Technical Tips & Techniques
- Techniques for Building Dashboards with Cognos Connection Pages in IBM Cognos 8
Learn tips and techniques on the fundamentals of dashboard creation with IBM Cognos 8 BI v3. In this session you will learn tips on custom page creation; best practices for multi-page dashboards; how to set global filters with synchronized prompts, and drill-through across multiple dashboard reports. (Expertise: Intermediate)
- Leveraging Multidimensional Data in Report Studio Express Authoring Mode
Express authoring mode of Report Studio brings live data to professional report authoring in IBM Cognos 8 BI v3. The new mode lets business and financial analysts build, edit, and share crosstabs quickly and easily. With the combination of live data and functions designed for multidimensional data, the possibilities are enormous. This session is a complete overview of these capabilities. Learn directly from one of the Cognos engineers who developed this powerful capability. See how it can build business value in your organization. (Expertise: Novice)
- Staying Safe with Dimensional Reports
IBM Cognos 8 BI brings power of dimensional reporting to the Cognos suite of products. With that comes a challenge: understanding the difference between dimensional and relational reporting viewpoints. In this session, learn how to write dimensional reports in a way that keeps things clear and avoids unexpected results. These techniques help report authors save time and develop effective reporting for the best possible business decisions. (Expertise: Advanced)
Product Overview
- A Preview of PowerPlay in the IBM Cognos 8 BI Platform
IBM Cognos 8 BI PowerPlay will bring the popular IBM Cognos application into the IBM Cognos 8 Business Intelligence environment. See a preview of what is available with IBM Cognos 8 BI PowerPlay, and learn how your organization can realize its value. As an administrator, you can take advantage of the IBM Cognos 8 infrastructure, while your users can benefit from an interface they know and love. Pick up migration strategies, see how to best leverage PowerPlay in IBM Cognos 8 BI, and find out how to achieve the best possible return on your investment. (Expertise: All)
- IBM Cognos 8 BI Transformer for Analysts
Transformer, a popular feature among long-time IBM Cognos users, is now available on the IBM Cognos 8 Business Intelligence platform. This session explores how Transformer helps business authors and analysts create IBM Cognos PowerCube® data sets directly from IBM Cognos 8 BI reports and queries. IBM Cognos 8 BI Transformer can help you do more with your existing IT resources, as you do not need to know IBM Cognos 8 Framework Manager to publish cubes into the appropriate areas of the secure IBM Cognos 8 BI folder structure. (Expertise: All)
Performance Management Platform
Technical Tips & Techniques
- Taking a Performance Management Approach to Data Quality
Data quality has become increasingly important in today’s business intelligence and performance management implementations. This session takes an in-depth look at how to create an effective data quality initiative at your company, with scorecarding and reporting from IBM Cognos 8 Business Intelligence. Including a demonstration and discussion around implementing data quality, this session will help you determine the best approach to align your parallel objectives of data quality and performance management. This session is well 00ited to both IT and finance. (Expertise: Intermediate)
- Effectively Managing Content Store Data
This is a best practices session on managing your content store data. It answers our customers’ most common questions: Why is my content store growing? How many objects do I have in my content store? What are the outputs, report specifications, and history objects? Which folders take up the most space in my content store? Take hold of your content store – identify what is there and how to organize it. This session is relevant to all sectors. (Expertise: Advanced)
- Introduction to Model Advisor in IBM Cognos 8 Framework Manager
With IBM Cognos 8 BI v3, IBM Cognos 8 Framework Manager introduced a new capability, Model Advisor. Model Advisor applies guidelines based on proven practices to analyse your model, and identifies inconsistencies and areas for review. See Model Advisor in action as Cognos shows how to build an effective Framework Manager model in less time and how to troubleshoot an existing model. This session is intended for individuals with some experience modeling in Framework Manager. The Model Advisor feature is of interest to beginner as well as intermediate and experienced users. The content covers best practices and will be focused on use of Model Advisor to identify modeling issues. (Expertise: Novice)
Product Overview
- IBM Cognos 8 Deployment Best Practices for Performance and Scalability
The IBM Cognos 8 architecture provides a naturally scalable platform for business intelligence, planning, and financial applications. During this session, we discuss best practices for building a common server platform to meet the differing needs of users who work in IBM Cognos 8 BI, IBM Cognos 8 Planning, and IBM Cognos 8 Controller. This session looks at server deployments to address performance requirements. We also touch on typical server deployment concerns such as security, administration, and avoidance resource contention. (Expertise: All)
Deployment Best Practices
- Selecting the Appropriate Data Sourcing Strategies
Participate in a presentation-led discussion on the alternative strategies for data sourcing – ranging from accessing data directly in the source systems, to using federation techniques, to building data marts. Using comparison charts, lessons learned of the benefits and trade-offs, and product demos to illustrate each method, this session will help you navigate through the breadth of options available in IBM Cognos 8. Walk away with a sound framework to evaluate the best data sourcing strategy for your evolving Cognos environment. (Expertise: Intermediate)
Financial Performance Management
Product Overview
- Performance Management with IBM Cognos 8 Controller
See how IBM Cognos 8 Controller can transform your financial processes and create a performance management culture. Learn about some of the business challenges associated with delivering certified and auditable financial results. Watch a demonstration of how IBM Cognos Controller can streamline your close, consolidation, and reporting. An IBM Cognos expert explains the architecture of this application, and how it is designed to support your business agenda of performance management. In addition, see how IBM Cognos Controller is well suited for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. (Expertise: All)
Migration and Upgrade
Technical Tips & Techniques
- Migrating from IBM Cognos Series 7 PowerPlay
Learn how to migrate your existing Series 7 PowerPlay applications and users to the newest solutions. This session will explain the migration path and how it is different than general migration from Series 7 to IBM Cognos 8. The session will demonstrate how easy it is to use the new Migration Assistant including cubes, reports, upfront content, server properties, bookmarks, etc (Expertise: Intermediate)
- A BI Migration Primer
What everyone should know about migration from Series 7 to IBM Cognos 8. Whether you’re just starting to think about migration or whether you have already completed several migration projects you should attend this session. We’ll discuss the road to successful migrations, what IBM Cognos 8 has that Series 7 doesn’t, and how to start and complete a successful migration. You’ll leave this session with a solid foundation to build upon, understanding the scope of migration and how to proceed with confidence. This session will include the larger scope of migration from all Series 7 products to IBM Cognos 8. (Expertise: Novice)
- BI Migration Fundamentals
You’ve attended BI Migration Fundamentals, but want to know more? This session is for you. We will dive deeper into how to address the business case for migration, choosing the right migration strategy for your unique needs, and what it takes conduct the technical assessment that is the building block of any successful migration. Intended for project managers, technical staff, and anyone who needs a deeper understanding of migration. Prerequisite is BI Migration Primer. This session will include the larger scope of migration from all Series 7 products to IBM Cognos 8. (Expertise: Intermediate)

