May 12, 2026
Over the weekend of May 12-16, USI IT will upgrade the Cognos reporting system to a new server and new software version. As usual with new versions of Cognos, there is an updated look to the user interface. The changes this time around are minimal and IT does not expect any challenges for users to acclimate to the updated interface.
Between now and the end of day Wednesday, May 13, IT invites employees with Cognos access to take a look at the new system to familiarize themselves with the updated interface before the changes go live over the weekend dates. The new system can be accessed from the Banner 9 green screen. The link is at the bottom of the page and labeled “Cognos Analytics 12.1.2 (Testing).”
Once you’ve logged into the new Cognos, the menu to get to content and other items can be found by clicking the “hamburger” menu in the upper left corner of the page or the context menu located beneath the blue “Welcome” banner. If you’d like to look at what videos are available on using Cognos, click “Learn” on the Cognos banner that appears. Feel free to browse any of the other videos in this area, but keep in mind that USI does not have the “Mobile Analytics” feature, and that the “Assistant” feature is for report creation and doesn’t apply to most users. Similarly, the “Create” and “Assistant” tiles on the blue banner are also for report creation and will not apply to most users.
Additional details related to the upgrade later in the week. The preview window closes at the end of the day Wednesday, May 13.