AIDAUG's take on IBM Think Germany
On October 24–26, 2022, the IBM Data & AI Forum took place in Cologne, Germany. The event was integrated into the IBM Pop-up, a mini IBM Think for Germany and neighboring countries.
Cognos User Group meets IBM
Jens Bäumler and Martin Otto (both board members and founders of AIDAUG) organized a session with some of the key contacts for IBM Cognos Analytics with Watson on the afternoon of Oct. 25, 2022.
Invited were the members of the Cognos User Group e.V. Germany/Austria/Switzerland and users of Cognos Analytics with Watson.
On the IBM side, attendees included Rachel Su, Zach Taylor, Bill Primerano, Katherine Ciaravalli, Steven Green, and Peter D’Haeyer.
Bill Primerano and Katherine Ciaravalli opened the event and Rachel and Zach presented the roadmap of Cognos Analytics with Watson and the new features of Cognos Analytics 11.2.3 in the first session.
Things got really exciting for the attendees in the second part. Here, current topics from the user’s point of view (customer perspective) were directly discussed. Rachel Su and Zack Taylor had to answer a long list of questions and also got involved in (sometimes uncomfortable) questions. As a result, a flipchart was created in which IBM’s view and the user’s view regarding the future of IBM Cognos Analytics were contrasted.
Both sides confirmed at the end of the workshop how effective and valuable such a direct exchange between product manufacturers and users is.
The event ended with an informal get-together with currywurst and Kölsch beer.
What else was there to see at the IBM Data & AI Forum?
The entire IBM Data & AI Forum was a successful event. The “old Cognos hands” were reminded of the Cognos Enterprise format or the conferences in Las Vegas.
Hundreds of IBM Data, AI, and Automation enthusiasts met to get presented with the latest developments from IBM, partly in large cinema halls.
Of course, there were also several customer presentations. From the point of view of the users of Cognos Analytics with Watson and Planning Analytics with Watson (TM1), the focus this year was clearly on Planning Analytics.
Driven by the TM1 user day (moderated by Christian Wagner) most of the sessions were directly related to Planning Analytics. Also, the guests were primarily Planning Analytics users due to this TM1-related program.
Once again it became clear that the integration of Planning Analytics and Cognos Analytics has not yet been completed by IBM. Also in the presentations and question rounds, it became clear that currently, it is not foreseeable that the two products will be transferred into a unified product.
A number of partner booths showed that IBM continues to build on good cooperation with IBM Business Partners. The event is the best opportunity to get to know partners and learn about the (sometimes) outstanding developments and offerings.
Of course, topics such as Watson Assistant, IBM Cloud Pak for Data (CP4D), and the new IBM Analytics Content Hub were also included in the series of presentations.
IBM Pop-Up
The building in the shape of a cube is a traveling exhibition that can still be visited in quite a few cities. Here you can see many other exciting IBM developments such as the quantum computer (IBM Quantum Computing) and the autonomous / AI controlled ship “Mayflower”.
My personal statement
It was again a good experience to meet so many IBM users and IBM employees at one event.
You can see that the topic of Data & AI has a high priority at IBM and the users are again picked up by such an event, taken seriously, and strengthened to continue to rely on IBM as a manufacturer.
As chair of the board of the Cognos User Group e.V. Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, it is a great pleasure to see that the IBM events in larger formats are also taking place regionally again (i.e. also in Germany and not only in the USA).
