Secure Funding Now for IBM Cognos!​Do you need process improvement and require[...]

Understanding Millennials​Aug 2017 by Heather L. Cole, Executive CoachAs a business owner and executive coach with an emphasis on IT and[...]

   

6/21/2017I have received a number of calls from Lodestar Solutions blog readers asking “How do I install the ILMT Tool?”[...]

5/18/2017 Concierge Service? Sign me up! Do you find yourself running into Cognos road blocks from time to time? Maybe[...]

WRITTEN BY Heather Cole, J.D.  May 2017Have you heard, IBM has an amazing Bridge to Cloud offer where existing IBM[...]

4/19/2017Discovering RequirementsSTOP REQUIREMENTS GATHERING! We were wrong! For years Lodestar Solutions has emphasized to our IBM Cognos clients the need[...]

4/5/2017Cognos Analytics versus Planning Analytics, what's the difference?  IBM has rebranded TM1 as Planning Analytics and rebranded Cognos Business Intelligence[...]

3/29/2017 Are you struggling to get a Cognos report to run correctly? Maybe you have a TM1 or Cognos Planning[...]

3/22/2017 Message from Heather Cole, President of Lodestar Solutions. Lodestar Solutions is changing! But then again, isn’t everything? After almost[...]

2/22/2017​It's been a couple of months since I've been on the other side of IBM. What a  change it has[...]

8/15/2016We at Lodestar Solutions get asked by law firm clients what should they be doing with IBM Cognos software specifically[...]

2/17/2016Do you struggle with trying to analyze offline spreadsheets or data sources? Do you receive data from 3rd parties that[...]

6/23/15We are now 21 days away from the mid-summer classic. I better take the opportunity to write a baseball/big data[...]

6/8/15My responsibility as a Business Analytics Coach at Lodestar Solutions is to keep IBM Cognos clients informed on the huge[...]

5/12/15As a Business Analytics Coach, I’m asked about errors or issue with Cognos software. Sometimes it is user error and[...]

5/1/15Are you still using Clarity FSR and wondering, “What’s is the Future of Clarity FSR and Cognos CDM?”What is the[...]

3/31/15Far too many times IBM uses similar descriptions for different products.  Let us provide you another occasion of which you[...]

 As business analytics coaches, we are often asked many questions about what are the right IBM Cognos OLAP modeling tools for[...]

​Cognos Non-Production License - Do I need one?A Cognos non-production License environment is any development or test environment that is[...]

Cognos Express on Amazon AWS is a great combination for small to mid-level companies that either don’t have the resources[...]

Are you asking Google, "What happened to IBM Cognos Data Manager Decision Stream?"  Let's give you a bit of histroy[...]

​Cognos Virtual Environment Needs ILMT Tool to be CompliantA lot of IBM customers use a Cognos virtual environment to host[...]

​Is Cognos Express right for you?Betty Lou (fictitious name) called me and said she needed a better tool for budgeting.[...]

Latest versionsIBM Cognos TM1, BI and SPSS If you are not a frequent visitor of user forums, belong to a[...]

Cognos Insight vs Excel? Managing with personal analytics Think about the world we live in. Literally anything we want is[...]

How does Free Cognos Insight Training and a word like infobesity correlate?  First let's take a look at the definition[...]

We wanted to let all our loyal mates know that the Lodestar Solution’s Pirates won’t be sailing into the IBM[...]

Have you checked out the Analytic Desktop Tool, Cognos Insight?  What did you think?  For those of you who are[...]

Scalability and time are two issues that never seem to be solved. Couple that with expanding end-user adoption and the[...]

Cognos Insight - Powerful but Simple Analytics Tool As I sat and played with Cognos Insight (v10.2.2), it dawned on[...]

IBM Cognos Disclosure Management “CDM – What is it? What pain points/struggles does it address? How can it help my[...]

Cognos Framework Manager​ package as a Data Source in TM1How do I use a Cognos Framework Manager package as a[...]

​Cognos BI vs TM1 Reporting - Why Not Use Both?Do you own or are looking to purchase both Cognos BI[...]

Did you know that IBM releases fix packs to correct bugs in Cognos Software?  They do and it is important[...]

The families of those who died in General Motors cars containing defective ignition switches want prosecutors to go after General[...]

The customer stories published about implementing Predictive Analytics into your own “happily ever after”?  I’m going to share a few[...]

Predictive Analytics in the Cloud Recent research from www.information-management.com suggests that Predictive Analytics in the cloud computing is becoming more and more[...]

Did you know that IBM has a Statistical Survey Software platform?  They do!  It came along with the SPSS acquisition[...]

“On the bubble” – ever heard that phrase? Do you know where it comes from? Legend has it that this[...]

While we can’t say “long gone are the glory days of the statistician, data scientist, and analyst” – the development[...]

Cognos Data Modeling Tools Cognos data modeling tools come in a number of different flavors and IBM has recently added[...]

I hope you enjoyed our first installment about the IBM SPSS Family.  Let’s will pick up where we left off.[...]

Most folks who know about SPSS are aware of it because they took a Statistics class in college and used[...]

For the past several years, IBM has released a new version of SPSS Statistics V22 in the fall, and Version[...]

I am sure most of you have seen the Holiday Inn Express commercial where they show the toll booth operator[...]

When it comes to financial reporting and compliance, the upgrade from IBM Financial Statement Reporting (FSR) to IBM Cognos Disclosure Management (CDM), was one[...]

Today, forward-looking manufacturers rely on predictive maintenance to go beyond preventative and regularly scheduled maintenance, ensuring production quality and maximizing value at every step of the process. Driven by predictive analytics, this leading-edge capability is helping manufacturers reach new standards of quality and save money by minimizing downtime from unscheduled maintenance, practically eliminating unnecessary maintenance and providing superior forecasting of warranty accruals.

What happened at IBM IOD 2012 in Las Vegas does not stay in Las Vegas! There were many exciting Cognos related topics discussed at IBM Information on Demand (IOD) during the annual conference held this past fall. This year’s conference was held at Mandalay Bay the week of October 22nd, and was attended by more than 12,000 people. Some of the hot topics included Cognos 10.2 updates and new features including Active Reports, Dynamic Cubes, Cognos Mobile, Workspace and Cognos Insight. Below is a brief description of each…

We have all been there. One of the people in charge of managing an aspect of your IBM account left the company and you didn’t think to have them update their information before they left. Main contacts such as primary contact, billing contact, renewal contact, media shipping contact, proof of entitlement contact and site technical contact can be updated by the current Primary Contact on the Passport Advantage Online website.

Through the use of Predictive Analytics Software, like IBM SPSS, Public Schools around the country are changing the way they teach students. IBM SPSS enables fair comparisons between schools with radically different student populations, ending the historical tendency to treat schools as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ based purely on test results. IBM SPSS identifies students who are statistically likely to fail or drop out, allowing teachers to make timely interventions to get them back on track. It measures the effect of remedial actions taken by teachers, so that the system learns which interventions have the most positive effect in any given scenario.

IBM Cognos software is one way in which organizations are leveraging new intelligence to create a competitive advantage. IBM Cognos Analytics and Performance Management solutions provide a planning, consolidation and business intelligence platform that helps companies plan, understand and manage financial and operational performance. With capabilities including reporting, analytics, dashboards, planning, scorecards and more, companies can understand performance and make better decisions.

IBM Business Analytics software is designed to deliver complete, insightful, and accurate information for decision makers to make more effective decisions. As part of this portfolio, IBM SPSS Predictive Analytics software specializes in predictive analytics which organizations can rely on to predict future outcomes based on patterns found in historical data. State and Local Government, Multi-National Corporations of all sizes can benefit from the IBM SPSS technology to provide insight into current performance. They can also leverage the predictive capabilities to be better prepared for what is around the corner. Business Intelligence can help monitor current and past performance while Predictive Analytics can answer why the business is performing in a certain manner and how it can be improved in the future.

Discuss what new Cognos users and existing Cognos users have access to along with the directions on how to download Insight for BI and TM1 users.

IBM Cognos has two offerings for organizations looking for a complete Performance Management solution. One is IBM Cognos Enterprise Solutions and the other is Cognos Express. If you are looking for the power IBM offers, you may have some questions about what the differences in the two offerings are and how they compare. So, we thought we would take a moment to walk through some of the differences but note with each new release this information will change. IBM is expected to release a new Cognos Express version in the very near future and we will write again on Express once it’s released. As for now, IBM Cognos Express is positioned as the mid-market solution from IBM however, large companies can purchase it.

IBM Cognos Insight provides all the tools you need to solve individual or team challenges quickly and easily, right from your desktop: •Import and merge your corporate enterprise data with personal local data directly in your workspace. •Slice, dice and drill down through data quickly without scripting. •Create compelling charts and grids for a multi-dimensional view of your data. •Perform powerful scenario modeling on the fly without being connected to a server. •Easily publish your plans and dashboards for others in the organization to see and use.

IBM Cognos Insight. What is it? What is all the Hype about? On March 7th, IBM Cognos will release a revolutionary product that will allow IBM Cognos BI Consumers the ability to leverage the IBM stack by allowing them to create TM1 models at no additional cost. If you have not heard of IBM Cognos TM1, it is a 64 bit In-Memory OLAP technology that links finance with operations to deliver new Insight into your data.

Check out IBM Cognos Statistics. Statistics enables financial and business analysts to gain and share richer insights through statistical reporting and analysis that can be distributed to all users. IBM Statistics Engine incorporates statistical results with core business reporting, reducing the time it takes to analyze data and prepare business presentations based on that analysis. Cognos Statistics software also helps ensure that the statistical evidence that backs key business decisions is accurate and can be delivered easily to broader business communities in dashboards and reports.

Salesforce.com is a great tool, I use it all of the time, but have you ever tried to create a report in Salesforce.com? I have, and the experience is not a pleasant one. Once you figure out how to create the report you realize that you are very limited in your report options. (No cross-filtering, No joined reports, low limits on number of scheduled reports and dashboards, inability to group data)

If you are considering an upgrade to IBM Cognos 10, you MUST check out lifecycle manager. Formerly known as Upgrade Manager, IBM has added a number of new features and rebranded it as Lifecycle Manager. It is an application that validates IBM Cognos BI report content during an upgrade by comparing reports that run in different versions of IBM Cognos BI.

Everywhere we look, software providers are coming out with new versions but unless it’s a major release, software compatibility is often overlooked. With the release of Windows 7, many hardware providers and IT departments are starting to ship laptops to employees with Windows 7 as the standard operating system. Many of us just assume it’s “Microsoft” so it must be compatible and they fail to confirm that the software is compatible with Windows 7. Additionally, software can function with 64 or 32 bit machines and some software is only functional on a 32 bit machine. Not confirming compatibility could result in big headaches.

As the budget for implementation services shrink and travel expenses increase, companies can save significant money by leveraging remote or virtual consultants. But to make virtual consulting effective, consider the following tips: 1. Be Prepared - Create a detailed statement of work outlining the deliverables. 2. Check Them Out - Check references of the consultant and conduct a phone interview. You want someone that can speak clearly and is articulate.

Training is one of the most important aspects of implementing and maintaining your IBM Cognos system! If you inherited Cognos or have recently been assigned to the Cognos team in your organization, I strongly encourage you to get some training. How do you get trained on IBM Cognos? IBM has a number of great Cognos public training classes offered to clients. Lodestar Solutions can help register you for one of these training classes at a competitive price. Training is offered at IBM training centers across the country and world.