Cognos to unveil new performance management system

This is the industry's first Web-services based solution that provides the complete range of BI functionalities in a single product on a proven, single architecture. Cognos 8 BI is being unveiled globally at simultaneous events in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, London, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna and Zurich.

"Cognos 8 BI provides the required foundation for effective performance management, which is now becoming an imperative for organisations worldwide. The customer-focused revolution Cognos initiated in enterprise reporting in 2003 is fulfilled and enhanced with Cognos 8 BI, which will serve as the new single product of choice for BI standardisation," says Cognos CEO Rob Ashe.

Cognos bundles together its full range of software under the 'corporate performance management' banner, an umbrella area it defines as covering the processes and software applications organisations use to track organisational performance metrics like financial goals and results.

"Cognos 8 BI includes a range of tools that run such functions as reporting, queries and analysis. It can be used to access a company's entire range of data, versus earlier tools that needed different products to analyse different types of information. It truly allows you to analyse information in whatever tool makes the most sense to you and will lead many customers to choose Cognos as their business intelligence standard in a global market estimated to be worth about US 4.3 billion annually*," says David Brierley, regional manager, Cognos Middle East, Turkey and Greece.

The software is built on service-oriented architecture (SOA), a recent trend in software that aims to enable more flexible and adaptable computer systems to accommodate business process changes.

"Companies in the Middle East have recognised that business intelligence and its broader applications in corporate and business performance management can help them optimise operations. It is becoming a critical investment; according to ICD estimates, the Middle East business intelligence market has a growth rate of 23.6 per cent per annum and reach a capitalisation of US $75 million by 2007," adds Brierley.

Cognos 8 BI has been rigorously tested by more than 100 organisations worldwide and will be available from November onwards.