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Cognicase - some key points from the IPO prospectus
- started as a company specializing in transforming systems from one platform to another; they have completed over 50 of these including hardware migrations (AS/400, HP-3000, ICL, Microsoft NT, MVS, UNIX, VM), software migrations (ADS, Assembler, C/C++, COBOL, Easytrieve, Focus, Ideal, Natural, PL/1, Powerhouse, RPG, SAS) and data base migrations (ADABAS, Datacom, DB2, DB2/2, IDMS, Image, IMS, Oracle, Sybase, VSAM)
- first Y2K end-to-end conversion was for the Laurentian Bank (sub-contracted by CGI Group) in 1994 and work continues today on on some of LB's ancillary systems. Cognicase has now completed over twenty Y2000 end-to-end conversions
- have strategic partnerships with SHL Systemhouse (an MCI company), DMR (an Amdahl subsidiary) and GE Capital. Between Cognicase and its partners, there are 12 Y2000 convesion factories covering Canada, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Australia
- the Cognicase approach is very flexible offering a variety of approaches for date conversion including full date expansion, data compression and windowing (both fixed and sliding). Furthermore, these approaches can be mixed to accomodate the customer's preference in terms of trading off minimizing current effort against ease of maintenance in the longer term
- Cognicase's tools are available directly from the company (as Northern Telecom and Sikorsky have chosen to do) or through one of their strategeic partners or through other consulting firms such as CGI and LGS. This provides Cognicase with several income streams as third party usage provides not only licensing fees, but also royalties per line of code
- Cognicase is now gearing its products to handle Euro conversion as well as the expansion of the number of digits in Japanese phone numbers
- Cognicase has forged a symbiotic relationship with two technical colleges in the Montreal area. Cognicase provides the colleges with the software which then ensures a ready supply of qualified practioners for Cognicase's and their partner/clients' conversion factories. |
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