Cognos, a business intelligence (BI) and corporate performance management (CPM) vendor, has announced extended and enhanced reporting and analysis capabilities for Microsoft Office with Cognos Office Connection.
Leveraging the Microsoft .NET Framework and Smart Client technology, Cognos Office Connection allows business users to consume, interact with and refresh Cognos BI content in the pervasive Microsoft Office suite while ensuring control and manageability of information that reflects a `single version of the truth`.
According to Eric Rogge, vice-president and research director at Ventana Research: "Microsoft Office is the leading solution used to create and publish the briefings, books and presentations that drive business decision-making today. Our research shows that BI systems are a leading source of information for these documents. Products like Cognos` new Office Connection address a critical step in streamlining document publication. With BI systems becoming mission-critical information sources, efficient access from Microsoft Office applications is more important than ever before."
Cognos Office Connection allows business users to gain access through the Microsoft Office suite to information from Cognos` leading Web-based enterprise query and reporting solution, Cognos ReportNet. Access is also available to Cognos` Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) solution, Cognos PowerPlay, assisting corporates to make decisions based on timely, accurate data. Providing tight integration with Microsoft Office gives users a familiar environment from which to take advantage of corporate data without relying on IT.
Says David McWilliam, managing director of Cognos SA: "Spreadsheets are pervasive throughout organisations as users are comfortable with the environment. With this new solution, Microsoft Office customers can leverage the value of Cognos while keeping their spreadsheets - benefiting from and extending the power of our reporting and analysis solutions within applications they use every day. This also ensures control and manageability of information -- and a single version of the truth."
Using Cognos Office Connection, end-users can easily connect to and select the Cognos information they need from within Microsoft Excel. Business users can embed report components such as tables, charts and graphics in their documents by navigating content and selecting and inserting parts of their reports from directly within Excel. Cognos-enabled Office documents can then be published to the Cognos BI portal for centralised user access and administration. This allows organisations to drive toward a single version of the truth - overcoming the traditional pains of disconnected spreadsheets, namely data quality, integrity, accuracy and lineage.
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