IBM Cognos Analytics 11.2
Find Out What’s New on April 9th, 2021
Available On Demand
Join us for the first major release of Cognos Analytics since September of 2018!
Ryan Dolley, PMsquare VP of Technology, unpack the new IBM Cognos Analytics 11.2 release in an interactive YouTube livestream. Hit the ground running with a live demo of Cognos 11.2 features, get your questions answered, and have the opportunity to network with users in the IBM Cognos Community via live chat.
Sign up for exclusive PMsquare Livestream notifications to receive emails about updates and changes to our upcoming livestreams. To view more events, click here.
For Cognos Articles, check out the PMsquare Blog and Ryan Dolley’s personal Cognos blog IBM Blueview.
What’s New in Cognos 11.2
Home Screen
Content Navigation
Dashboards
Data Modules
Report Authoring
Answering Questions
Mobile App
Common Questions About Cognos 11.2
Questions were collected from the live event.
Question: Are there breadcrumbs in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Can you highlight breadcrumbs to do a copy-paste in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Where is My Content/Team Content located in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: It is located in the top left tab -> press content -> “My content”, “Team Content”, and “Samples will appear on the Content page.
Question: Can you present team content to the users on the Cognos home screen?
Answer: I would create a custom extension to display the team content as a tab, set it as the first tab and hide the welcome message. This would show the team content directly below the Quick launch buttons.
Question: Can you upload home customizations through SDK or REST API in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Yes you can manage customizations via the REST API. Not via the SDK.
Question: Can you create a tile on the Cognos home map that brings users to planning analytics?
Answer: Yes, absolutely.
Question: Can you secure tabs added to the Cognos home page?
Answer: Yes you can control which tabs are shown via groups and roles.
Question: Does Cognos have quick launch custom modifications?
Answer: Yes, you can modify what appears in the quick launch section to reference Cognos content or outside applications.
Question: Is it possible to address Planning Analytics Workspace Applications in the Cognos Quick launch?
Answer: Yes it should be. We haven't tried this but there is no reason to expect that it wouldn't work.
Question: Can you do extensions per group on the Cognos Home UI?
Answer: Yes you can.
Question: Is the home screen in Cognos manageable per user?
Answer: Yes, you can customize what appears on the welcome screen per user.
Question: Can we change the order of the tabs in the navigation in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Can we add a folder-specific tab for a user group?
Answer: Yes you can.
Question: How do you develop extensions in Cognos?
Answer: IBM has some extension examples. I would start from there. You need to write some js but it's very basic.
Question: Is custom sorting of content (folders, reports, etc.) available like in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: No, not yet.
Question: Can you still access previous UI’s? For example 11.0.x UI?
Answer: Yes. Thankfully!
Question: Does Cognos have a feature for emailing notifications upon a report run failure yet?
Answer: No changes. This is a feature available in PMsquare Thrive.
Question: Is Cognos installation/upgrading the same for Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Yes.
Question: For Cognos 11.2, does an in-place upgrade work?
Answer: We generally recommend against the in-place upgrade. YMMV.
Question: Is legacy studio or event studio available in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Yes, in firefox.
Question: Is Query Studio still available in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Yes. (But only using Firefox).
Question: Are there any event studio features added to Cognos? Such as event condition triggering actions with email notifications?
Answer: Nothing changed with event studio. Some event-based notification capability is available via the new Cognos Mobile App.
Question: Are there any changes to file upload automation in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: No, but this capability is available today via the REST API. It might be on the development roadmap to add a UI for this, we aren't 100% certain at this point.
Question: Is there file upload automation in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Yes, via the REST API.
Question: Any other functionality exposed under REST API?
Answer: Not in this version.
Question: Can we change the uploaded content to a static folder in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: You can choose a folder other than My Content (globally).
Question: Are there any changes to the admin console in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: No.
Question: Any changes, updates, or new features made to the Administration page in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Not really, minor changes.
Question: Are there any new administration QOL features (migrations, etc.)?
Answer: No, no new administration QOL features.
Question: Can we return to the same place if we refresh the page in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: This depends on where you hit refresh. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Question: Does role customization still exist in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Yes, no changes to role customization that we are aware of.
Question: How much memory do you have allocated to the Cognos dispatcher?
Answer: I allocate at least 32GB of memory per dispatcher, and I often advocate 64GB or more depending on usage. Make sure you adjust the query service settings for max memory and threads to get the most out of your RAM.
Question: When was Cognos 11.2 released?
Answer: May 2021.
Question: Is Cognos 11.2 available on the passport advantage site now?
Answer: Yes it is available.
Question: Do we have to increase JVM size with the new Cognos 11.2 release?
Answer: If you are using the default settings and have the available memory I would definitely increase it. Otherwise, I don't think you have to for this release, or at least I'm not aware of an urgent need to do so. But over time it's probably a good idea to revisit the JVM size.
Question: Can we implement cascading prompts available in Cognos Dashboards in 11.2?
Answer: No. There is some indication that more in-depth prompting is coming to Dashboards but we aren't aware of a delivery date for that.
Question: Are there cascading filters for Dashboards in 11.2?
Answer: No.
Question: Are there simple filters on measures in Dashboards like “revenue >10000”?
Answer: There is a slider to select a range of values. (So no, not really)
Question: Is Classic Cognos UI fully replaced?
Answer: Administration is still there (as is).
Question: Is there usage of variables in Cognos Dashboards? Is there prompting in Dashboards in 11.2?
Answer: Not really, no. IBM is definitely working on this.
Question: Is there a dropdown or checkbox selection available in Dashboards in 11.2?
Answer: There is a filter drop-down available as an extension.
Question: Are there any new properties? For example, the highlighting of negative KPIs in a Bar Chart?
Answer: No, there are no new properties in this release. Those are definitely coming.
Question: Are there any new visualizations in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: You can now use the box plot and radar visualizations in dashboards.
Question: Are there any hierarchy style prompts available in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: No, not yet.
Question: Can we implement determinants in Data Modules in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Yes, you can do that using something called Column Dependencies. I think it's a much better implementation than determinants.
Question: Are there any changes to filters for Data Modules?
Answer: No, but butter Data Module filters are on the horizon.
Question: Are Data Modules in Cognos bilingual?
Answer: Not in the same way that Framework Manager handled this. This is on the Data Module roadmap.
Question: Can you close all opened items at once in Cognos?
Answer: No, not yet.
Question: Did the Reporting expression editor get an update in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: No, not yet.
Question: Have explorations changed in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Not a lot of changes in 11.2 (so far) - You can now use the box plot and radar visualizations in explorations.
Question: Are stories still available in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Yes, still around. No significant changes.
Question: Are there any improvements in single sign-on in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Not that we are aware of. Let us know what your specific SSO issues are.
Question: Are there only cosmetic changes to Cognos 11.2? or any changes to the backend functionality?
Answer: Yes, there is a backend change to the query engine, particularly in Dashboards. Initial load time for Dashboards is greatly improved
Question: Are there any performance enhancements in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: Yes, particularly for Dashboards. The initial load performance is greatly improved.
Question: For the general user base, how do you utilize the landing page to help users get to content across various folders (seeing a tree structure) AND query studio for easy data fetch and lookups, etc.?
Answer: I would utilize the customization extensions to help your users quickly find the appropriate content. As far as query studio is concerned, I think you can migrate those users to report authoring at this point. They can handle it.
Question: Are there any changes to data sets? Parque storage and retrieval from Apache spark?
Answer: No changes that we are aware of.
Question: How is the compatibility with the Chromium engine and Cognos Analytics? Is IE compatibility being phased out since Microsoft seems to be letting that go by the wayside in lieu of Edge?
Answer: Yes, IE is being phased out. In our experience compatibility with Chromium browsers is strong. I primarily use the Brave browser, which is Chromium. Also, I use Firefox frequently.
Question: Is there any ability in Cognos to use Maps that are not connected to the internet (i.e. Mapbox, etc)?
Answer: If you have an internal ARCGIS server you can embed custom visualizations that reference that server. Otherwise no.
Question: Any updates on Active Reports in Cognos 11.2? Or any replacement of .mht in this release?
Answer: There are plans in place for .mht replacement. This is a high priority.
Question: Are interval schedules improved in Cognos 11.2?
Answer: We expect semi-quarterly updates to return.
Question: Are there improvements on advanced parameters?
Answer: Not that we are aware of.
Question: Do you need to upgrade Jupyter Notebook to 11.2?
Answer: Yes. Still around. No significant changes.
Question: What devices is the Cognos Mobile App Available on?
Answer: Cognos Mobile App is available on Android and iOS devices.
Question: How do you set up an event in report/object on Cognos Mobile App?
Answer: It's a native function of the app, you do it on a visualization by visualization basis.
Question: Does the Cognos Mobile App support AzureAd/Okta?
Answer: As far as we know it does, we aren't able to adequately test this however.
Who is PMsquare?
Turning Data into Analytics
In almost any type of modern business, data is generated daily in various of ways. Hidden in that data are valuable insights that can drive informed business decisions. However, in its “raw” state data is just… data. It isn’t useful until it is refined into its more meaningful form. This transformed data is called “Analytics”.
Cognos Analytics - the Right Tool for the Job
IBM Cognos Analytics 11.2 is a powerful cloud or on-premise software platform for turning data into valuable insights. Cognos Analytics provides everything you need “in the box” to cleanse, model, and visualize data for users.
PMsquare Cognos Consultants
PMsquare’s Cognos Analytics consultants are some of the most experienced in the industry. On average, they have over 15 years of experience in data and analytics, primarily focused on delivering solutions on the IBM Cognos Analytics platform. We can help you with every step along the path as you move from ugly raw data to beautiful, business-transforming insights. For instance, we can guide you through the following important steps:
Develop an analytics strategy for your business
Configure an appropriate analytics database
Extract data from your source systems
Transform source data to prepare it for analysis
Create professional reports that provide critical insights into what is happening in your business
Build stunning visualizations that unlock trends, patterns and outliers that you may not have otherwise noticed
Our Cognos Consulting Approach
Our Cognos analytics consulting strategy is geared around the concept of user adoption. Our decades of experience have taught us that no matter how excellent of a solution a consultant builds, it only delivers value to a business if it gets regularly used and integrated into everyday business. For this reason, when kicking off any consulting engagement we will discuss with you upfront what business problems you are trying to solve. We will then structure the consulting engagement to ensure that the solution built directly addresses those problems. In addition, we’ll work with users directly to ensure they understand how to use the solution.
All Kinds of Analytics Tasks
Our Cognos consultants can deliver reports and dashboards that are ready to be handed over to business users, or we can create self-service models and templates so that your user can build their own content when they need it. Or, we can help with all kinds of other Analytics-related activities, such as these:
Appropriately size your environment for Cognos Analytics (CPU, memory, etc.)
Design a scalable and highly-performing architecture
Configure Cognos Analytics for security and scalability
Set up efficient structures that allow users to share content while also maintaining organization and oversight
Design data models with business terminology and logic embedded so that users can get at the data they need when they need it
Train end-users on every aspect of using Cognos Analytics applicable to their role
Customize reports and dashboards to look and act exactly how you want them to
Let’s talk about your Cognos Analytics Needs!
Contact us today, and we’ll connect you with an experienced Cognos Analytics consultant who will help you turn data into insights! Or, just use the chat option in the bottom right to chat immediately with an analytics professional in the PMsquare offices.