Finally, the results of two years R&D expenditures are bearing fruit:
Monday February 5, 12:01 am Eastern Time
Cognos kicks off new business analytic system
biz.yahoo.com
(UPDATE: In U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted)
By Susan Taylor
OTTAWA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Cognos Inc. (Toronto:CSN.TO - news) (NasdaqNM:COGN - news) launched a line of software on Monday that it said slashes the time and cost to set up business analysis systems, giving the company a head start in an emerging multi-billion market.
Cognos, the world's No. 1 supplier of business intelligence software used to gain access to and analyze corporate data, said the new tools are designed to draw information from large corporate data systems and answer a range of prepared questions.
That cuts to 80 percent from 50 percent of the time companies must spend to design systems to answer detailed questions about how their business is performing.
``It's a real hotbed and these folks are in the game,'' said Bob Moran, research vice-president at market researchers Aberdeen Group. ``They're doing something much more comprehensive than most of their competitors.''
Cognos said on Monday that it is the first to launch a slate of analysis tools that work with J.D. Edwards WorldSoftware, an enterprise resource planning system that has more than 5,000 customers.
Companies use enterprise resource planning software to manage such things as inventory maintenance, parts purchasing, tracking orders and customer service.
``Nobody else has anything that matches what we've accomplished so far,'' said Scott Lawrence, Cognos director of marketing for the analytical applications unit. ``There's some (companies) out there that actually do sub-sets of what we've accomplished.''
The market for so-called analytical applications is forecast by International Data Corp. to surge to more than $6 billion in 2004 from $2 billion in 1999.
Cognos competes in the market with traditional business intelligence rivals such as Business Objects SA (NasdaqNM:BOBJ - news) and Brio Technology Inc. (NasdaqNM:BRIO - news) along with companies such as Informatica Corp. (NasdaqNM:INFA - news), which make software used to build and manage data warehouses, said Moran.
Cognos' new products, for such analyses as procurement and accounts receivable, follow earlier tools for sales and inventory analysis. In combination, the software can be used to answer 650 business questions that use 500 different performance indicators in 30 business areas.
Specialty chemicals company Laporte Water Technologies, a subsidiary of Laporte Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: LPRT.L), said it has cut the time it takes to run profit reports to two hours from two weeks using Cognos.
Cognos said it also is developing similar tools for such ERP systems as SAP and PeopleSoft.
($1 equals 1.50 Canadian)
Cognos(R) Serves Up Full Slate of Analytical Applications for J.D. Edwards(R) WorldSoftware(R)
- Business Intelligence Leader Offers Industry's Most Comprehensive and Cost Effective Analytical Applications Suite for J.D. Edwards Customers -
biz.yahoo.com
BURLINGTON, Mass., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Cognos®, (Nasdaq: COGN - news; TSE: CSN - news) the world's largest and most successful business intelligence company, today delivered the industry's most comprehensive breadth of enterprise analytical applications for J.D. Edwards WorldSoftware®. Cognos e-Applications for J.D. Edwards WorldSoftware provide an enterprise-wide, out-of-the-box business performance measurement (BPM) solution for the thousands of J.D. Edwards' WorldSoftware customers worldwide.
The new e-Applications include analyses of General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable and Procurement. These applications, combined with previously announced Sales Analysis and Inventory Analysis, form a powerful and fully-integrated suite of BPM analytical applications for J.D. Edwards WorldSoftware. Cognos e-Applications are designed to help managers and executives optimize business performance across the enterprise while decreasing costs and time to result. Within each e-Application, Cognos provides extensive understanding and analysis of the business processes and answers to hundreds of critical business questions. The full breadth of these analytical applications comprises 30 areas of business analysis - answering more than 650 business questions using over 500 business metrics and key performance indicators.
The market for analytical applications is red-hot. According to International Data Corporation, worldwide revenue in this market space is expected to accelerate at a compound annual growth rate of 28 percent, from $2 billion in 1999 to more than $6 billion in 2004.
``Cognos was one of the first business intelligence suppliers to recognize the emerging opportunity in the analytical applications market. With its deep understanding of business best practices and the use of data dimensions, Cognos has built into its applications the ability for business intelligence to become intimate with business processes across an organization's key functional areas,'' said Bob Moran, research vice president and managing director, Decision Support Research, Aberdeen Group. ``With this announcement, Cognos has once again solidified its position as a true leader in the packaged analytical applications marketspace.''
Laporte Water Technologies, a subsidiary of Laporte plc®, the international specialty chemicals company, already uses the Cognos Sales Analysis e-Application for J.D. Edwards WorldSoftware to analyze mission- critical business factors such as customer and product profitability. Using the Cognos solution, Laporte has cut its report production times from two weeks to less than two hours. The company plans to deploy additional e- Applications into areas such as inventory and finance in the coming months.
``The Sales Analysis e-Application has helped us quickly and easily identify opportunities to increase profitability by restructuring product offerings and adjusting sales force compensation. It was a cash neutral investment in year zero,'' said Keith Lewis, vice president of business development with Laporte Water Technologies. ``We expect the new e-Applications will significantly strengthen the management system in other critical areas across our business.''
The following are some examples of the analysis customers can perform with each of the new e-Applications:
--General Ledger Analysis - includes financial performance reporting and
analysis; budget analysis; operational reporting and analysis; and key
financial ratio analysis
--Accounts Receivable Analysis - includes customer credit scorecarding;
accounts receivable functional performance analysis; accounts receivable
quality analysis; corporate self-appraisal; and organizational
effectiveness analysis
--Accounts Payable Analysis - includes vendor performance scorecarding;
accounts payable functional performance analysis; corporate self-
appraisal; and organizational effectiveness analysis
--Procurement Analysis - includes commodity related expenditure profiles;
vendor-related expenditure profiles; commodity demand analysis; vendor
scorecarding and comparison; and procurement process effectiveness
analysis.
These e-Applications build on the strength of Cognos' market-leading business intelligence software by providing fast, actionable answers to hundreds of critical business questions. For example, using Cognos Accounts Payable Analysis, customers can quickly and easily get answers to questions like: ``How many invoices were submitted per vendor, per period?'' ``What is the average cost of a delayed payment and how has that changed over time?'' ``How much time is taken between receiving the invoice and sending the purchase order?''
``The sights of global businesses are now set squarely on the need to achieve greater operational effectiveness, sooner, in an increasingly challenging business environment. For this reason, companies like Laporte, are looking to analytical applications to help them meet their business objectives,'' said Alan Rottenberg, Cognos senior vice president, e-Business Intelligence Applications Unit. ``Cognos e-Applications for J.D. Edwards WorldSoftware provide companies with the industry's most complete suite of BPM analytical applications.''
Availability
Cognos Sales Analysis, Inventory Analysis, General Ledger Analysis and Accounts Receivable Analysis for J.D. Edwards WorldSoftware are now generally available. Cognos Accounts Payable Analysis for J.D. Edwards WorldSoftware will be available within 90 days and Cognos Procurement Analysis for J.D. Edwards WorldSoftware will be available in 120 days.
Cognos
Cognos is the world's largest and most successful business intelligence company. Founded in 1969, Cognos does business with 16,000 customers in more than 100 countries around the world. Cognos business intelligence solutions and services are also available from more than 2,900 worldwide partners and resellers. For more information, visit the Cognos Web site at cognos.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements about new product developments, features and availability. These forward-looking statements are made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. There can be no guarantee that future results will turn out as expected. Those risks and uncertainties are detailed in the Company's SEC filings from time to time, including the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Cognos and the Cognos logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cognos Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Note to Editors: Copies of previous Cognos press releases and Corporate and product information are available on Cognos' World Wide Web (WWW) site at cognos.com, and at PRNewswire's site at prnewswire.com.
SOURCE: Cognos |
