Comparing giants
A comparison between the two Business Analytics giants Cognos and SAS cannot be done easily. Both Business Intelligence platforms score almost equal points on 197 selection criteria in the 100% vendor independent Business Intelligence Tools Survey 2019 from the Passionned Group. See the post ‘SAS Institute and Cognos score the most points’. What then are the most important differences between Cognos and SAS?
Is Cognos vs SAS the same as PC vs mainframe?
Both companies are veterans in the Business Intelligence market space. Cognos was founded in 1969 and SAS Institute in 1976. SAS was originally an abbreviation for: Statistical Analysis System; where the name Cognos came from isn’t clear. SAS originally developed software for the IBM mainframe; Cognos was from the start a consulting firm but in the 1980’s, they moved to selling software. They developed software mainly for LAN networks and Personal Computers. The enormous market growth came for Cognos from the moment they had launched their flagship product ‘Cognos PowerPlay’ in the beginning of the nineties.
Business Intelligence Tools Survey
Cognos, SAS, and 17 other major BI players are compared and evaluated in our annual Business Intelligence Tools Survey. Using this essential research report, you can very quickly arrive at a shortlist of suitable tools for your organization. Tools are expertly reviewed on criteria. Download now.What is the difference in functionality?
SAS Business Intelligence scores slightly better in the categories infrastructure, architecture, core functionality, and perhaps surprisingly, usability. IBM Cognos is a bit better in the category search & alerting. “Now with the long awaited Cognos 10 they have returned to their original position as one of the top BI products available in the marketplace” said Daan van Beek about Cognos in the most recent Business Intelligence Tool Survey. And he added, “SAS is one of the few companies who believe that Business Intelligence is more about predicting the future than reporting about the past.”
The Business Intelligence Tools Survey 2019: not only Cognos vs SAS
In the Business Intelligence Tools Survey not only were Cognos and SAS thoroughly examined, but all the major Business Intelligence tools are included and compared on more than 100 evaluation criteria. Order and download the Business Intelligence Tools Survey report today.
More in this series
The analyst firm Passionned Group has created several other comparison like:
We also provide a unique Business Intelligence training helping you to be more successful with Business Intelligence and Business Analytics. In this course, we will also show you how to choose a Business Intelligence platform that meets your requirements and company standards. If you need help with the selection between Cognos and SAS, please contact us for our Business Intelligence consulting service. The comparison between Cognos and SAS is 100% vendor independent. Vendors do not have to pay to get included.
