Pitney Bowes MapInfo Unveils Location Intelligence Component for IBM Cognos 8 BI Software

Pitney Bowes MapInfo, the leading global provider of location intelligence solutions, has introduced the Location Intelligence Component (LIC) for IBM® Cognos 8 Business Intelligence software. The LIC allows customers in all industries to incorporate location analysis into their IBM Cognos 8 BI applications to more efficiently monitor and analyze their enterprise data.

What is the LIC?

The LIC Solution for IBM Cognos 8 BI provides users with a mapping interface that allows users of Cognos 8 to "see" their data in a new way. In many instances, different graphs, lines, and charts are used to effectively communicate information in a report. Such visualizations allow users to quickly understand information and to make better business decisions. The LIC Solution for IBM Cognos 8 BI allows users to view information that has a geographic dimension through a map. Such an exposure allows the user to understand proximity within their data and how that might contribute to the decision making process.

Users also have the ability to make geographical selections from the map. This allows users to select for example all "postal codes" that are within five miles of a store location, or perhaps select all "policy holders" who are within a specified flood zone.

Moreover, the operations are bi-directional. Selections made from the map are reflected in the Cognos report and similarly, selections made from the report are reflected in the map. This synchronization allows users to view the same content in the most appropriate manner.

Key Functionalities:

• View reports with a geographic dimension in a map
• Thematically shade points or regions based upon a specific measure associated with that object
• Allow users to perform standard map operations such as Zoom and Pan
• Produce report information on a specific geographic object by clicking on that object
• Select geographies from the map interface
  
• Use spatial selections to identify important geographies of interest

Architecture Overview

The following diagram illustrates the integration of the LIC Solution for IBM Cognos 8 BI. The visual component of the LIC is embedded in an iFrame in the Cognos Report Viewer. Buttons are added to the Report Viewer toolbar to control the visibility of the map. Only report metadata is accessed at this level. The rendering of the report data takes place in a Web application that interfaces with the Cognos Report Service.

Figure 1: The integration of the LIC Solution for IBM Cognos 8 BI

The report data is rendered on a map through the concept of a geographic binding. The LIC is configured to recognize column headers with well known names. For example, if a report contains a column heading "States" and the LIC has been configured to recognize "States", then a geographic binding can take place.

The following diagram illustrates the concept of geographic binding:

Figure 2: The concept of geographic binding

Product Requirements

The LIC Solution for IBM Cognos for BI is dependent on the Cognos Report Viewer. The Report Viewer in turn is dependent on the BI server and Framework Manager.