Managing Cognos User Licenses - Part 1

As a Cognos Administrator, it's crucial to manage your Cognos licenses carefully. A license audit can be both costly and time-consuming if you’re not in compliance. Unlike other tools that require license keys for activation, IBM Cognos Analytics relies on an "honor" system, meaning it’s your responsibility to ensure everything is properly managed and up to date.

There are numerous ways this situation can quickly spiral out of control.

Issue #1 – Outside Roles and Capabilities

I only have two people in the Analytics Administrator/System Administrator group in Cognos. So why does it list so many users with an Analytics Administrator license?

At first glance, this appears to be quite a conundrum. Why does Cognos report so many administrators? It might seem like there's a problem with the algorithm, but that's likely not the issue. The data is probably accurate. What’s really going on is that the license type is influenced by factors beyond the default Cognos roles and is actually determined by specific capabilities.

Take a look at the Capability Matrix from IBM below. A green checkbox indicates that the capability is restricted to a specific license type. One common issue that can lead to inflated Admin counts is having users assigned to outdated Cognos roles, such as Planning Administrator. Even if you no longer use Cognos Planning/TM1 software, if this license type was not properly cleaned up, all users in that role could be counted as Administrators.

Default permissions based on licenses - IBM Documentation

MetaManager simplifies the process of quickly checking the “Everyone” role, allowing you to ensure that it doesn't include any roles that contribute to Admin licenses.

After running the security report, I see that there are 14 roles associated with the “Everyone” role. Of these, 11 are inherited from other roles, specifically from the Analytics Explorer role.

I’m only concerned with roles that have Admin capabilities. Therefore, locate the PowerPlay Administrators role that includes the “Everyone” role and remove it.

The next time users log in, their license type will be updated, and you should notice a reduction in the number of Administrator licenses.

If you’re ready to quickly take control of your Cognos licenses, download MetaManager here: https://www.bspsoftware.com/products/metamanager/#mm-download

If you’d like someone else to help you manage your Cognos licenses, we can help with that too!