{"id":6053,"date":"2021-10-26T11:44:19","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T11:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prolifics.com\/us\/?p=6053"},"modified":"2025-09-17T15:45:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T10:15:55","slug":"automated-testing-drives-quick-and-complete-cognos-upgrade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prolifics.com\/usa\/resource-center\/case-studies\/automated-testing-drives-quick-and-complete-cognos-upgrade","title":{"rendered":"Automated Testing Drives Quick and Complete Cognos Upgrade"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Our client\u00a0is a\u00a0large,\u00a0diverse North American company\u00a0(DNAC)\u00a0with operations ranging from\u00a0construction,\u00a0equipment\u00a0and\u00a0shipbuilding\u00a0to\u00a0hydro-energy, forestry and\u00a0logistics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About our Client<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Challenge<\/h4>\n

An older tech needs an upgrade – fast<\/h6>\n

DNAC\u00a0had been running\u00a0Cognos \u2013 IBM\u2019s premier business analytics solution \u2013 throughout\u00a0its entire enterprise.\u00a0It was an\u00a0integral and\u00a0ingrained part of its business, generating\u00a0thousands of analytic reports that kept the huge business on course and running smoothly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

DNAC\u2019s version of Cognos, however, was\u00a0older.\u00a0The company was facing support issues\u00a0and,\u00a0looking ahead, the current platform\u00a0was not going to help them with their\u00a0ongoing\u00a0analytic requirements. It\u00a0just\u00a0wasn’t sufficient enough for the business\u00a0needs\u00a0going forward.\u00a0For DNAC, the decision to upgrade to the newest solution,\u00a0IBM\u00a0Cognos Analytics, was an easy one.\u00a0Cognos Analytics\u00a0was released\u00a0as a\u00a0robust upgrade,\u00a0with the\u00a0features, functions and capabilities\u00a0that DNAC\u00a0wanted to take advantage of\u00a0and build on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because Cognos was so essential and\u00a0ran across the entire DNAC footprint, the challenge was finding\u00a0a\u00a0technology\u00a0partner who\u00a0could\u00a0manage a complete upgrade at once\u00a0\u2013 not a piecemeal approach,\u00a0meet\u00a0DNAC\u2019s timing\u00a0requirements,\u00a0and\u00a0understood and\u00a0shared the\u00a0company\u2019s\u00a0sense of urgency.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Action<\/h4>\n

Automated testing seals the deal<\/h6>\n

Prolifics\u00a0has worked with DNAC\u00a0over the years\u00a0on\u00a0Cognos\u00a0planning and analytics pieces, but DNAC had an incumbent company for things like upgrades.\u00a0However, it became clear to DNAC that the current tech partner\u00a0would not be able to meet the company\u2019s deadline.\u00a0DNAC asked us to present\u00a0our thoughts\u00a0on an upgrade solution\u00a0\u2013 and the company\u00a0liked what they heard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u201cWhat they really liked about what we had,\u00a0which\u00a0they didn’t see from other organizations, was the whole testing component.\u00a0Prolifics\u00a0automated testing\u00a0is a\u00a0core\u00a0expertise\u00a0of ours\u00a0that can be\u00a0an integral part of any project, from its very beginning.\u00a0So,\u00a0what impressed them\u00a0was our\u00a0capability to\u00a0expertly upgrade\u00a0them to the\u00a0new version\u00a0and set-up their new environment,\u00a0combined\u00a0with\u00a0the automating\u00a0testing that\u00a0everything, like\u00a0thousands of\u00a0reports,\u00a0was\u00a0working correctly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Steve Livingstone\u00a0is Prolifics\u2019\u00a0Regional Sales Director, Canada, and works with DNAC.<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Many\u00a0companies can do Cognos upgrades,\u00a0while other companies have testing abilities,\u00a0or the\u00a0client-company\u00a0might do\u00a0their own testing.\u00a0What DNAC saw was\u00a0the timing efficiency of\u00a0both\u00a0our automated testing\u00a0and not having to split the project (upgrade and testing)\u00a0to two organizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Result<\/h4>\n

It’s about the best opportunity<\/h6>\n

Prolifics is currently in the process of doing the upgrade.\u00a0Our expertise in upgrading\u00a0and our automated\u00a0testing\u00a0will have the project done \u2013 enterprise wide \u2013 in\u00a0the timing\u00a0DNAC was\u00a0looking for.\u00a0DNAC said it\u00a0was clear\u00a0Prolifics\u00a0would have it all\u00a0tested,\u00a0working and operating by their deadline.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Steve\u00a0Livingstone points out that while this client\u00a0wanted the entire enterprise upgraded at once, it can\u00a0be done\u00a0differently depending on client circumstances.\u00a0\u201cA company that\u00a0wants to do\u00a0it\u00a0in chunks\u00a0can\u00a0still take advantage of\u00a0our process.\u00a0There’s no need to do things in small increments because of our ability to actually provide a working production environment in a very expedient time,\u00a0using\u00a0our\u00a0know-how\u00a0and\u00a0automation. So,\u00a0while\u00a0there\u00a0should be no risk around\u00a0in going to the\u00a0new platform in one enterprise move, it doesn\u2019t\u00a0really matter.\u00a0If\u00a0somebody really likes the Cognos Analytics platform,\u00a0Prolifics\u00a0gives you the best opportunity to get there in the most expedient amount of time, with the least amount of risk and the most amount of opportunity for success in production.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Technology<\/h4>\n

Test automation is an integral part of any project<\/h6>\n

IBM Cognos Analytics<\/a>\u00a0is IBM\u2019s premier and robust business analytics solution for sharing actionable insights and augmented intelligence to drive analysis across your organization.\u00a0IBM Cognos Analytics helps you clean, combine and find new insights from your data. Create striking, dynamic visualizations and share across stakeholders with ease.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

At Prolifics, test automation is an integral part of any project, from its very beginning. We\u2019re always developing new testing accelerators and digital products, while applying AI\/ML in innovative ways for optimal performance.\u00a0A test\u00a0automation strategy will:\u00a0<\/p>\n