CIOZone.com - Professional Network for CIOs and IT Professionals

By Mel Duvall

IBM has stepped up its campaign to grab a bigger slice of the analytics space by introducing a version of its Cognos software aimed at midsized businesses.

Introduced at the MidSize Enterprise Summit in Los Angeles on Monday, the Cognos Express package is, according to IBM, "an all-in-one business intelligence and planning solution specifically designed and priced for midsized clients."

IBM said the software can be deployed in hours and offers an integrated approach to planning, analyzing, identifying trends and, ultimately, helping businesses make smarter decisions.

"Midsized organizations are the engines that will lead the global economy back to growth and prosperity," Ben Plummer, director of IBM's Cognos midmarket unit, said in a statement. "Even in today's unsettled landscape, midsized companies are striving to better harness their information so they can continue to innovate and grow."

The scaled-down version of the Cognos software is the latest in a series of moves IBM has made on the analytics front. In July, the company purchased Chicago-based SPSS, a specialist in predictive analytics and data mining, for $1.2 billion. It followed that by announcing the launch of a Smart Analytics System, a packaging of software and hardware designed to get companies up and running with analytics in a hurry.

IBM believes that faced with limited budgets and overstretched IT resources, midsized organizations are seeking faster and more affordable analytics solutions that can help them cope with information overload. A recent IBM Global CIO study found that 83 percent of midmarket executives ranked "business intelligence and analytics" as their top priority for improving competitiveness and cutting costs.

The company offered several examples of how organizations might put the Cognos Express package to work:

• A small retain chain could use analytics to manage merchandise levels across its outlets to better control inventory and anticipate consumer demand.
• A mid-sized bank could use the software to uncover trends and anomalies in their credit practices, then adjust loan portfolios to protect its operations.
• Manufacturers could use the software to create plans, budgets and forecasts, then make on-the-fly adjustments to rapidly changing market conditions.

IBM acquired Cognos for $5 billion in January 2008. While most software lines have been hurt in the recession, the Cognos unit sales grew 20 percent in the most recent quarter.

Comments (2)

	1. 09-15-2009 11:01
	It makes sense for IBM to go after the midmarket audience, particularly with the priority that midmarket IT leaders are placing on BI and analytics to improve their competitiveness.     I've made this point before that interest among vendors in midmarket companies seems to be somewhat cyclical. As they did following the post 9/11 recession, vendors are going after midsized customers as spending among Fortune 1000 companies has tightened. Registered

Tom Hoffman

	2. 09-23-2009 16:49
	It slipped under the radar of most news organizations this week, but I noticed that IBM picked up another analytics company. It signed an agreement to acquire privately-held RedPill Solutions, which makes “advanced analytics services to businesses in industries such as financial services, telecommunications, technology and hospitality.” IBM says the acquired technology will be leveraged in its Smarter Planet strategy, helping companies make smarter business decisions and to better understand the outcomes of those decisions. Registered

Mel Duvall

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.