Integrating IBM Cognos 10 into Microsoft Office

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Helping Companies Learn From the Past, Manage the
Present and Shape the Future
IBM Cognos 10 and Microsoft
Office Integration
August 1, 2013
www.senturus.com

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Go to the recorded resources

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• Welcome and Introduction
• What is IBM Cognos for Microsoft Office?
• What is Cognos Analysis For Excel (CAFÉ)?
• CAFÉ best practices and tips & tricks
• What does it cost, how do we license this?
• Embedding Cognos Report Objects into a
PowerPoint Demonstration
• Free-form analytics with CAFÉ Demonstration
• Real-world use case interview with HOST Hotels
• Upcoming Senturus Training
• Q & A
Today’s Agenda

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Introduction: Today’s Presenters
Albert Valdez
Director of Education Services
Senturus
Jim Frazier
VP Sales
Senturus
Elcenora Martinez
Senior Director, Business
Intelligence
Host Hotels
Greg Herrera
President & Co-Founder
Senturus

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Who is Senturus ?
• Consulting firm specializing in Corporate Performance
Management
– Business Intelligence
• Predictive Analytics
– Tools of the Office of Finance
• Enterprise planning & budgeting
– San Francisco Business Times Hall of Fame -- Four
consecutive years in Fast 100 list of fastest-growing
private companies in the Bay Area
• Experience
– 13-year focus on performance management
– More than 1,200 projects for 650+ clients
• People
– Business depth combined with technical expertise.
Former CFOs, CIOs, Controllers, Directors...
– DBAs with MBAs
www.Senturus.com 888.601.6010 info@senturus.com

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IBM Cognos 10 and MS Office
Overview

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Typical Pain Points for Business Analysts
• Manually exporting data from Cognos to Excel is a low-
value activity
• So, why do we do it?
• Most business analysts are very familiar with the MS Office suite
of tools
• Office tools allow us to do things that do not seem possible from
within the IBM Cognos suite
• Cell-based expressions, vLookup, pivot tables, etc.
• Integrating data from Cognos with other data objects and
sources for final presentation
• Deliver to recipients in a familiar format

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A Day in the Life
• A Case for CAFÉ:
• Extract enterprise data from IBM Cognos, Export to Excel
• Copy to master workbook
• Perform necessary calculations and other operations to get the
data in shape for final analysis and distribution
• A Case for IBM Cognos for MS Office:
• Run standard IBM Cognos report
• Export to Excel and/or copy report object into Presentation or
Document
• Update final deck or document for distribution
• Rinse, repeat (daily, monthly, quarterly…)

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Haven’t We Been Here Before?
• Absolutely! Business Intelligence platforms have been
helping us shift away from desktop tools for the past 10+
years
• Centralized data sources, single version of the truth, consistent
business logic, robust infrastructure – all good things
• BUT, the desktop is still crucial
• Familiar tools, ubiquity, ability to easily integrate various, personal
data sources
• Business Analytics vendors have adapted to this reality,
and the tools have improved, giving us the best of both
worlds

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Why Have I Never Heard of These Tools?
• Conflicting messages around the need for trusted,
centralized data
• Years of the move away from the desktop
• Early releases had low adoption, little support, and typical
early version issues, however…
• We see the tools reaching a level of maturity
• Acceptance of the fact that Enterprise Analytics and the
Desktop need to play nicely together

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License Pricing
• CAFÉ can be licensed on an Authorized User or Processor
Basis
• $918/ Authorized User or $830/PVU
• volume discounts may apply
• IBM Cognos for Microsoft Office is available to all users
licensed Consumer or above
• Contact us at info@senturus.com to get answers to any
of your Cognos Licensing Questions

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Cognos Analysis for Excel(Cafe) Tips & Tricks
• When CAFÉ makes sense:
• Performing spreadsheet analysis that uses data from one ore
more sources where the data need to be updated routinely
• Integrating data from multiple sources
• You need to perform complex calculations that cannot be
performed from within the IBM Cognos Studios
• When to stick with the IBM Cognos Studios:
• If you want to perform dynamic data exploration, look at
PowerPlay Studio/Client, or Cognos Workspace Advanced!
• If you need dynamic prompting, drill-through, automated
delivery, dynamic alerts – consider Report Studio or CWA

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• Cube data is retrieved by creating COGVAL formula which
is made up of a series of arguments
• Each argument is the equivalent of a Dimension or
Measure in a Cognos Cube
• Arguments are dragged and dropped into Excel and
appear as a COGNAME formula
• Syntax Matters!

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• The first 2 components of a COGVAL formula MUST be:
• System Name
• Package Name
• After 1 & 2, the user can choose the order of COGVAL
arguments
• Best Practice – be consistent with the order of the
additional arguments and consider the context of ALL the
dimensions that may impact your result
• All Components of any COGVAL formula must be from the
same Cube

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• Calculations:
• Do not create a formula in a cell containing a COGVAL
• Make sure all cell references in your COGVAL formula point to
cells with COGNAMEs
• Use color shading to identify which rows/columns are
calculations as opposed to COGVALs
• Common Formula Errors:
• Missing System or Package Name (#ERR_INVALID_MEMBER)
• Missing one key argument
• Be aware, the COGVAL formula will still return a value, but it will
be incorrect

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• Best Practice – try to only use Absolute Reference for
System and Package Name
• Use Mixed References for columns or rows that you want
to maintain when copying a COGVAL formula in your
worksheet
• Data is not updated automatically when opening an Excel
document with CAFÉ links – you must click the Refresh
tool
• BEST PRACTICE: do not insert or delete rows or columns
when connected to the Cognos server otherwise your
entire worksheet will return #ERR_INVALID_MEMBER

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www.senturus.com

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IBM Cognos 10 and MS Office
Integration
Demonstrations

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Demonstrations:
1. Embedding IBM Cognos Report Objects in MS Office
2. Using CAFÉ for free-form analytics
IBM Cognos 10 and MS Office Integration

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• Q & A
Today’s Agenda

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Elcenora Martinez
Senior Director, Business Intelligence
Host Hotels
Interview with Host Hotels

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Cognos Training Options
*Custom, tailored training also available*

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Cognos Training Options
• Looking to migrate users from PowerPlay Client? Talk to
the experts!
• We have added several dates for nearly every course to
allow more flexibility and fit your schedule
• Interested in a private training engagement?
– Give Senturus a chance to deliver a tailored training solution – you
wont’ be sorry!

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• Q & A
Today’s Agenda

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www.senturus.com

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Helping Companies Learn From the Past, Manage the
Present and Shape the Futurewww.senturus.com
888-601-6010
info@senturus.com
Copyright 2013 by Senturus, Inc. This entire presentation is copyrighted
and may not be reused or distributed without the written consent of Senturus, Inc.

Integrating IBM Cognos 10 into Microsoft Office

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