We at Lodestar have been alerting IBM Cognos Business Intelligence users that standard support for version 10.2.X will be ending in April 2018 (EOS Cognos BI). Though not yet officially announced, IBM Cognos TM1 10.2.x won't be much further behind (EOS Cognos TM1). In case this is the first time you're hearing about it, "NO" Chicken Little, the sky isn't falling and no need to rip & replace.   As long as you are current on your Subscription & Support (S&S), you are entitled to the software free of charge for the new versions. Cognos Business Intelligence has been rebranded as IBM Cognos Analytics and TM1 has been rebranded as IBM Planning Analytics. Both of the new versions have made the user experience easier and have added additional functionality. These are best in class solutions that are scalable across your enterprise and embedded in IBM's progressive analytics platform.

In general, these Cognos products are not taxing on the resources of an IT department. Cognos has been designed for business users to maintain their own report writing and analytic modeling; therefore, they may fall off the IT maintenance radar.  Because of this, when upgrades need to be done and your IT resources are called in, their answer may be "We don't have the time for this" or "We didn't install it in the first place".   If your IT department doesn't have the resources available, the next conversation should be with Lodestar Solutions who can assist you with your upgrade.

However, there are Chicken Littles out there that even if the consulting estimate is for $1.99, thinks that a rip & replace is the answer.

One Chicken Little can sound more like the typical get together with my family - "Why'd you buy it in the first place?", "Get rid of it!", "I got a guy that can fix it!", "What did it ever do for you?", "What did you ever do for me?", "You tell 'em where they can put it!" - all being shouted at once.

I mention this, because it is usually around the end of a version's support or right before the annual S&S renewal occurs that someone wants to rip & replace your existing solution. It's a knee-jerk reaction. Replacing software has expensive cost and resource implications, while dropping S&S on existing software without a new solution in place opens you up for a whole other can of costly and risky worms.

That is why I suggest a review & renew approach.   IBM is giving you more functionality that is even easier to use in these upgrades.  Do an assessment of the validity of your existing reports and models - see what's working, what's not working and what you can do to improve your analytics. Not many companies can say their business is the same as it was 5 years ago, yet they continue to analyze it the same way. Time to clear-out the outdated, update your solution leveraging the new functionality and streamline maintenance that you've been putting off. Have Lodestar Solutions review your environment and see where you can make improvements. Upgrading your software and few quick review and design sessions could save you tens of thousands of dollars compared to rip & replace and you may even qualify for free consulting time!!!