FREE Virtual Summit: IBM Cognos Midsize Business Analytics Virtual Summit
Date: Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Time: 6:00 AM EST, 12:00 PM EST or 8:00 PM EST
Location: Virtual
Cost: Complimentary

Description: If you’re interested in learning how technology can help your organization turn data into insight, to help manage costs and drive business growth, then join us on Wednesday, September 15 for the third quarterly virtual summit. IBM Cognos will be unveiling the newest capabilities of IBM Cognos Express reporting, analysis and planning software that’s purpose-built for midsize companies.

Through this online simulated conference and expo, you will:
* Learn how adopting integrated business planning increases the accuracy, agility and adaptability that midsize companies need to compete in today’s volatile global economy
*Hear how Everlink Payment Services Inc. implemented BI for quick benefits and is now adding planning capabilities for a totally integrated environment
*See IBM Cognos Express in action, featuring the newest product capabilities for easy to use planning, budgeting and forecasting
*Network and chat live with peers, colleagues and industry experts
*Visit the PerformanceG2 virtual booth to download rich resources, connect with PerformanceG2’s expert team members and more

Whether you’re a technical, financial or business manager, you won’t want to miss this event! Register today – thousands have participated in the previous events. See what it’s all about on Wednesday, September 15.

Check out this FREE virtual summit event to learn more about business analytics and Cognos Express!

FREE: Query Studio Online Training Course
Date: September 16, 2010
Time: 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM CST
Cost: Complimentary
 

Description: The Cognos 8 Query Studio course is designed for business authors who want to learn how to create, modify and organize ad hoc reports. This covers how to use different report capabilities and the appropriate use of each, how to graphically display the data and how to create reports with the same look and feel through the use of templates. The course also covers basic administrative tasks, such as scheduling reports and delivering reports in different formats (HTML, PDF, Excel, etc.). Sign up for this complimentary online training course today!*

*Space is limited
*Only one registrant per company available

Two-Day Report Studio Online Cognos Training Course
Date: Wednesday, September 29 and Thursday, September 30, 2010
Time: 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM CST
Location: PerformanceG2 Online Classroom
Cost: $795 p/person

Description: The C8 Report Studio Course starts with an introduction to Cognos Connection, report management through Cognos Connection, basic and intermediate report building techniques, and ways of enhancing, customizing and managing professional reports in Report Studio. Through hands-on demos, you will also learn advanced techniques for creating, modifying and distributing professional reports using Report Studio and Cognos Connection. In addition, you will learn the proper techniques for creating Cognos 8 Dashboards.

Sign up for this two-day Report Studio training course.

Two-Day Report Studio Online Cognos Training Course
Date: Wednesday, October 20 and Thursday, October 21, 2010
Time: 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM CST
Location: PerformanceG2 Online Classroom
Cost: $795 p/person

Description: The C8 Report Studio Course starts with an introduction to Cognos Connection, report management through Cognos Connection, basic and intermediate report building techniques, and ways of enhancing, customizing and managing professional reports in Report Studio. Through hands-on demos, you will also learn advanced techniques for creating, modifying and distributing professional reports using Report Studio and Cognos Connection. In addition, you will learn the proper techniques for creating Cognos 8 Dashboards.

Sign up for this two-day Report Studio training course.

IBM Information On Demand/Business Analytics Forum 2010
Date: October 24 – 28, 2010
Location: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV
Cost: Use PerformanceG2’s Conference Code, G10PERFG2, and Save $800

Description: Join PerformanceG2 at this year’s premier conference for information and analytics – IBM’s Information On Demand and Business Analytics Forum 2010 – and use our exclusive discount code to save a total of $800 off registration!

Register before August 31, 2010 to receive an instant $500 off registration, follow the instructions below and use the exclusive PerformanceG2 registration code to save a total of $800 off your registration:

1. Visit the IBM Information On Demand 2010 Web site registration page
2. Enter your email address and choose the registration type
3. Select the sessions and activities you are primarily interested in attending and continue to the next page
4. Select the relevant attendee type and complete the requested attendee information
5. Under the ‘Promotion Code Information’ section, enter the PerformanceG2 code G10PERFG2 to save an additional $300
6. Complete the remaining fields on the enrollment form clicking ‘Continue’ at the bottom of each section
7. Click ‘Submit Registration’ to finalize your registration process

For more information or questions on registering, please contact Candace Taylor at candace.taylor@performanceg2.com.

For more information on these Business Intelligence events, or other events, visit http://performanceg2.com/events/.
 
 
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While organizations focus on utilizing Cognos software to its fullest through training and best practices, it is also important to think about your Cognos system’s overall health to ensure that the architecture is stable, logical, clean and fully-functional.

Through PerformanceG2’s complimentary Cognos Health Check service, your system is assessed by certified technical specialists who know what they are doing, know what they are looking for and can provide recommendations on how you can get your system cleaned up. They do this by reviewing the overall system and architecture through a validation process, scan the content store for corruption, check for broken reports and inconsistencies, identify broken links and run a variety of other diagnostics to offer a full-view, and grade of the health of your Cognos platform.

To take advantage of our Cognos Health Check service, call us at (877) 742-4276 or email us at info@performanceg2.com and see how you can get started.
 


 
 
 
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Better performance will be realized by using parameters and prompts within Model Query Subjects, filter objects or stand alone calculations. This will allow for better SQL generation than inserting them within the SQL of a Datasource Query Subject.

These recommendations lead to better SQL generation, which in turn, leads to better performance.

Nearly any prompting can be done in a Model Query Subject:
[Product dimension].[Product line].[PRODUCT_LINE_CODE] =
#prompt(‘Product Line Code’, ‘integer’, ‘1’)#

Same with Calculations:
Case [Product dimension].[Product line].[PRODUCT_LINE_CODE]
When #prompt(‘Target Product Line Code’, ‘integer’, ‘1’)# then 1
Else 0
End

The added benefit of placing prompts in a stand alone calculation is that if the report author does not use the calculation, then the prompt is no longer needed. There is no need to add this case statement to the Base SQL.

When using calculations and filter objects in Model Query Subjects or as stand alone objects, the Datasource Query Subjects can be left untouched. This means the SQL remains minimized and eliminates the need to fetch metadata.

 
 
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When using IBM Cognos 8.4 as a data source for Transformer, use the following guidelines to achieve efficient cube build times:

• If filtering and/or calculations are required, use Cognos 8 reports as the data source
• Create separate data sources in Transformer for each required dimension as well as for measures
• Include foreign keys found in fact tables to transformer modelers
• Avoid unnecessary local data processing on IBM Cognos 8 servers

 
Use IBM Cognos 8 Reports when Filters and/or Calculations are Required

While you can request that the IBM Cognos Framework Manager modeler include certain filters and calculations in an IBM Cognos 8 package, this requires extra maintenance on the Framework Manager modeler’s part. Instead, Transformer modelers can use list reports that incorporate filters/prompts and calculations as needed. If prompts are used in the report, Transformer modelers can control which filters are applied when the PowerCubes are built.

Regardless of whether the work is done in the Framework Manager model or in a report, the net gain remains the same; where supported, processing will be pushed to the database and the load on Transformer will be reduced. If filters/prompts are used, then Transformer will deal with a reduced record set, thereby decreasing build times.

Using reports allows for a greater degree of control to meet requirements and removes the need for additional development support.
 
Create Separate Queries in Transformer
When using a package as a data source in Transformer, individual queries should be created based on the data sources for the cube; one for each required dimension and one or more for the measures depending on how many underlying fact tables there are and what the business need is.

When using a report as a data source, either use separate list reports, again, one for each dimension and one or more for the measures, or create separate list report queries in one report. Then in Transformer, a query is created for each of the separate list reports or separate list queries within a single report.
 
Expose Fact Table Foreign Keys in the Package
Typically, foreign keys found in the tact table are not presented in the fact query subjects in a Cognos 8 FM model. Either they are not included in the model query subject, or they are hidden form the user. For most ad hoc query users or report authors, they provide little benefit and can cause confusion. To prevent confusion to the larger authoring audience, security can be used to expose the keys to a select group of authors only. For example, only Transformer modelers. In certain cases such as with Tranformer modelers, there is a clear benefit to exposing the foreign keys to the users. It will be more efficient to create a measures data source in Transformer that takes its keys from the actually fact table, rather than from its related dimension tables. In this way, the query will go against one table in the data source, rather than several. The database may rewrite the query to be more efficient before executing it, but a a general rule of thumb, the cleaner the SQL Cognos submits to the database, the more likely an efficient query will be run at the database layer which takes advantage of database optimization.
 
Avoid Unnecessary Local Data Processing on IBM Cognos 8 Servers
Certain query scenarios may require data processing on IBM Cognos 8 servers. In some of these cases, performance is not an issue and may even be required to produce a result set where a database vendor does not support the query. However, there are cases where local processing can adversely affect query performance and in turn, affect PowerCube build times. A typical example of this is when a function that is not supported by the database vendor is used in a calculation. This will cause a retrieval of the entire data set from the database and then perform the calculation locally on the Cognos 8 servers. To rectify the situation, use an equivalent function that is supported by the database vendor.

To see if local processing is occurring for a slow performing query, there are a couple of troubleshooting techniques. One is to look at the Cognos SQL generated for the query and compare it to the Native SQL. This can be done in Framework Manager or in Report Studio. Actions being performed in the Cognos SQL and not in the Native SQL indicate that processing is done locally. Another technique is to set query processing to Database Only. In Framework Manager this setting is found in the properties of the Data Source objects and is called Query Processing. In Report Studio, the setting is found in the properties of the query and is called Processing. When the setting is set to Database Only, an error will be generated in cases where the query can not be fully pushed to the database. The error will typically identify the offending time preventing the push to the database.

NOTE: This is based upon the IBM Best Practices Document which can be found at: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/data/library/cognos/modeling/transformer/page512.html?ca=drs-
 
 
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A few weeks ago, one of our clients approached us with a situation where invoice reports that went our to their customers who bought products via a Web site, were eating up their budgeted office supplies allocations more than they had expected. In a way, this was good news as sales figures were up, however the sales numbers would look more attractive if internal costs were down too.

One solution that we proposed to our client to meet this challenge was to create invoice reports in IBM Cognos Report Studio and distribute them via an automated nightly email process rather than a daily chore of printing out invoices and analyzing and calculating shipments, which can be time consuming and cumbersome tasks, especially for invoices going to global clientele.

PerformanceG2 took upon the challenge of creating this highly customized and extremely detailed invoice report in Report Studio version 8.4. With the use of singletons, which are data items that can be placed anywhere on the pixel perfect Web based reporting tool, and with the use of blocks, tables and various conditional statements to customize the report to include business rules for specialized groups of customers (e.g., domestic versus international, currency conversions, changing address lines, etc.), we delivered to our client The Invoice Report.

Report delivery was decided to go out in PDF format as an email attachment. For this, we used a feature in Report Studio known as “bursting”. The burst feature is used to run a report and divide the output based on a burst key, in this case, unique invoice numbers, which then generate multiple outputs inclusive of security features for each of these invoices. Therefore, this one developed report was to generate thousands of invoices per month and email them out to their respective customers daily, eliminating human errors and postal delivery delays all while significantly reducing printing costs, paper and my favorite: terminating the extremely time consuming task of folding these paper invoices and carefully placing them into envelopes. In addition, in the event a scheduled job halts, or is not completed in the specified time, an alert is sent out to the concerned owners who can take appropriate actions to rectify any inconsistencies before they reach the far end.

In the end, the challenge was met, the project was a success, and the project is now in production to our client’s and their customers’ satisfaction. With the use of Cognos Event Studio, and some creative green thinking, we have handed ownership of this project to our client.

 
 
 
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1. Visit the IBM Information On Demand 2010 Web Site Registration Page (https://www-950.ibm.com/events/IOD/IOD2010/secure/regWizard.do?step=begin)
2. Enter your email address and choose the registration type
3. Select the sessions and activities you are primarily interested in attending and continue to the next page
4. Select the relevant attendee type and complete the requested attendee information
5. Under the ‘Promotion Code Information’ section, enter the PerformanceG2 code G10PERFG2 to save an additional $300
6. Complete the remaining fields on the enrollment form clicking ‘Continue at the bottom of each section
7. Click ‘Submit Registration’ to finalize your registration process
 
For more information, or questions on how to register, contact me at candace.taylor@performanceg2.com Don’t miss out on this year’s premier Cognos and business analytics conference!
 
 
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Cognos TM1 is designed to fix many of the current EP challenges. The time is now to make your Cognos EP to TM1 conversion, and with IBM’s limited time offer of an EP license trade-in promotion, you can receive a TM1 Contributor license for every EP Contributor license you currently own, making the process easier and cost-efficient for your organization.
 

 
Why convert to Cognos TM1? Here are just some reason why your organization should make the move:

1. TM1 allows for a more scalable solution which provides for easier handling of increased volumes of data, unlike its predecessors
2. TM1 functions in real-time, providing on-demand updates and forecasting capabilities
3. TM1 incorporates the breadth of Cognos 8 Studios for optimal reporting capabilities
4. TM1’s cutting edge financial analysis and reporting capabilities is backed by its powerful database engine that delivers comprehensive views of your organization’s financial picture
5. Migrating Cognos EP to TM1 could never be easier and more cost-efficient with IBM’s limited time conversion offer

Read more about the TM1 Advantage, TM1’s new features and how you can start your EP to TM1 migration by downloading our EP to TM1 Fact Sheet. Learn more about how you can save and get started with your migration, also get all of your questions about the process answered - connect with one of our TM1 experts today by emailing us at info@performanceg2.com or call 877.742.4276.
 
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Logging allows you to better understand load errors, diagnose longer batch run times and flush our load inefficiencies – just to name a few key benefits. In SSIS, logging can be as intricate or simple as you would like. Using just system variables and event handlers, you can create a functional logging system. Writing key system variable output during select events like OnError, OnPreExecute and OnPostExecute at the package container level, gives you a good idea of what is going on in every piece of your package. A few useful system variables are PackageName, SourceName, ErrorCode, ErrorDescription, StartTime, ContainerStartTime and MachineName. Writing to a log table with datediff’s between getdate() and desired system time variable, gets you very useful run time semantics. Through in row count tasks, user variables and send mail at various steps, and you have got a solid logging scheme. Spending the extra time upfront to implement the right level of logging in even your smallest projects will, undoubtedly save you diagnosis time in the future.

 
 
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• A mere 9 percent of research participants are very satisfied with their organization’s BI efforts. They have only basic BI capabilities, such as querying sources for specific data (74 percent), generating reports from data (74 percent) and accessing data from a spreadsheet for further analysis (70 percent).
• The capabilities organizations are currently working to deploy are only somewhat more sophisticated: communicating data in the right format (27 percent), searching for data (26 percent), presenting data effectively (25 percent) and creating measures and metrics (24 percent).
• The research also found a small but growing desire to provide mobile device support for BI and performance management as well as what-if scenario analysis and collaboration.

As Julie Langenkamp at Information Management Online notes in a post on the Ventana study, the findings “indicate that most organizations revealed they’re still in early stages of development, with only 15 percent at the highest innovation level of maturity in the Ventana Research Maturity Index. Size of the organization was a relevant factor, and organizations with 10,000 or more employees, or more than $10 billion in revenue, found to be more mature. There is growth in advancing BI into performance management in the areas of operations, finance and customer management in more than half of organizations, and a strong desire to improve in 41 percent of them.”

“The market for BI has been advancing for decades, but organizations have not achieved the value of deployments with lack of sophistication use of technologies and overuse of spreadsheets,” says Mark Smith, CEO and EVP Research of Ventana Research. “But making BI efficient is not sufficient, as helping organizations enable performance management is just as important. Both BI and performance management are not as mature as you think, as this research found that we are at an inflection point of improvement.”

More than anything, the Ventana study shows that effective performance management initiatives require a substantial investment in time and resources – beyond the capital invested to acquire the technology. At PerformanceG2, we have seen many customers make substantial investments in software and services, only to fail to grasp the challenges of user-adoption, change management and end-user training required to ensure long-term success. This is why all of our service engagements include a post-implementation training program that ensures that both administrative and business users are sufficiently trained to get the most out of the new technology. In our experience, effective user-adoption is ofter the key variable in the success or failure of any CPM or BI initiatives.

For more information on CPM and BI services and solutions that can help your organizations, connect with us at (877) 742-4276 or email us at info@performanceg2.com
 
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The best part about this app, is that it is a free tool, designed with IBM Cognos BI admins in mind. Watch this short MotioPI demo to learn more about the app and what it can do. Or to start using the free tool, click here to download it.
 

Motio and PerformanceG2, together provide complete and comprehensive solutions and products for organizations to achieve maximum return on their BI and Financial Planning investments. For more information on the Motio and PerformanceG2 partnership, visit performanceg2.com/about/partners/
 
 
And if you are interested in learning how PerformanceG2 can help meet your needs with BI solutions, email us at info@performanceg2.com or call 877.742.4272. Or for complete access to BI, CPM and Cognos industry news, updates and tips and techniques, follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, watch our YouTube Videos or connect with us on LinkedIn.
 
 
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