The grass is not always greener in software.  In the last few weeks I have had a number of old clients come to me and confess they made a bad decision when they moved off their IBM Cognos system after being lured by a sexy sales presentation and promised of nirvana.  So, I thought I should provide you with advice as to “How ToReinstate my Cognos software”.

It is okay to admit you made a bad choice, we are all human.  Trying new things and failing is a learning experience.  How many times did Edison fail before creating the light bulb? Over a thousand.  If he didn’t view it as, “It just meant that I was that many times closer to success.”– Thomas Edison we could all be in the dark.

Step one: Contact Lodestar Solutions or your partner and explain the situation, we should be able to provide you with the most cost effective way to get back to IBM Cognos.  How you get current and get your IBM Cognos software dusted off and upgraded to the current version depends on how long ago you left.  Here’s on overview of things to consider.

1. REINSTATE SUPPORT –  If it was fairly recent you may be able to reinstate your support bill.  But watch out they may quote you list price for the reinstatement and quote all the old licenses you owned before, even if you don’t need all of the licenses.
2. REINSTATE SUPPORT AND NEGOTIATE – You should pull your last support bill and check what rate you were playing.  Older clients may have been well under list and if it’s me, I would see what I could negotiate.  A little tip, IBM loves to hear stories of client that “came back to IBM Cognos”, so use it.
3. BUY NEW – If you left quite a while ago, it could be cheaper to buy new licenses at a discount.  But note the support renewal people probably won’t suggest it as they don’t get credit for new license sales.   Additionally, the license mix you need for the future might not be what you had in the past, so a new purchase may be more appropriate.

At Lodestar Solutions, we pride ourselves on not only understanding the software functionality, but the complex licensing structures as well.  We are familiar with the very old Cognos licensing and all the new IBM licensing.  If you need more resources, contact us for our updated IBM Cognos functionality grids and check out our latest Licensing video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgfcZeSLikQ. We would be happy to help if you have questions you can email me at hcole (at) lodestarsolutions.com.