Collecting and analyzing data can be a difficult task without the proper tools. If you’re looking for a way to improve your business and beat your competition, a business intelligence tool will help you achieve that goal.

In this article, we will review IBM Cognos and Alteryx and help you decide which of these business intelligence tools is the better fit for your company. For more BI software, use our Product Selection Tool to get a list of recommended vendors that meet your requirements.

IBM Cognos vs. Alteryx: Software overview

IBM Cognos is a business intelligence tool that helps businesses analyze, process, and visualize data with the use of analytic tools. Its main focus is to allow its users to manage the data it receives and process it into relevant reports and visualizations that are easy to understand. IBM Cognos helps companies interact with the data it collects.

Alteryx is a data analytics platform designed to collect and evaluate data from multiple external sources. Preparing and blending data becomes easier because of its simple drag-and-drop interface and comprehensive insights. Alteryx aims to eliminate summarizing information in an unreliable manner and provide its users with comprehensive insights.

Available integrations for IBM Cognos vs. Alteryx

Both IBM Cognos and Alteryx are great tools for processing and collecting data. While collecting and organizing data is the main function of these BI tools, they also offer other solutions. These solutions are supported by various integrations that help you access your data wherever and whenever.

IBM Cognos doesn’t have an open API that can support popular integrations. However, it can still be paired with other programs and web applications which could yield positive results. 

Alteryx:

  • Google BigQuery
  • Autodesk
  • Cloudera
  • HortonWorks
  • IBM
  • Oracle
  • SAP

Target customers for IBM Cognos vs. Alteryx

IBM Cognos works best for small to enterprise-level corporations. With its smart self-service capabilities and interactive dashboards, this BI tool offers features that benefit many different businesses. IBM Cognos is a great tool for those who are new to business intelligence tools because of its simple design.

On the other hand, Alteryx works best with medium to enterprise-level businesses. With its advanced analytics and enterprise-class technologies, you can build, process, and analyze data any time and anywhere. Alteryx can support large scale business intelligence and planning projects that are unachievable with traditional BI.

Similar features for IBM Cognos vs. Alteryx

Business intelligence tools analyze and evaluate data into comprehensive insights. While this is the primary function of any BI tool, there are some other features that this software provides. Here are some similar elements in IBM Cognos and Alteryx you might find useful for your business:

Workflow management

The workflow management feature in IBM Cognos helps users immediately find, evaluate, generate, and share insights with other employees. This feature creates a constant connective workflow among employees assigned to that specific task. Sharing insights with other employees allows for a more interactive workflow within the company.

Alteryx’s workflow management feature constantly supplies its users with new information through reports, metrics, and workflow. Discovering new insights as a team empowers everyone to collaborate to make more informed decisions. This feature keeps everyone on the same page by supplying information and linking to corresponding reports.

Customizable reporting

The customizable reporting feature in IBM Cognos lets you find and share different insights across your business. The main function of this feature is to allow users to share insights by customizing the kind of report your team will process. IBM Cognos’ reporting features also let you report directly off a data source.

In Alteryx, its customizable reporting feature provides an uncommon level of customization and personalization. This feature empowers analysts to create visually appealing reports from the best and most timely data. With Alteryx’s customizable reporting feature, your analysts can accelerate every step of the data preparation and blending process.

Which business intelligence tool is better for you?

IBM Cognos and Alteryx are just some options you might want to consider when buying a BI tool for your business. However, if you’re still not sure which of these BI tools that you should get for your business, we’re here to help.

If you’re looking for a business intelligence tool that can help you find, evaluate, generate, and share insights with other employees, then we suggest you try IBM Cognos. With IBM Cognos’ workflow management feature, you can share insights by customizing the kind of report your team will process.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for a BI tool that provides an uncommon level of customization and personalization, then we suggest you choose Alteryx. With Alteryx’s customizable reporting feature, you can empower your analysts to create visually appealing reports from the best and most timely data.

Get help finding the right business intelligence tool for your company with our Product Selection Tool. Enter your needs, and we’ll send you a shortlist of vendors we recommend.