FAQ: What's new when using the Cognos Mobile native apps in Cognos Analytics v11

Answer

In IBM Cognos Analytics, users can now grab their iPads and access their environment via Safari to interact with their reports and dashboards. The Cognos Analytics interface was specifically designed for touch in mind and adapts to smaller screen sizes. For example, buttons become larger, certain menu items are hidden, etc. Providing a consistent user experience across both desktop and mobile.

This article focusses on the native apps and the changes brought by the release of Cognos Analytics.

Q: Now that Cognos Analytics is touch friendly and accessible via a browser, do I still need the native app?
A: It depends on your needs. If you work in an always connected world, where you always have access to your Cognos Analytics server via cell or Wifi, you may find that the native app is no longer required.
If on the other hand, you cannot depend on having consistent access to your Cognos Analytics server, the native app is a great way to take your content offline and consume it later, whether you are connected or not.

Q: Our company is still on Cognos BI 10.x (C10) and are not planning on moving to Cognos Analytics quite yet. What will happen if I upgrade the app to the new version available in Apple AppStore or Android Play?
A: The new version of the apps (v11.0.0.0.1 and above) will behave exactly in the same way for all users connecting to C10 servers, the new code only kicks in when connecting to a Cognos Analytics server. The users can have multiple connections defined at the same time and switch between them without any issues.

Q: What are the changes to the app in Cognos Analytics?
A: There are three big changes to the app:

• The app now focusses on Active Reports for disconnected usage, regular reports are no longer accessible.
• Active Reports can only be downloaded or imported into the app, they cannot be run directly from within the app.
• The URL structure to connect to the Cognos Analytic server is temporarily different than the one used on the browser (this is planned to be addressed in an upcoming release)

Q: After an upgrade, what happened to all the thumbnails for my regular reports?
A: After the app connects to a Cognos Analytics server, it removes all regular reports (including saved outputs) from this space. It will not touch the other spaces that are connected to C10 servers.

Q: How do I access regular reports from my mobile device now that they no longer appear in the Cognos Mobile app?
A: Open your Safari browser on your iPad and connect to your Cognos Analytics server. This mechanism will provide you with a fully functional experience, well designed for touch screens. If you require offline access to your reports, an alternative could be to send PDFs via email.

Q: How do I get my Active Reports onto my device?
A: The app supports three mechanisms that were also available in C10:
1) Run the reports on a schedule and select to push to mobile recipients
2) Manually import the Active Report (via mail, iTunes, web server or file storage)
3) Browse the folder structure and download a Saved Output
Keep in mind that Active Reports are also supported via the Safari browser. Use the app only when you need to be disconnected.

Q: When I browse the folder structure, why are certain Active Reports greyed out?
A: Only the Active Reports with Saved Outputs are actionable. The ones without Saved Outputs available are greyed out

Q: Why are drill-throughs from an Active Report to another report no longer allowed?
A: Drill-throughs from Active Reports to other reports require a connection to the server. Since the app is designed to consume reports in disconnected mode, the drill-throughs have been disabled. To get full functionality, open the Active Report from the Safari web browser.

Q: I noticed that Cognos Workspace items are still accessible, do they have the same functionality as previous versions of the app?
A: Yes, Cognos Workspace dashboards are still accessible and their functionality remain the same as before. Access to Workspaces will follow the same timeline as the browser on the desktop. (see deprecation notice)

Q: I had wrapped the Cognos Mobile app with my Mobile Device Management (MDM) tool, will the new version still work with my MDM?
A: IBM doesn't test or support any wrapping solutions, but the app uses the same mechanism as before for authentication and communication. Chances are good that it will simply continue to work. See this article for MDM wrapping questions.