Choosing InetSoft StyleBI Over IBM Cognos

Differentiating Features

Enterprise Data Mashup – InetSoft’s StyleBI is built upon an enterprise data mashup platform, while Cognos is based on an ETL and data warehouse approach. Enterprise data mashup refers to the ability to pull source data from any location and in almost any format and mash it up on the fly for dynamic information requests. The result is a structured virtual data model that consists of reusable data blocks that can be queried in real-time for presentation in StyleBI dashboards and reports, or used by 3rd-party applications.

Self-Service – InetSoft's data mashup functionality is available to both business and IT users which helps maximize self-service. Through a drag-and-drop design interface, business users can create interactive visual analyses, dashboards, and reports to answer unanticipated questions without IT's help. In contrast, any unanticipated data manipulation in Cognos requires significant IT intervention to redefine data models. InetSoft enables further levels of self-service for less sophisticated users such as point-and-click personalization and modification of IT-built dashboards and analyses.

Data Cache Parallelization – InetSoft's data cache parallelization architecture sits below the enterprise data mashup platform and delivers massive query performance boosts by relieving source data systems of potential overload from user queries. The architecture was inspired by columnar database technology and the Map Reduce algorithm allowing data in InetSoft's virtual data model to be cached and queried in parallel across servers. Cognos has no such feature.

Costs

Licenses – InetSoft’s total license fees are based on the number of dual-core CPUs required to run the InetSoft server. Cognos’ license fees are based on the number of dual-core CPUs required to run the Cognos server, the number of named users and additional Cognos component for required by the solution.

Deployment – InetSoft deployments typically take between 1-2 weeks to launch with minimal business intelligence expertise required. Cognos deployments may take 5-6 months to launch, and since Cognos is a loosely coupled group of acquired products, multiple Cognos product experts are required to launch a solution. Due to a less user-friendly, intuitive interface, Cognos training is mandated for all Cognos users. Because of the solution’s complexity and lack of agility, it has been reported that enterprises find themselves spending $15 on Cognos consultants for every $1 spent on Cognos licenses.

About InetSoft

Since 1996 InetSoft has been delivering easy, agile, and robust business intelligence software that makes it possible for organizations and solution providers of all sizes to deploy or embed full-featured business intelligence solutions. InetSoft solutions have been deployed at over 5,000 organizations worldwide, including 25% of Fortune 500 companies, spanning all types of industries. InetSoft was ranked among the top 5 BI vendors in Gleanster's customer survey report.