BURLINGTON, MA, June 13, 2002—Cognos (Nasdaq: COGN; TSE: CSN), the world leader in business intelligence (BI), today announced its support for Section 508, a U.S. Government regulation ensuring electronic and information technology developed, maintained, and procured by the U.S. Federal government be accessible to people with disabilities. Partnering with Agassa Net Technologies Inc., the industry's first and leading Section 508 consultant, Cognos is driving accessibility support across its industry-leading product lines, customer support, developer training and consulting practices.

Agassa Net Technologies is a member of the Strategic Management Council of the Federal Government's General Services Administration (GSA) Accessibility Forum that gives government, industry and users a working forum to address issues impacting accessibility.

"Cognos has demonstrated a studied and serious approach to supporting Section 508. For an initiative as important as this is to the lives of 54 million Americans, it is encouraging to work with a vendor that has demonstrated this level of commitment," said Marti McCuller, chief executive officer and founder of Agassa Net Technologies. "We have been impressed by the Cognos initiative to integrate best-in-class IT/Web accessibility processes into development, testing and deployment of Cognos business intelligence products and services."

Cognos continues to make significant and ongoing investments in the usability and accessibility of our solutions, committing both research and development resources, and funding. Most recently, in January 2002, Cognos pledged $1 million (Cdn.) over five years to Carleton University, one of North America's top centers of excellence in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) research. The funds will support the development of a new HCI lab at the University, HCI research initiatives, PhD scholarships and the sponsorship of international HCI academics.

"With today's announcement, Cognos continues to underscore its solid commitment to usability. Working in collaboration with HCI academics and leading consultants like Agassa, Cognos benefits from leading-edge concepts and approaches to accessibility," said Prof. Gitte Lindgaard, internationally renowned HCI academic, director of the Human Oriented Technology Lab (HOTLab) at Carleton University.

"Cognos will continue to make accessibility and usability integral elements of our business intelligence solutions. It is our hope that the Cognos commitment will encourage innovation across the entire industry," said Dave Laverty, senior vice president, marketing, Cognos.

For more information please visit http://www.cognos.com/usability.

About Agassa Net Technologies
Agassa Net Technologies offers professional Information Technology and Web (IT/Web) accessibility consulting, training, auditing and testing services for government agencies, businesses and educational institutions.

Agassa's Accessibility Consulting Services can assist federal agencies in determining if their Internet/Intranet Web sites or IT applications comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. As a turnkey solutions provider specializing in Section 508, Agassa can provide the resources, skill sets and experience needed to bring Web sites-or IT applications-into compliance with the accessibility standards of Section 508.