Navman standardises on Cognos Business Intelligence

– in-car navigation business establishes a BICC to drive performance management –

London, UK – September 13, 2007 – Cognos, the world leader in business intelligence (BI) and performance management solutions, has announced that GPS pioneer, Navman, is standardising on Cognos 8 Business Intelligence for performance management, first in Europe and then across its global business.

The in-car navigation business has recently been acquired by Mitac. As a result, the newly formed business is working across multiple ERP systems. Following a competitive pitch, Navman chose Cognos 8 BI to standardise reports and ensure all staff have easy access to critical information. A Business Intelligence Competency Centre (BICC), made up of teams of IT and business users, is being established in the UK. Its role is to ensure the smooth roll out and use of Cognos 8 BI, and then replicate this best practice across all international markets.

Cognos’ performance management solution has been implemented across five key areas of its European division, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, inventory and sales. The Cognos 8 BI dashboards will provide staff with a clear performance overview of areas, including sales and financial reports, and allow them to accurately track inventory. Navman will also be able to do scenario planning, which will help it make better decisions in the dynamic GPS car navigation market

“We work with a number of systems and data sources to meet the breadth of the business needs and, following the acquisition, this will expand to include more legacy systems,” said Navman general manager Mike West. “We needed a technology that would unite the information so staff could easily access one version of up-to-date and accurate reports across the business.”

“We are passionate about BI,” added West. “All the ‘what if’ questions you have can be answered by this technology. Cognos will help us to get the answers to these questions, which will really help us make the right decisions to drive our business forward.”

“We are establishing the BICC to centralise the deployment, develop best practice BI skills and encourage user take up of the new technology,” he continued. “This experience will be invaluable in supporting us as we roll the technology out globally next year.”

“By integrating Cognos 8 BI into our business, it will accelerate reporting cycles for finance and allows us to plan as the business grows.”

“To ensure a successful merger or acquisition, companies need to ensure it is ‘business as usual’. Organisations must be able to access all-important data, however the consolidation of multiple ERP systems can represent a pain-point for companies,” said Graham Walter, vice-president of Cognos UK, Middle East and South Africa.

“Cognos 8 BI will help Navman avoid these pressures, and help it to access critical information and maintain its position through periods of transition.”

About Navman
Navman, a world leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of global positioning system (GPS) products, has 20 years experience in GPS, and as such is now widely recognized as a pioneer of portable, in-car satellite navigation devices. Navman is a top three vendor of personal navigation devices across Europe* as a result of the brand becoming synonymous with reliability, innovation and simplicity.

Navman started out in New Zealand specialising in marine electronics, and today its award-winning GPS products are now available for cars, boats, commercial fleets and outdoor activities. Navman is a global corporation with offices in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. Its products are sold and supported worldwide.

For further information about Navman Europe and its full range of innovative products, please contact

Tel: +44 (0)1293 780 500 or visit the web site at www.navman.com.

About Cognos, an IBM Company
Cognos, an IBM company, is the world leader in business intelligence and performance management solutions.

It provides world-class enterprise planning and BI software and services to help companies plan, understand and manage financial and operational performance.
Cognos was acquired by IBM in January 2008.

For more information, visit http://www.ibm.com/software/data/ and http://www.cognos.com/uk/

For further information about Cognos, please contact:
Katy Lyons or Farimah Saadat at LEWIS, the PR agency

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7802 2626
Fax: +44 (0)20 7802 2627
www.lewispr.com

For sales enquiries call:
Tel: +44 (0) 1344 486 668
www.cognos.com/uk

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