Cognos Adds Search Technology To BI Toolset

Cognos Monday unveiled an updated release of its Cognos 8 business intelligence suite that adds search technology to its flagship product. The new Cognos Go search capability offers users a way to use key words to search through business intelligence content.

The move is the latest indication that the line between business intelligence and search technologies is narrowing with the two increasingly used in a complementary fashion.

Cognos Go, which works with Cognos 8, searches the full content of BI reports, not just report titles and metadata descriptions, and uses fuzzy logic and word stemming to fine-tune search terms, Cognos says. It also indexes BI content and can publish that content to XML, which allows it to be used with other applications.

The new version of Cognos 8 is more tightly integrated with Microsoft Office and supports PowerPoint. It provides enhanced support for SAP NetWeaver, including improved integration with the NetWeaver Enterprise Portal. And Cognos is offering new report packs for MySAP and Siebel CRM applications.

The City of Albuquerque uses Cognos BI tools both for employee use and to make information such as crime statistics and tax information available to residents. Adding search capabilities to Cognos' capabilities will make it easier for Albuquerque residents to find what they're looking for. "Not every citizen is a PowerPlay expert," says Chris Framel, the city government's applications group manager, referring to the data analysis tool within Cognos 8. But search capabilities also would make it easier for city managers and employees who have to locate reports issued by 3,000 city government cost centers, he says.

The new release of Cognos 8 is available now. Cognos Go will be available in May as a download and will also be included within the next major release of Cognos 8.