Cognos Introduces OLAP Engine Derived From Applix AcquisitionCognos Introduces OLAP Engine Derived From Applix Acquisition

Business intelligence software companies are under increasing pressure to show that their tools don't just provide insight into past performance -- they also help people determine what must be done to improve business performance.

Cognos on Tuesday made several announcements that show how it plans to use Applix, acquired in September for $339 million, to position itself as a performance management leader.

Currently in the process of being acquired from IBM for $5 billion, Cognos has renamed a key online-analytical processing engine that came with the Applix acquisition to Cognos TM1 Server. Customers can use TM1 to build multidimensional business models that let them organize data by dimensions (such as product descriptions or geographic sales) and then make calculations (such as revenue or costs) based on those dimensions, explains VP of product marketing Doug Barton. He likens the Applix technology to Oracle Hyperion's Essbase OLAP server, but says the difference is TM1 utilizes 64-bit in memory processing, allowing for fast turn-around of queries.

TM1 is Cognos' first read and write OLAP engine, meaning a user can read information about a trend in sales, for example, and then type in a what-if scenario and get results. Cognos also is offering Excel, Web, and executive dashboard viewers with TM1.

Cognos also said it's working to make its function- and industry- specific offerings, called Cognos Blueprints, work with the TMI technology. The first TMI-compatible Blueprint, involving performance of sales and marketing investments for pharmaceutical companies, will be available in the first quarter of next year. Cognos also said it's created an advisory board of customers, including American Express, Amgen, and BAE Systems, to work out its integration strategy and product road map for combining Cognos and Applix technologies.