- Solution Combines Planning and Financial Consolidation With Analysis and Reporting - BURLINGTON, Mass., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cognos (Nasdaq: COGN; TSX: CSN), the world leader in business intelligence and performance management solutions, today announced that MAQUET GmbH & Co. KG has deployed a performance management solution for improved sales planning. With the Cognos solution, the international medical technology provider is updating the technology foundation for its Medical Systems business and is optimizing its production processes. Shorter planning cycles coupled with ongoing, detailed evaluation of all relevant data will ensure a competitive edge for MAQUET, allowing it to further extend its position as the quality leader. Above-average growth and the need to secure its competitive edge drove MAQUET's decision to deploy Cognos. "New business areas are constantly being created or amended within our organization. Using spreadsheets alone in this dynamic environment required a high amount of maintenance," said project leader Dirk Volmarhaus, SAP CC Controlling & Finance and responsible for IT solutions in Controlling at MAQUET. "The Web-based solution from Cognos optimally supports us and also offers the advantage of letting us analyze data practically in real time. Before we had to send spreadsheet data by mail and manually consolidate this in MS Access. The costs and time involved were high and our business was not transparent enough." MAQUET uses Cognos Planning for operational sales planning. Quantities, sales and cost of sales can now be consistently planned across different locations and facilities easily. The high degree of flexibility also allows for short-term changes in planning and the simulation of business scenarios. In addition, the company deploys Cognos analysis and reporting solutions to analyze sales data on an ongoing and detailed basis. The BI platform allows planning data to be contrasted with actual data on a daily basis, and permits comparisons in a wide range of dimensions. As MAQUET is active in more than 25 countries, online access to control- relevant sales data is also indispensable for analysis and reporting. A particular benefit of the solution is its integration into the existing infrastructure. All data sources - in SAP(R) and non-SAP applications - may be fully integrated. Moreover, MAQUET's parent company, the GETINGE Group, in which MAQUET represents the Medical Systems business area, uses Cognos Controller to prepare balance sheets in the shortest-possible time while complying with legal provisions. As a result, management has an overview of the performance of the company at all times. The overall solution seamlessly integrates planning and financial consolidation with analysis and reporting. The resulting performance management solution enables the company to compare plan to actual data, and use actual data to drive new plans. This management process allows MAQUET to tap market opportunities and the potential for improvements. In addition, the costs for user training are also lowered. As an international leader, MAQUET also aims to be progressive internally. MAQUET is planning follow-up projects to continually improve the system. "MAQUET is an innovative company that is looking to the future," said Dave Laverty, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Cognos. "Within the GETINGE Group, we have already cooperated with the MAQUET Cardiopulmonary Division. We are now looking forward to continuing this successful work with the entire MAQUET Group." About GETINGE Group/MAQUET: The GETINGE Group ranks among the leading global health care providers. The medical technology products of the group of companies play a decisive role in enhancing quality and lowering costs in the health care sector. The three brands ARJO (patient hygiene, patient mobility and wound care), GETINGE (sterilization, disinfection and documentation in the health care sector and in research facilities), and MAQUET (workstations in the OR and in intensive care) represent the forward-looking technologies and services of the GETINGE Group. MAQUET is a leading international provider of medical technology products and services, focusing on the OR and intensive care. Since its foundation over 165 years ago MAQUET has stood for innovation and technological progress in medicine. With practice-oriented, forward-looking products MAQUET fulfils the prerequisites for optimum workflows. About Cognos: Cognos, the world leader in business intelligence and performance management solutions, provides world-class enterprise planning and BI software and services to help companies plan, understand and manage financial and operational performance. Cognos brings together technology, analytical applications, best practices, and a broad network of partners to give customers a complete performance system. The Cognos performance system is an open and adaptive solution that leverages an organization's ERP, packaged applications, and database investments. It gives customers the ability to answer the questions - How are we doing? Why are we on or off track? What should we do about it? - and enables them to understand and monitor current performance while planning future business strategies. Cognos serves more than 23,000 customers in more than 135 countries, and its top 100 enterprise customers consistently outperform market indexes. Cognos performance management solutions and services are also available from more than 3,000 worldwide partners and resellers. For more information, visit the Cognos Web site at http://www.cognos.com/. 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. Media Contacts: Amy Shanler Cognos, Inc., 781-313-2464 Jolene Bonina Lois Paul & Partners, LLC, 781-782-5849 Investor Relations: John Lawlor Cognos, Inc., 613-738-3503 DATASOURCE: Cognos, Inc. CONTACT: Media, Amy Shanler of Cognos, Inc., +1-781-313-2464, or ; or Jolene Bonina, of Lois Paul & Partners, LLC, +1-781-782-5849, or ; Investors, John Lawlor of Cognos, Inc., +1-613-738-3503, or Web site: http://www.cognos.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/107867.html

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