We performed a comparison between IBM Cognos and SAP Crystal Reports based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Reporting solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."The most valuable feature of IBM Cognos is security. The solution has updated features that other competitors' solutions come out with long after IBM Cognos has had them."
"The most valuable feature is developing reports from different data sources, making it a reliable data source."
"A positive feature is Report Studio, where we create beautiful, complex reports."
"The dashboarding offered by this solution is very valuable to us."
"Report Studio: This is the most powerful and sophisticated tool for professional reporting."
"When it comes to decision-making, the product is very useful and used in many departments since a lot of people prefer the reports to be generated by IBM Cognos."
"If they want dashboarding, storytelling, and analyzing why KPIs are met or not, then Cognos is a better candidate than Qlik Sense."
"The main difference that I like about Cognos compared to other solutions is its data splitting functionality. We have all our company data inside the Cognos environment and so we prefer to split the information Cognos itself. It's more efficient this way."
"SAP Crystal Reports offers a plethora of features, many of which were available much earlier than in the Crystal Reports we previously used. We extensively use its capabilities for generating general reports, working with Kaspersky data, and even incorporating images into our reports. The range of functions available in SAP Crystal Reports is diverse, and we leverage them across various systems for our needs."
"We use SAP Crystal Reports for operational reporting."
"The most valuable feature is that from a user's point of view, it is easy to use and requires just a simple click to generate a report."
"It is an user-friendly solution."
"The initial setup of the solution is pretty easy."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a fantastic way of generating reports."
"I find Crystal Reports very easy to use, even for a non-technical person."
"Chart quality: many other competitors have charts and graphics that look much better and that provide dynamic effects. Cognos doesn't."
"The tool needs to improve the connectivity since I see that, at times, there is a need to increase the memory in the database."
"We need more predictive analytical functions, not only diagnostic or decryptic analytics."
"The AI-based features could be further enhanced by the solution."
"Tableau and Power BI are faster than Cognos."
"One key area for improvement is the need to improve the self-service nature and functionality of the product in terms of visual analytics."
"The solution's support could be better."
"The high cost of a license makes it hard to scale up on a budget."
"The financing part needs improvement."
"A real improvement would be a simpler system that allows users to play with the visualization without needing specialized skills and code."
"There could be improvements made to the analytics capabilities."
"It has significantly enhanced security features, especially when compared to the standard security features of the earlier PeerSpot version I purchased. I've observed improvements in security, and overall, it's quite commendable. Regarding potential enhancements for the next release of this solution, I haven't closely examined SAP Crystal Reports 53. I've only encountered it briefly, perhaps once or twice. However, I anticipate that it likely offers advanced features distinct from its predecessor. I believe there may be notable improvements and additions in the latest version, and I look forward to exploring them further."
"SAP Crystal Reports has some compatibility issues with third-party products."
"If at all possible, a little bit of improvement on the analytical side is needed."
"SAP Crystal Reports should provide better support for dynamic connectors."
IBM Cognos is ranked 4th in Reporting with 132 reviews while SAP Crystal Reports is ranked 9th in Reporting with 48 reviews. IBM Cognos is rated 8.0, while SAP Crystal Reports is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of IBM Cognos writes "Improved the quality of our KPIs, while reducing calls to the IT department". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SAP Crystal Reports writes "Helps analyze your data by creating richly formatted, pixel-perfect, and multiple reports from virtually any data source, delivered in over a dozen formats". IBM Cognos is most compared with Microsoft Power BI, Oracle OBIEE, Tableau, Oracle Hyperion and IBM Controller, whereas SAP Crystal Reports is most compared with Microsoft Power BI, TIBCO Jaspersoft, Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, Tableau and Oracle OBIEE. See our IBM Cognos vs. SAP Crystal Reports report.
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