Through the selective IBM program, PerformanceG2 is authorized to provide first level support to clients of IBM’s Cognos Business Analytics product portfolio including: IBM Cognos Business Intelligence, IBM Cognos Express, IBM Cognos TM1, IBM Cognos FSR, IBM Cognos Planning and IBM Cognos Analytic Apps.

The IBM SVP Support Provider initiative is designed to meet the demands of clients who are looking to drive more value from their technology investments by working with trusted IBM business partners who possess key technical and industry skills. Acceptance into the program required PerformanceG2 to complete high level certifications in the IBM Cognos product arena. In addition, PerformanceG2′s industry expertise, technical tools and resources, and support-certified consultants were taken into consideration by IBM during the program application process.

To learn more about the PerformanceG2 certification for IBM SVP Support Provider, read our press release.
 
 
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Watch the below video training series for a demo on Cognos Insight to see the new product in action.
 

 

For more information about Cognos Insight, connect with us at info@performanceg2.com.

PerformanceG2 is a Premier IBM Cognos Business Partner.

 
 
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Specifically, Nucleus found that organizations were able to reduce project cycle times by an average of 50% when working with IBM business partners.

According to Nucleus Research, for every $1 invested in analytics, organizations get back $10.66. Implementation challenges can be solved by turning to IBM business partners who are experienced in implementing analytics tools, as well as creation of data warehouses and other infrastructure support solutions.

The benefits of working with IBM partners highlighted in the Nucleus study include:

• Increased project team productivity- partners have extensive knowledge of data assets and Cognos BI
• Reduced training costs- partners provide knowledge transfer through Cognos training
• Lower software costs- partners provide cost-efficient routes of deployment
• Increased end-user productivity- partners improve usability of reports and create analytical assets to fulfill business requirements
• Greater analytics benefits- partners improve usability of reports and create analytical assets to fulfill business requirements

 
Read the Nucleus Research Note Improving Analytics Deployments with IBM Partners in its entirety.

PerformanceG2 is proud to be an IBM Premier business partner and Authorized Software Value Plus Cognos business analytics provider. PerformanceG2 provides both technical and business experience to not only deliver and deploy business analytics applications such as IBM Cognos BI, Cognos Express and TM1, solutions and services to client organizations, but also to create and deliver project maps dedicated to meeting organizations’ data and analytics goals through skilled and experienced business intelligence and analytics consulting and training.

Learn more about PerformanceG2′s Premier IBM Cognos Business Analytics partnership.

 
 
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]]> http://performanceg2.com/2012/01/12/ibm-business-analytics-partners-improve-deployments-for-clients/feed/ 0 http://performanceg2.com/2011/12/16/performanceg2-named-ibm-premier-partner/ http://performanceg2.com/2011/12/16/performanceg2-named-ibm-premier-partner/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:26:18 +0000 candace taylor http://performanceg2.com/?p=3333  
By Candace Taylor, Marketing Manager for PerformanceG2
 
PerformanceG2 has been awarded as a Premier Business Partner by IBM for its successful client and partner work as well as market success with the IBM Cognos platform. IBM’s prestigious, top-level Premier Business Partner status is dedicated to organizations that demonstrated superior skills and market success while actively collaborating with IBM and clients to deliver innovative solutions.
 

 
“Becoming an IBM Premier Business Partner is a strong recognition to our company growth and to our commitment to the business analytics enterprise,” said Gary Frings, CEO of PerformanceG2. “We have worked hard to ensure our partnership with IBM in attaining certifications and continuing to expand our client solutions to provide the best technology in the industry. This achievement tops off a successful year for PerformanceG2, and allows us to develop stronger and closer relationships with IBM and industry partners.”

PerformanceG2 provides cross-industry organizations business intelligence and analytics solutions, services and software, and partners with leading organizations in the industry. PerformanceG2 is a reseller of Cognos products including Cognos 10, Cognos Express, Cognos TM1, and Cognos FSR. PerformanceG2′s top solutions and services including online and onsite Cognos training, Cognos support, performance management consulting, and business intelligence roadmapping.

Read the full news release for more information on PerformanceG2′s IBM Premier Business Partner status.
 
 
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]]> http://performanceg2.com/2011/12/16/performanceg2-named-ibm-premier-partner/feed/ 0 http://performanceg2.com/2011/11/30/introducing-cognos-insight/ http://performanceg2.com/2011/11/30/introducing-cognos-insight/#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:26:25 +0000 Sanjeev Datta http://performanceg2.com/?p=3324  
By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
At IBM’s Information on Demand 2010, IBM launched its latest business analytics version, Cognos 10. New capabilities in Cognos 10 allowed enhanced collaboration and networking, enabled real time data monitoring, integrated statistical reporting and analytics and introduced new zero foot print studios. In addition, improvements in performance and an upgraded look and feel have been well received by the Cognos user community.

At IBM’s Information on Demand 2011 in October, IBM introduced yet another new addition to the business analytics arsenal, Cognos Insight – best described as a cross between Cognos Business Insight and Cognos Active Reports. This new application is designed for the IT independent user community – an end user community that has been expanding with every release of Cognos. As the applications get more and more user friendly, deep technical skills are not required to get the answer executives and management teams are looking for in order to share, collaborate and analyze data while in the office or on the golf course.

IBM Cognos Insight, which was released February 7, 2012, is a desktop application with a drag and drop functionality that transforms the most important spreadsheets on your desktop into an intelligent dashboard style report. Once the spreadsheet or current report data integrates into the canvas design, additional data can be manipulated to the canvas which then translates into OLAP members. With write-back ability for scenario planning and building budget plans, Cognos Insight can leverage the existing Cognos content (reports, queries and analyses) to enhance the spreadsheet into dashboard style reports, much like one would do in Cognos 10 Business Insight or Cognos 8 Go Dashboard.

The Cognos Insight files (cdd extension) are similar to the workability of Active Reports in Report Studio – true offline analysis with impressive graphics and charting options. You can take the Cognos Insight dashboard with you on an airplane, email as a file attachment, or share with peers while connected to the corporate network by publishing as a new Cognos package. The pre-assigned security setup allows the data asset to be shared only by authorized users.

In a nutshell, Cognos Insight is a true desktop application that minimizes IT support, reduces stress across network/data servers with offline analysis capabilities, and gives the end user the independence to serve the business community in a more accurate and timely manner.

For more information about Cognos Insight, connect with us at info@performanceg2.com.

PerformanceG2 is a Premier IBM Cognos Business Partner.

 
 
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]]> http://performanceg2.com/2011/11/30/introducing-cognos-insight/feed/ 0 http://performanceg2.com/2011/10/25/live-from-vegas-day-1-and-2-at-ibm-iod-2011/ http://performanceg2.com/2011/10/25/live-from-vegas-day-1-and-2-at-ibm-iod-2011/#comments Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:05:51 +0000 candace taylor http://performanceg2.com/?p=3306  
By Candace Taylor, Marketing Manager for PerformanceG2
 
The 2011 IBM Information On Demand event has officially started, and this year, with more than 11,000 attendees, and 150 business partners, the event has been hosting a variety of networking events, informative sessions and keynotes, and business analytics demos.

Here are a couple of highlights, updates and conference feeds:
 
IBM Software Channel Live Stream – Straight from the Conference Floor: http://www.livestream.com/ibmsoftware
Live streaming videos, discussions and event sessions
 

 

IBM Software Blog – IBM’s Delany Turner, Jacqui Levy and More : http://ibm.com/blogs/software
 
Highlights, recap and summaries from each day sessions, as well as articles on each days activity from the conference.
 
EXPO Hall
Throughout the day, the EXPO is the home of our booth #1101 where we have active demos and giveaways.


 
 
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]]> http://performanceg2.com/2011/10/25/live-from-vegas-day-1-and-2-at-ibm-iod-2011/feed/ 0 http://performanceg2.com/2011/08/30/recovering-framework-manager-from-content-store/ http://performanceg2.com/2011/08/30/recovering-framework-manager-from-content-store/#comments Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:02:59 +0000 Sanjeev Datta http://performanceg2.com/?p=3245  
By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 

In this blog post, I will describe the step-by-step recovery of a corrupted or misplaced IBM Cognos Framework Manager model. These steps will create an XML file, then run a report against the package of the lost Framework Manager model or project. Next, as you create a blank new project, the necessary files that are created with this process can be replaced, and using the CQEConfig.xml file, the lost or corrupted Framework Manager model can be retrieved.

This method will work for Cognos 8 and Cognos 10.
 
In the current Cognos environment, modify the CQEConfig.xml file as shown here:

 
 
If the file does not exist in the location above, you can create an XML file with the following content:

 
 
Stop the Cognos services and rename the “RTModels” directory to “Original_RTModels”, as shown here:

 
 
Now, restart the Cognos services from Cognos Configuration:

 
 
Launch Report Studio from Cognos Connection and create a new report using the package for which the model needs to be recovered:

 
 

 
 
As the report runs, verify that a new “RTModels” folder has been created, as shown. This folder should also contain an XML file, which needs to be used in the next few steps:

 
 
Remove the CQEConfig.xml file created in the first step.

Stop the Cognos services.

Now, move the newly created “RTModels” directory to another location (desktop).

Now, rename the “Original_RTModels” folder back to “RTModels” and re-start Cognos services.

 
 

Once these steps have been accomplished, in the metadata modeling tool, Framework Manager, create and save a new empty project, as shown here:

 
 

Close this model.
 
Explore into the folder containing the newly created empty project and change the model.xml file to model.xml.origin.

 


 
 

Copy the XML file created in the previous step into the Framework Manager project directory and rename it to model.xml (Note: the model.xml.origin will still exist).

This will enable opening the lost Framework Manager model.
 

Want to learn more about Framework Manager?
Take advantage of our Online Cognos Training Framework Manager course available every month, through our easy-to-use remote training classroom, and taught by our certified Cognos instructors. Visit our online training course catalog, or email us at training@performanceg2.com for more information, and to register for your Framework Manager training.

 
 
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]]> http://performanceg2.com/2011/08/30/recovering-framework-manager-from-content-store/feed/ 2 http://performanceg2.com/2011/07/27/sandbox-in-tm1/ http://performanceg2.com/2011/07/27/sandbox-in-tm1/#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:48:41 +0000 Sanjeev Datta http://performanceg2.com/?p=3215  
By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
Some of the new features in TM1 9.5.1 and 9.5.2 are:

1>     Undo/Redo – This feature helps users to undo and redo changes made to data cells in their TM1 cubes. A useful feature when dealing with complex data spreading techniques.

2>     Pick List – TM1 now gives the ability to create pick lists per cell in cube views. Pick list contain a set of values that are menu driven and users select the values from a drop down list. These lists can be populated manually or by TM1 Rules.

3>     Sandboxes – A functionality that brings out the true “what-if” scenario feature in TM1.

4>     TM1 Contributor – A new interface that eases the transition for Cognos Enterprise Planning users to get familiar with TM1

5>     Data Reservation – An alternate method of dynamically controlling write-access to cube views instead of dynamically adjusting TM1 security to achieve the same

6>     Parallel Integration – Increasing concurrent read-write operations on cube objects

 

Of the new features, let’s take a look at using Sandboxes in TM1. Sandbox gives the data contributor the ability to create data layers on top of the base data, which is primarily used for “what-if” scenario testing. A much awaited functionality that saves development efforts, tightens the finance workflow process, brings trust & confidence in the submitted data and reduces strain on the TM1 server. Frequent direct write-backs to the TM1 cubes slow the overall performance whereas; sandboxes can be used to reduce the risks of a slow performing environment, when used correctly.
 

Here is how it works:

In a situation where modifications to cells in a cube were viewed by the entire user community, the sandbox plays a role in enabling users to modify cell values, work on budget processes and modify data without any other users being able to see the data changes until and unless the data changes were approved and intended for the entire user community – a commit action would send the modifications back to the TM1 server replacing the base data.

In this scenario – a data contributor is looking to create a sandbox off the base version to make data changes that calculate an impact by increasing the Quantity Sold for a certain product by region. As the numbers check out correct, the contributor then commits the changes to the base view.

The user creates a Sandbox by clicking on the drop down on the top right corner of the cube view window. Sandboxes can also be created in excel using the same methodology. Depending on the version of Microsoft Excel (2003, 2007, 2010) the Sandbox icon position changes but generally should be on the top left side of the Excel interface.

Click on Create Sandbox. This option will create a layer on top of the cube view data. This new data layer (or Sandbox) will be viewable by the creator and can be used for “what-if” scenario testing. The selected rectangle for the months of January, February and March for Indirect Stores are to be modified. Note the black font.

 


 
 

Appropriately name the Sandbox in the pop-up window.


 
 
Any changes made to the cells appear as a default blue font.


 
 
Click on Calculate to view the new scenario. The blue font cells denote changes made to the data within the Sandbox, keeping the base numbers constant and unchanged to the rest of the user community.


 
 
By selecting the drop down – one can switch between the base view and Sandbox view without affecting the cells or changing data on the base view.


 
 
Switching back and forth to the base view from any Sandbox, does not change the cell values in the base view, as shown below:


 
 
In situations where an existing Sandbox underdoes an approval process, a new Sandbox can be created from an existing Sandbox. Another use would be to ensure any new changes do not affect data modifications from another “what-if” version.


 
In the screenshot below, notice a new Sandbox with modified cell values, different from the base and Sandbox 1 view.
 

 
 
Let’s go back to the base view. Switching between any Sandbox and Base value does not change the data.

 
Deleting a sandbox can be accomplished by selecting “Delete Sandbox” from the drop down icon.
 

 
 
Select the view to delete and click “OK”

 
 
Upon confirmation and approval of the data changes by clicking on the “Commit” icon – changes the base view. The commit icon should be used when data changes need to be promoted to the entire user community, as shown.

 
 
These features are also available if you are using TM1’s excel interface. As you start creating Sandboxes, it must be noted that Sandboxes are not a copy of the base view but an overlay of the base data. Sandbox enables the data contributors to write back to the TM1 database in a personal workspace environment and commit the changes, when promoting versions to the user community.

From an Administration point of view – usage of additional RAM memory and hard disk space increases as Sandbox functionality is implemented. You can control the amount of memory used per Sandbox in the TM1s.cfg (TM1 configuration file located in the installation folder).

The parameter responsible for defining the sandbox size per user is: MaximumUserSandboxSize

The maximum size per user on a Sandbox is 100MB on a 32 bit environment and a 500MB on a 64 bit environment. To allow for maximum amount of memory allocation, set the value equal to “n”.

Enabling and disabling this feature is controlled within the TM1 configuration file under the parameter:
DisableSandboxing. By default this value is set to F (for False).

TM1 Sandboxes are stored in a sub-folder within the data directory of the TM1 server. It is always good practice to backup this subfolder, along with the TM1 data directory.
 
 
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]]> http://performanceg2.com/2011/07/27/sandbox-in-tm1/feed/ 1 http://performanceg2.com/2011/07/11/ibm-leads-business-analytics-vendors-in-nucleus-matrix/ http://performanceg2.com/2011/07/11/ibm-leads-business-analytics-vendors-in-nucleus-matrix/#comments Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:45:44 +0000 candace taylor http://performanceg2.com/?p=3137  
By Candace Taylor, Marketing Manager for PerformanceG2
 
Nucleus Research recently published a Technology Value Matrix that evaluated global analytic vendors who provide the most usability and functionality in three core analytics areas:

(1) Business Intelligence (BI)
(2) Performance Management (PM)
(3) Predictive Analytics

Among the qualified vendors, Nucleus found that IBM Business Analytics leads the other three identified vendors, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP. According to Nucleus, the “breadth of offering, application usability, and the ability to help organizations expand deployment scopes” are among the top reasons why IBM Business Analytics is the Technology Matrix leader. The placement of each vendor on the Matrix, results in usability and functionality scores that were assigned to the vendor based on Nucleus analysts and end user interviews.
 

 
According to past Nucleus reports on the value of BI and Analytics within organizations, there is an expected investment in analytics for midmarket organizations who have yet to deploy analytics, and for organizations who have implemented analytics but would like to further expand analytics solutions to achieve new productivity and decision making goals.

The result of the Matrix – that IBM provides the most usable and functional analytics products in the world, compared to other vendors in its class – is yet another reason why we are proud to be an Advanced IBM Business Partner and reseller of Cognos Business Analytics software.

While we strive to focus on the specific needs and goals of our clients, we also strive in providing the best analytics and BI software in the industry, so we can guarantee success for our clients, work with them on providing the tools they need to make the best decisions for their company, and ultimately deliver an ROI on their technology investment.

In the end, the implementation of BI and analytics in any organization is crucial for better decision making and improved productivity. Is your organization analytics-driven?

 
For more information on the Nucleus report, visit the Nucleus Research Analytics Technology Matrix site.

For more information on PerformanceG2′s Business Intelligence and Analytics solutions, services and software, visit performanceg2.com/solutions, or connect with us at info@performanceg2.com.
 
 
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