OTTAWA, ON, October 18, 2001—The world's leading business intelligence company is on the move - bringing its bold new vision, products, and technical expertise to customers across North America. Cognos (Nasdaq: COGN; TSE: CSN), the leading provider of enterprise business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced Cognos Enterprise 2001 User Days.

This series of one-day events will provide Cognos customers and partners with valuable information about Cognos' strategic direction, product developments, customer case studies, as well as technical tips and techniques on a broad range of topics. The User Days are designed to provide Cognos customers and partners with opportunities for networking and idea sharing with other members of the user community.

User Days are the North American component of Cognos Enterprise 2001 - a series of global events, which are expected to draw more than 6,000 Cognos customers to 20 locations around the world - including Europe, Latin America, Japan, South Africa and Australia.

"Cognos is committed to delivering important information to our customers and partners in a manner that best meets their needs at this time," said Ron Zambonini, Cognos president and chief executive officer. "Cognos Enterprise 2001 User Days allow our company to bear most of the burden of travel for our customers while ensuring that we continue to help make them the best decision-makers in the world."

Cognos senior management will lead the User Days in eight major regions across North America:

• Chicago, IL - October 23

• Iselin, NJ - October 26

• Toronto, ON - October 30

• Atlanta, GA - November 1

• Boston, MA - November 6

• Los Angeles, CA - November 13

• Dallas, TX - November 15

• Ottawa, ON - December 12

Cognos will also host its 2001 Financial Analyst and Investor Conference in conjunction with the Chicago User Day at the Hilton Chicago on October 23. Cognos senior management will review the scope of the business intelligence market opportunity, explore how companies are using BI to optimize business performance, and present to the investment community Cognos' strategies for leadership in the BI market. This one-day event will also feature several of the company's most significant enterprise customers.

Members of the investment community may register for the 2001 Financial Analyst and Investor Conference at http://www.cognos.com/analyst2001.

For more information on the Cognos Enterprise 2001 User Days, please visit the Cognos Web site at http://www.cognos.com/userdays/index.html.