IT Forum >> Anybody do BI (Cognos/Crystal)

11/23/10 3:16 PM

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SeanMac Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 816

At a bit of a career crossroads and wondering if anybody feels like BI is a good niche. I'm currently the Director of IT (BS title) for a company and my experience is very spread out... I'm realizing that not specializing in one thing is hurting me as I look for a job at a larger company. I'm literally the only technical person here. I do everything from running cable to administrating our main UNIX server and a few Windows servers (exchange, blackberry).. but the thing that I kind of like doing the most is working with our Cognos reporting system.

11/27/10 8:19 AM

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aegix Member Since: 8/24/05 Posts: 3532

BI is a very good field as it's gaining a lot of respect as a financial necessity. Cognos is good, but the Microsoft stack of tools (SQL Server & SQL Server Analysis Services, Reporting Service, Integration Service, Sharepoint) are literally changing the world in terms of ease of integration and defining the "self-service" model of BI that people are really liking. This isn't to say you couldn't make a good living with anything else. I would also encourage you to look at the PowerPivot features with Excel 2010. Very powerful and something that resonates pretty well with the financial side of the executive groups you would likely have to interface with. You have ignored this user.

11/29/10 9:08 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
theseanster 156 Member Since: 5/13/02 Posts: 16220	You can make some very good money doing BI. SQL BI and SSRS, data warehousing is where its at You have ignored this user.

11/29/10 10:30 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
LoveToChoke Member Since: 11/1/06 Posts: 736	I've been in BI since the mid-90s. It's a great niche that pays well. You have ignored this user.

12/3/10 5:07 PM

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SeanMac Edited: 12/07/10 4:05 PM Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 818

thanks for the responses guys... it looks like my company's going under in a few weeks so I've got a mad scramble going on trying to find something. Id like to still be employed while im interviewing.. think im ready to make the move from central jersey to the nyc area so hopefully there are more opportunities up there. I'm also seeing a lot of jobs for Sharepoint admins.. that's something else I think I'd like but I guess id probably have to take a class and get a cert or something to shore up my experience and have a shot at a job there You have ignored this user.

12/7/10 3:54 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
LoveToChoke Member Since: 11/1/06 Posts: 746	Try to get into Sharepoint. The consulting company I work for can't get enough Sharepoint developers - there is so much work on. You have ignored this user.

2/9/11 5:34 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
DaCrusher 4 Member Since: 8/29/03 Posts: 670	Sean, I own a consulting firm and have a lot of good contract jobs for Cognos Admins...they are all work from home positions for a major bank. btw, I am in central nj too. You have ignored this user.

2/15/11 3:31 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
buckshot44 572 Member Since: 12/3/10 Posts: 152	I've worked in BI for the past 5 years, and before that held a sys admin role for a few years. You have ignored this user.

2/17/11 9:17 AM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
DaCrusher 4 Member Since: 8/29/03 Posts: 675	If anyone knows anyone I need 2-3 Cognos Admins/Developers to backfill some resources on a project. It is a work from home gig paying about 55-60hr. You have ignored this user.

3/22/11 2:42 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
SeanMac Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 842	crap, I'd love to get in there but I'm realizing all of the stuff we use at our company is older.. (because this place is so cheap it never upgrades)... so most of the stuff I know is 7.X ... impromptu, powerplay, upfront... I don't have much experience w Report Studio and the newer stuff You have ignored this user.

4/5/11 1:01 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
JerseyJoeJitsu Member Since: 10/6/09 Posts: 1377	SeanMac, I may have a job listing for you in central jersey (Woodbridge). Message me your background. Its a cognos position i think.  You have ignored this user.

5/1/11 3:18 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
SeanMac Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 844	awww crap.. why didnt I come back on this thread sooner lol.. I'll send you something now Joe even though I'm sure im late You have ignored this user.

5/4/11 3:52 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
dabigchet Member Since: 9/10/07 Posts: 7490	in for OG BI networking. i have been in BI for about 13 years, Cognos for the last 6 or so. for IT competent people who are social and presentable, i highly recommend it both for career potential and (to be honest) ease of work. i'll be presenting at IBM IOD probably this year, PM me if anyone is going to be there. You have ignored this user.

5/14/11 9:38 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
roundtwo Member Since: 7/27/06 Posts: 255	I went last year, just switched companies but I don't know if new one will send me out this year...bad year for training. You have ignored this user.

5/17/11 2:35 AM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
s98ronin Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 5537	Any tips for learning Cognos on your own? You have ignored this user.

5/17/11 9:10 AM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
dabigchet Member Since: 9/10/07 Posts: 7580	you can install all software components on a decent desktop if you have access to the installs. there are a couple third party books available now (there didn't used to be). between those, the documentation and redbooks which are all available on line, the software, some time and some smarts, you have everything you need. You have ignored this user.

5/17/11 9:24 AM

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JerseyJoeJitsu Member Since: 10/6/09 Posts: 1444

To be honest, for most situations I prefer MS's suite (SSRS, SSIS, Biz Talk, Sql Server) over Cognos. Generally how it works at my company is, the Architechture team builds you the underlying model for your report, and then I build the report. It's such a fucking time waster to have to go to another person and rely on them to finish your project.  I prefer SSRS because I can just bang out a stored procedure, use that as my data source, pop in some varialbes, and boom, report done.  for big projects though, cognos does have some advantages however.  You have ignored this user.

5/17/11 9:59 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
LoveToChoke Member Since: 11/1/06 Posts: 1002	I'm a Microsoft v-tsp. Which means when a customer is interested in data warehousing or business intelligence then I go out and demonstrate the products capabilities. The stuff coming out in SQL 11 with project Crescent is awesome. So are the columnar indexes - the performance gains are amazing. So I recommend learning MS if you can. You have ignored this user.

5/17/11 10:01 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
LoveToChoke Member Since: 11/1/06 Posts: 1003	Also look into PowerPivot - it's a free download for Excel 2010 which essentially creates an in memory cube using the SSAS engine and has incredible data compression. In memory products like PowerPivot and QlikView are the future. You have ignored this user.

8/20/11 9:46 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
Sastan Member Since: 12/5/02 Posts: 140	I'm surprised Business Objects hasn't been brought up. Crystal Reports is fine when you need pixel perfect reports, but for content I think BO trumps Crystal, as well as being easier to learn and use. You have ignored this user.

8/23/11 8:44 AM

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dabigchet Member Since: 9/10/07 Posts: 8114

i thought that BO and crystal where the same product now. aren't they owned by SAP? the bottom line is that truly having expertise in any of the following: - cognos - MS BI stack - BO - microstrategy - sas is going to earn you stability and a good income in pretty much any market. once you get that expertise, though, its hard to break out and learn something else because your expertise in that one tool set is what makes you valuable. You have ignored this user.

8/23/11 6:05 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
LoveToChoke Member Since: 11/1/06 Posts: 1228	I agree that it can be hard to break out, but if you work for an organization that changes products, you shouldn't have much difficulty learning a new product. I have worked on Holos, Essbase and the MS SSAS OLAP and it is the same principles for each of them. Even with BO universes you just need a decent understanding of multi dimensional modeling. You have ignored this user.

8/23/11 6:06 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
LoveToChoke Member Since: 11/1/06 Posts: 1229	I guess my point is that you don't need to worry that if you start with one of these products that you are stuck with that brand forever. You have ignored this user.

8/23/11 9:20 PM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
theseanster 156 Member Since: 5/13/02 Posts: 17493	I've been doing SSAS stuff lately. The biggest challenge was modeling hierarchies for organizational units. For example I hierarchy B reports to A, but in another B reports to X. Once that was done and the cube gets processed it was learning MDX...which I'm still piecing together on google heh You have ignored this user.

8/24/11 6:41 AM	Ignore | Quote | Edit | Warn Admin | Vote Down | Vote Up | Delete Post
Sastan Member Since: 12/5/02 Posts: 142	dabigchet - i thought that BO and crystal where the same product now. aren't they owned by SAP? They're slowly integrating the two, but still two distinct products. You have ignored this user.

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