There is a lot of exciting news with IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud.  On July 9, 2019, IBM launched several updates to its analytic SaaS offering:

• The new multi-user trial allows you to experience the full capabilities of the product.
• The introduction of 3-tiered pricing allows you to buy the functionality required by different users.
• You can now access your on-premises databases from IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud.

The new IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud Trial

In only a couple of minutes, you can begin analyzing your data with the new trial for IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud.  When you start using your account you will have the opportunity to take guided tours of the product, creating a dashboard, and creating an exploration.  From there you can perform analytics using the available sample data, or learn from the sample data modules, reports, dashboards, stories, and explorations.

Click here to join the new trial.

In addition to using the sample data, you can also upload data, access databases in the cloud, or perform analytics on data from a local, on-premises database – more on that below!

With the trial, you have access to the complete capabilities of the product – there is nothing missing!

The trial also allows you to invite 4 other people to join you so you can work together to create analytics and share your insights with one another.

And at any time during the trial, and up to 30 days after it finishes, you can convert your trial account into a paid subscription, retaining all of the analytic content you created during your trial.

The trial, just like a paid subscription, can be hosted in one of 5 data center locations around the world:  Washington, Amsterdam, Sao Paulo, Sydney, and Tokyo.

With the introduction of the new trial, the previous version of the trial will remain accessible until August 9, 2019 for those of you who have been using that trial.  During that time, you can copy your report and dashboard specifications from the old trial to the new one and use the new and old trial side by side, if you like, to help re-create your analytic content in the new trial.

You can see how to copy/paste report specifications here.

Within the dashboard experience, use the key combination <control> <q> </> to bring up the dialog that allows you to copy/paste dashboard specifications.

New user tiers in IBM Cognos Analytics for Cloud

Until now there has been a single type of user in IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud – the premium user who has access to all of the capabilities of the product, for $70 US/month.

Now it is possible for a single IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud subscription to contain users that are assigned to different tiers, allowing you to pay for the capabilities you need for each individual user.  You can even change the assignment of the tiers amongst the same or different people.

The licensing tiers available are:

• Standard. $15 US/month
  Ability to model data in data modules, upload data, create data sets, perform administrative tasks, create dashboards and stories, and view the output of executed reports.
• Plus: $35 US/month
  All of the capabilities of a Standard user, plus the ability to create and use explorations.  Explorations are a powerful way of allowing the AI within IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud help you find insights in your data.
• Premium: $70 US/month
  All of the capabilities of a Plus user, plus the ability to author, execute, and schedule pixel perfect, professional reports.

Access to on-premises data

Is your data not yet in the cloud?  IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud now provides every account, at no additional cost, the ability to connect to 10 on-premises data sources. 

Using the ‘Secure Gateways’ portion of the ‘Manage’ section of the product, you can configure a secure communication channel between IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud and a local, on-premises database server that is support by one of the many database drivers available with IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud.

You can now perform analytics on your data, regardless of where it resides.

But wait, there’s more!

Only available on-premises until now, you can now collaborate about the insights you have found in IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud with other people via Slack or email.  Within the product, you can capture an image of your analytics, edit and annotate the image and then send it to other people, including, if you want, a link back to original analytic content in IBM Cognos Analytics on Cloud.

Finally, IBM has introduced newly updated product tours that help to bring up to speed navigating the product and creating dashboards and explorations.