Cognos Launches e-Applications for J.D. Edwards

Cognos, the leading strategic vendor of enterprise business intelligence (BI) solutions for e-business, announced it is the first BI vendor to offer packaged e-Applications to extend the value of J.D. Edwards' OneWorld and WorldSoftware solutions. Cognos e-Applications are complete end-to-end BI applications including defined extractions and data models, proven business content and best practices displayed through captured business metrics, and a full suite of key performance indicators (KPIs), reports and analyses. Built upon Cognos' unique operational framework and robust production environment, Cognos e-Applications help J.D. Edwards customers rapidly derive business value from their enterprise data and deploy it over the Web for a coordinated view of their business.

By using Cognos e-Applications, J.D. Edwards OneWorld and WorldSoftware customers receive a complete, cross-functional view of their ERP data, providing a strategic perspective on KPIs, reducing implementation costs and effort, and driving business and time to results. e-Applications offer joint Cognos and J.D. Edwards customers a solution to leverage their investment by extending the value of their data for better business performance measurement.

"Cognos is providing immediate business value and a rapid return on the investment companies have in their J.D. Edwards knowledge management systems," said Alan Rottenberg, Cognos senior vice president of e-business intelligence applications. "Cognos has had a long-standing partnership with J.D. Edwards, and with Cognos e-Applications, we are now extending and complementing the J.D. Edwards solutions to help our mutual customers increase sales productivity, competitiveness and customer satisfaction. Our strategic goal is to provide J.D. Edwards customers with widespread sales and e-commerce deployment via the Web for competitive advantage with our e-Applications."

"With its new e-Applications for J.D. Edwards, Cognos is not only acknowledging its customers' needs and preferences for 'packaged' e-business applications, but it is also driving a 'leadership stake' in the ground in this until now largely vacant segment of the business intelligence market," said Bob Moran, research vice president and managing director, Decision Support Research. "To derive maximum value from technology solutions, organizations must be able to deploy them at Internet speed. Cognos e- Applications enable organizations to achieve this mission and deliver bottom- line value and results."

Cognos e-Applications for J.D. Edwards will first be available for Sales Analysis and Inventory Analysis. Sales Analysis helps companies retain their customer base, close sales faster and generate more revenue, while Inventory Analysis provides customers with key information on their stock reservations, helps them analyze their material usage rates and forecast inventory levels.

GNB Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific Dunlop Limited of Australia, is an integrated provider of power technology products, and is currently implementing OneWorld for its 28 field sales organization locations. Don Curt, vice president and chief information officer at GNB Technologies stated, "Cognos e-Applications for J.D. Edwards will allow us to increase productivity, competitiveness and customer satisfaction. We will be able to significantly reduce our OneWorld implementation budget in the reporting area while delivering superior information and analysis to our end users across the enterprise."

Pameco Corporation, one of the largest national distributors of HVAC systems and equipment and refrigeration products in the United States, has been live on J.D. Edwards WorldSoftware since 1998. Pameco then looked to Cognos e-Applications for J.D. Edwards to increase the benefits they receive from their WorldSoftware. "Cognos e-Applications will give our business leaders the capability to analyze incredible volumes of sales and inventory transaction data, thereby gaining new awareness of underlying trends in our business," said Nicholas Coussoule, chief information officer at Pameco Corporation. "This can be accomplished without making modifications to the configuration of our J.D. Edwards WorldSoftware or migrating to OneWorld."

Cognos' solution providers and OEMs are well positioned to make Cognos e-Applications part of their overall business strategy, helping customers achieve faster time to results. Cognos has partnered with Atlanta based CD Group, Inc. to develop this solution for J.D. Edwards customers. CD Group is a national, full-service consulting firm and J.D. Edwards reseller that specializes in implementing J.D. Edwards software and in providing its users with leading edge business and technology solutions.

In North America, Cognos e-Applications for J.D. Edwards will also be distributed through Enabled Worlds, a new Center of Excellence for J.D. Edwards customers and partners.

Availability

The Cognos Sales Analysis for J.D. Edwards will be available within 60 days. Inventory Analysis will be available within 90 days. Cognos plans additional e-Applications customized for the J.D. Edwards community in 2000.

About Cognos

Cognos is the leading vendor of enterprise business intelligence solutions. Business Intelligence software makes corporate data easily accessible to everyone in an organization, so they can better coordinate decision-making across the entire enterprise, and improve the performance of the business. Cognos products are available directly from Cognos and through an extensive network of channel partners. The Company also develops, markets and supports software tools for application development.

Founded in 1969, Cognos is a publicly traded company with offices around the world. U.S. operations for the company are headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts. For more information, visit the Cognos Website at www.cognos.com.

Contact Tim Powers of Cognos, 781-229-6600