PerformanceG2

IBM Business Analytics Partners Improve Deployments for Clients

candace taylor — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:44:19 +0000

By Candace Taylor, Marketing Manager for PerformanceG2

In a recent business analytics study produced and published by Nucleus Research, Nucleus found that not only do midsize organizations turn to IBM business partners to implement business analytics projects, but also partners play a significant role in the business analytics deployment for organizations by reduced training costs, shorter project implementation times, lower software costs, and improved effectiveness – benefits delivered through out the entire project life cycle.

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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PerformanceG2 Named IBM Premier Business Partner

candace taylor — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:26:18 +0000

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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Live from Vegas: Day 1 and 2 at IBM IOD 2011

candace taylor — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:05:51 +0000

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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Recovering Cognos Framework Manager Models from the Content Store

Sanjeev Datta — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:02:59 +0000

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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Using Sandbox in TM1 – New Features of TM1 9.5.1 and 9.5.2

Sanjeev Datta — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:48:41 +0000

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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IBM Leads Business Analytics Vendors in Nucleus Matrix

candace taylor — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:45:44 +0000

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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Business Intelligence vs. Business Analytics

dnelson — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:02:03 +0000

By Dave Nelson, Practice Director – BI for PerformanceG2

Over the past couple of years a number of Business Intelligence users have asked me how the concepts of Business Analytics (BA) and Business Intelligence (BI) differ. This is no easy task given the many different definitions for each concept mentioned. While these two concepts are different, it is imperative for an organization to understand how these concepts are complimentary.

Gartner defines BI as an umbrella term spanning the people, processes and applications to organize information, enable access to it and analyze it to improve decisions and management performance. An ideal BI solution provides the right information to the right people at the right time in a user preferred medium. The source of the information (i.e. enterprise data warehouse, planning, real-time, etc.) is not pertinent.

Traditional BI delivers historic information to assist in making more informed decisions impacting tomorrow. For instance, a sales manager might want to see monthly revenue for a business unit as compared to prior year actuals and current year plan to create next year’s plan.

According to Thomas Davenport, and Jeanne Harris, authors of Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning, BA refers to the skills, technologies, applications and practices for continuous iterative exploration and investigation of past business performance to gain insight and drive business planning. With business analytics, the data output is forward looking and predictive in nature. The output is used to assist organizations in making informed decisions by providing insight into the future. Think of BA as a crystal ball used to foresee business outcomes.

Analytics assists an organization by applying advanced mathematical and statistical techniques to analyze historic information. The goal is to drive organizational efficiencies and overall improvement. A true analytic solutions will help an organization to tackle their most complex problems and create unique, predictive capabilities, driving intelligent decisions. For instance, we would use analytics to determine how business unit revenue is trending statistically in an effort to predict future period plan.

The challenge is how to provide analytics output for executives and business managers to assist them in making informed decisions. An integrated BA and BI systems provides organizations with pertinent historic and analytic information at the right time, for the right people within in a specific medium. In the past, analytic output was controlled by statisticians and analytics who then create disconnected reports and deliver a slice of the output to select users. When organizations take this approach to analytics, valuable output is often not distributed to the people who needed it the most.

To provide analytic output successfully to the right people, the two systems must be highly integrated. This is the case with the complimentary IBM tools, Cognos BI and SPSS analytics. One of the many examples of integration is where Cognos 10 now offers a subset of the SPSS statistical engine as part of the BI suite. This level of integration allows an organization to deliver forward looking analytics using dashboards, reports and analysis driving informed decisions and thus, higher value from the system investments through improved business outcomes.

For more information, or questions on Business Intelligence and Business Analytics, contact us at info@performanceg2.com.

Plus, don’t miss out on the year’s premier Cognos BI and Business Analytics conference! Register before August 31 with PerformanceG2 discount code, G11PERFG2 to save $400. And visit our booth number 1101 during the event on October 23 – 27 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, for free demos, to hear the latest and greatest in BI and much more!

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Register for IBM IOD 2011 Early and Save $400

candace taylor — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:48:27 +0000

By Candace Taylor, Marketing Manager for PerformanceG2

Event details are already in place for the IBM Information On Demand and Business Analytics Forum 2011 – the premier conference for information and analytics. This year, register early using the exclusive PerformanceG2 code, G11PERFG2, and save $400 off registration! Follow the instructions below to register.

Register before August 31, 2011, follow the instructions below and use the exclusive PerformanceG2 registration code to save a total of $400 off your registration:

1. Visit the IBM Information On Demand 2011 Web site registration page
2. Enter your email address and choose the registration type
3. Under the ‘Promotion Code Information’ section, enter the PerformanceG2 code G11PERFG2 to save a total of $400
4. Click ‘Continue’ and complete the remaining fields on the enrollment form clicking ‘Continue’ at the bottom of each section
5. 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 the year’s premier Cognos and business analytics conference! And visit our booth during the event on October 23 – 27 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, for free demos, to hear the latest and greatest in BI and much more!

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Video: Cognos 10 What’s New

candace taylor — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:07:08 +0000

By Candace Taylor, Marketing Manager for PerformanceG2

Cognos 10 – What’s New, Upgrading, Demos and More On-Demand Webinar

In this on-demand Webinar video, learn the ins and outs of Cognos 10 including:

What’s new in Cognos 10 – new features and new capabilities including collaboration and social networking offerings, the new unified BI workspace, and mobile and real-time analytics
How to upgrade from Cognos 8 to Cognos 10
Cognos 10 demos – includes demos on Business Insight Advanced, Active Reports and more
How to integrate MotioCI with Cognos 10 from an upgrade scenario, and how to integrate MotioCI with Business Insight Advanced, a new BI workspace capability in Cognos 10

Questions about Cognos 10 software? Call us at 877.742.4276, or email us at info@performanceg2.com.

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How to limit email attachment size in Cognos

jcusack — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:55:38 +0000

By John Cusack, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2

Most mail servers have an email attachment size limit, and if a report is sent out that exceeds the limit, the mail server will refuse the email, resulting in the end user being unaware that the email was not received. The following diagnostic and solution is from the IBM Cognos Support Portal, and explains how to overcome this issue.

In Cognos 8.4.1 FP2, an advanced parameter can be set to limit the email attachment size. If the limit is exceeded, the email is delivered with a txt document instead of the report output stating: CNC-SDS-0417 The attachment, ‘ < report name > ‘, in ‘ < output format > ‘ format, of size < X > MB was not delivered. It had to be removed in order to meet the maximum allowable size of < X > MB for all attachments in one email message.

Steps to set the mail attachment limit:
1. Under ‘Cognos Administration’, go to the ‘Configuration’ tab
2. Click on ‘Dispatchers and Services’
3. Click on the ‘Set Properties’ icon on the top toolbar. This will edit the top level configuration
4. Click on the ‘Settings’ tab
5. The first line will be ‘Environment / Advanced Settings / Edit’, click on ‘Edit’
6. Place in the following for ‘Parameter’: mail.attachment.limit
7. For the ‘Value’ field, enter a whole number which will be the size of MB. For example: 10
8. Click OK and OK again to save. Within 30 seconds, the setting will take affect.
Option: Ensure your DeliveryService Advanced Settings is set to ‘Acquired’, otherwise the top level configuration will not be picked up.

Need Cognos Support? For more information on PerformanceG2′s Cognos Support services, connect with us at (877) 742-4276 or email us at info@performanceg2.com

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