Top IT research firm uncovers benefits for ISVs to embed Cognos technology

Nucleus Research, a global provider of IT research and advisory services, today announced the findings of its “ROI Evaluation Report” on Cognos Technology for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). The independent study found that ISVs that embed or integrate Cognos technology are enabled to win more new business, win back maintenance customers, and gain an edge on competitors by adding significant value to their core product set.

Nucleus analysts conducted independent assessments of data gathered from ISVs embedding or integrating Cognos technology as part of its commercially developed and marketed solution, including Deltek, Infor, Onyx Software, SSA Global, and Workbrain. Key findings in the research include the following:

• Reduced development time and costs – Embedding or integrating Cognos technology enabled ISVs to improve the depth of reporting, analysis, and planning functionality they could deliver to their customers, without incurring a significant ramp-up in development costs.
• Improved product delivery – Cognos's SOA architecture reduces the complexity of the development process and makes it easier to integrate Cognos with existing technologies; ISVs found the end result was the ability to go to market faster and provide more innovative functionality to their customers.
• Increased profits from incremental revenue – Integrating Cognos BI and planning technologies has enabled ISVs to increase sales to existing customers, provide new revenue streams through extended functionality, and increase their average deal size.

"ISVs looking at integrating BI and planning functionality into existing offerings should evaluate both the potential benefits and costs," said Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of research, Nucleus Research. "While the benefits vary according to ISV product integration implementation, all of the Cognos partners Nucleus interviewed reported that the Cognos technology adds significant value to their core product set and had a positive impact on their business."

"Onyx Software embeds Cognos technology to drive the analytic component of our enterprise-caliber customer and process management solutions," said Andy Pedack, product manager for Onyx Performance Management at Onyx Software. "The SOA-based architecture of Cognos technology made it easy to integrate reporting and analysis capabilities into our software. Our customers tell us Cognos is delivering the breadth of BI capabilities they need, in an easy-to-use format to help jumpstart the adoption of analysis among their users. Now any Onyx customer can gain better visibility and insight into their business and customer operations from within the familiar Onyx environment."

The ROI Evaluation Report on Cognos Technology for ISVs can be viewed on the Nucleus Research Website at nucleusresearch.com.

About Nucleus Research

Nucleus Research is a global provider of IT advisory and research services that provides CFOs, CIOs and their staffs with the real-world information they need to maximize the business returns from their technology investments. For more information, visit NucleusResearch.com.