How to Migrate from Cognos to Power BI: Step-by-Step Guide

What makes the Cognos to Power BI Migration Beneficial?

Migrating from Cognos to Power BI brings in a lot of benefits as it moves towards a modern analytics platform. With modern analytics, Power BI gives greater scalability and flexibility in terms of data management.

• Improved Data Visualization: Power BI provides advanced visualization capabilities and empowers business users to create their own reports. It makes complex data easier to understand and thereby enhances user experience and engagement.
• Modern Data Architecture: Power BI’s VertiPaq engine compresses data and loads it into memory. They also offer self-service modeling by bringing in their own data.
• Cost Reduction: Power BI offers flexible licensing options compared to traditional enterprise BI platforms. By this, enterprises can reduce annual licensing costs and get more flexibility.
• Security and Governance: Power BI supports Row-Level Security for controlled data access. Its integration feature ensures secure authentication. Administrators can monitor usage, manage permissions, and enforce governance policies effectively.
• Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem: Power BI allows seamless integration with tools such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Teams, Office 365, Microsoft Fabric, and Azure. This feature gives strong collaboration and centralized data access.

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Challenges faced during the Cognos to Power BI Migration and ways to overcome

Cognos to Power BI migration comes with its own set of challenges. The ways to handle this are discussed below.

• Architecture changes: Cognos relies heavily on OLAP cubes, whereas Power BI is built on the Tabular VertiPaq engine. To handle this, redesign the multidimensional logic into a Star schema. Provide a training session to the users about tabular concepts, as working is different in a cube environment.
• Business logic: Migrating from Cognos to Power BI can be tough, especially when it comes to rebuilding business logic within queries and data models. Unlike Cognos, Power BI may interpret query structures differently, making direct transfer impossible. This means critical business rules need to be manually restructured to align with Power BI’s modeling framework. To tackle this, most data engineers and scientists often utilize DAX functions and Power Query adjustments, making sure that key insights and data logic stay accurate across platforms.
• Report and Dashboard Conversion: Cognos reports may include advanced prompts, nested queries, and pixel-perfect queries. On the other hand, Power BI comes with interactive dashboards and visualizations, which retain the customer. To overcome this, categorize reports into operational, analytical, and executive reports. Use the interaction feature and rebuild reports in Power BI. 
• Integrate existing data: Switching from Cognos to Power BI can be challenging, especially when it comes to integrating existing data. Cognos and Power BI often structure and query data differently, which can complicate direct data transfers. This means companies need to carefully map, transform, and validate their data to ensure compatibility and accuracy in Power BI. For clients, leveraging ETL tools like Azure Data Factory or SQL Server Integration Services helps streamline the process, ensuring data integrity while keeping reporting consistent across platforms. To overcome this, perform rigorous, incremental testing and validation.
• Skills gap: Knowledge gap should be addressed when converting from Cognos to Power BI. Power BI employs a different architecture and set of functionalities, which can be daunting for those familiar with Cognos. To overcome this, organize training sessions focusing on Power BI’s unique features like DAX for data manipulation and Power Query for data preparation.
• Security and Governance: The Cognos environment follows centralized governance and is built into the metadata layer. Power BI uses Role-Level Security (RLS) within datasets. To manage this hurdle, redefine the security roles and workspace naming standards. Establish a governance framework before rollout. 

Best Practices for a Smooth Cognos to Power BI Migration

• Conduct a detailed assessment of the Cognos environment and migrate only active, high-value reports.
• Make clear success criteria and KPIs.
• Don’t migrate the Cognos reports into full go; choose one high-impact business unit to migrate first to build internal champions.
• Map Cognos data models to optimized datasets in Power BI.
• Establish a Center of Excellence (CoE) to manage workspace, apps, and gateway connections.
• Redesign reports to utilize legacy Power BI native visuals and interactive instead of replicating them exactly.
• Do rigorous testing and run parallel validation for one or two reporting cycles, and verify the data accuracy.
• Do continuous monitoring and gather feedback on the Power BI environment from the users.

How to Migrate from Cognos to Power BI: Step-by-Step Process

Migrating from Cognos reports to Power BI has shifted from manual reauthoring to a structured, AI-assisted methodology that minimizes business disruption.

1. AI-assisted Assessment and Discovery:

To migrate from Cognos to Power BI effectively, assessing your existing data on Cognos is crucial to setting up a structured plan. Use AI scanners and identify data sources, models, and reports in Cognos to ensure nothing critical is overlooked. Check data dependencies, connections, and integrations to minimize compatibility issues. Evaluate data quality and formats to determine any necessary transformations. Plan transformations and map Cognos structures to Power BI’s architecture for a smooth migration.

2. Define Migration Strategy and Roadmap:

Creating a migration roadmap from Cognos to Power BI requires aligning priorities with business functions for optimal performance. Identify the main business functions to prioritize essential dashboards and reports for migration. Categorize the reports based on complexity. Develop a phased approach to migrate high-priority functions first, ensuring continuity. Establish governance standards.

3. Redesign the Data Model:

Cognos frameworks differ from Power BI’s relational modeling. Ensure there is consistency in dimensions and measures. Draft visual requirements that capture insights similar to Cognos reports. Implement a star schema. Define calculated columns and measures. A well-designed data model ensures scalability and faster report performance.

4. Rebuilding business Logic:

Cognos calculations and transformations must be recreated. Rebuild ETL logic in Power Query. Recreate calculations using DAX. Validate KPI formulas. Each transformation should be validated individually to ensure consistency. Use Power Query (M) or Microsoft Fabric Dataflows to replicate Cognos data transformation. 

5. Automated Report Conversion (AI-Powered):

AI tools help in extracting metadata, business logic, and filters from Cognos reports. For Pixel-perfect reports, use Power BI Report Builder instead of standard interactive dashboards. Automatically convert SQL/Cognos expressions into Power BI DAX and Power Query. Recreate report layouts, visualizations, and data interactions. 

6. Security and Data Transformation:

Map Cognos’s section Access or role-based filters to Power BI Row-Level Security (RLS). Map users to Azure Active Directory groups. Check the access with different user profiles.

7. Testing and Validation:

Run parallel tests in both Cognos and Power BI. Compare and validate the output of the Cognos report with the new Power BI report. Continuously monitor the report load times in Power BI. Get formal signoff before full deployment.

Things to Be Considered Post Cognos to Power BI Migration

The key aspects to consider post-migration of Cognos to Power BI are

• Data validation: Run both Cognos and Power BI in parallel. Compare the reports and validate the data to ensure consistency. Resolve discrepancies in calculations, filters, or aggregations.
• Security and Governance: Implement structured workspace management. Verify that Row-Level Security (RLS) is working correctly by viewing it as a role for different user types to ensure no data leakage occurred during the move.
• Training users: Provide training sessions to the users to move away from static, paginated reports to interactive dashboards. Offer documentation and follow the best practices guide. Encourage Self-service BI while maintaining data governance standards.
• Decommissioning legacy system: Once all validation is done, proceed with decommissioning the legacy Cognos system and move on to Power BI analytics platforms. Get a proper sign-off from the users and stakeholders.

How can Entrans help with Cognos to Power BI Migration?

At Entrans, we specialize in Cognos to Power BI migration services. Our team of Power BI specialists ensures seamless migration with minimal downtime and derives maximum efficiency. From data modeling to role-based security and real-time dashboards, we make your migration smooth, accurate, and fast.

Why Choose Entrans?

• Custom Solutions: Tailored migration strategies to fit your unique business needs.
• Expert Guidance: A team of certified professionals to guide you through each phase of migration.
• End-to-End Service: From pre-migration planning to post-migration optimization, we ensure a seamless transition.

If you're ready to migrate from Cognos to modern analytics (Power BI), Entrans is here to help. Contact us today to discuss your needs and how we can assist in your migration journey.