Book Image

IBM Cognos Insight

By : Sanjeev Datta
Book Image

IBM Cognos Insight

By: Sanjeev Datta

Overview of this book

<p>Based on in-memory technology with write-back capabilities for What-if scenario planning, Cognos Insight gives spreadsheets the rich visual appeal for better analysis and planning. Leverage the collaborative features to seamlessly publish the personal analysis workspaces to an enterprise-wide Cognos Business Intelligence solution.<br /><br />"IBM Cognos Insight" is a fast paced, practical hands-on guide with step-by-step instructions to build Cognos Insight workspaces. Take advantage of the in-memory TM1 cubes as the underlying engine to answer business questions by analyzing data in the form of reports &amp; dashboards. Share these insights with other Cognos services or mobile devices to empower users with real-time data.<br /><br />This book introduces Cognos Insight as a personal yet powerful analytics application. It covers how decision making is applied in all domains of the business world and how data can be analyzed effectively in the form of fast in-memory cubes. Leverage the write-back functionality to build budgets, plans and forecasts.<br /><br />"IBM Cognos Insight" will empower new and existing users to maximize the features of the application and analyze data by building visually rich reports and dashboards in minutes.</p>
Table of Contents (14 chapters)

Importing data into IBM Cognos Insight


To begin with any analysis, importing data into IBM Cognos Insight is the first step. The following are three possible methods to accomplish this:

  • Drag and drop (Quick Import method): This method allows spreadsheets (Excel files), CSV files, or existing Cognos Insight Workspaces (cdd file extensions) to be dropped onto the Cognos Insight interface. The smart-metadata capability automatically creates a highly compressed OLAP cube structure with dimensions, levels, measures, and the relationships between them based on the data in the file. As per the following screenshot, a spreadsheet containing the US Economic Census for the Mining Industry is dropped onto the application. JPG images can also be dropped in the similar manner to show the image on Cognos Insight.

    Alternatively, the Quick Import method brings up a window from where file selections can be made. This option can be accessed by selecting Get Data | Quick Import... or by selecting Quick Import...