BURLINGTON, MA, October 31, 2002—Cognos (Nasdaq:COGN; TSX:CSN), the world leader in business intelligence (BI), today announced it has received the highest ranking in the SPEX comparative business intelligence product review. Receiving an 'outstanding' designation from SPEX, a division of META Group, Cognos was tested for functionality, usability, and overall technology and market strength along with seven leading business intelligence solutions including Crystal, Brio, MicroStrategy, Hyperion, IBI and Actuate.

Cognos achieved nearly perfect scores for functionality and usability at 4.7 and 4.8 respectively of a possible 5.0 score. Cognos ranked an overall 4.58 of a possible 5.0, the highest ranking in the 2002 business intelligence report.

According to the evaluation summary: "Cognos Series 7 offers users a complete BI platform and is one of the most functionally complete solutions evaluated. Specific areas of strength include navigation and analysis, query functionality, and data modeling features." The SPEX review also highlighted the Cognos Series 7 integrated framework, simplified installation and centralized administration console.

"It is an enormous honor to have achieved such a high ranking in the 2002 SPEX review. This is yet again another validation of the market leadership and superior performance of Cognos Series 7. Cognos continues to win in the marketplace thanks to our close partnership with our more than 20,000 global customers, providing solutions that exceed their expectations," said Dave Laverty, senior vice president, global marketing, Cognos.

* Source: META Group, Inc. "SPEX Business Technology Evaluations — Business Intelligence," Sept. 2002

SPEX Disclaimer
Copyright © 2002 META Group, Inc. All rights reserved. SPEX is a division of META Group Inc. Permission to reproduce this research has been granted by META Group, Inc. Any further reproduction or redistribution of this research in any form without prior written approval is prohibited. SPEX represents META Group's independent evaluation of the features and functionality of a specific technology product. META Group's permission to reproduce this evaluation should not be deemed to be an endorsement of any company or product. META Group research is intended to be one of many information sources and decision-makers should not rely solely on the SPEX evaluation for making solution choices. META Group expressly disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to fitness of this research for a particular purpose or merchantability.