FRANKFURT/MAIN GERMANY, January 03, 2002—Cognos (Nasdaq: COGN; TSE: CSN), the leading global provider of business intelligence solutions, today announced that German car manufacturer BMW has purchased a comprehensive worldwide general systems license from Cognos. Integrated into BMW’s overall corporate IT initiative called Blueprint Strategy, Cognos Impromptu and PowerPlay will allow BMW’s users to quickly and easily report and analyze company data to identify cost-saving opportunities and rapidly react to changes in the marketplace.

BMW’s employees have used Cognos enterprise-wide for six years now, to report and analyze data from various business units including sales and distribution, logistics, production, and central planning. While in the past BMW has also used other business intelligence solutions throughout the corporate organization, Cognos solutions will now be the corporate standard.

"We selected Cognos because of the superior price-benefit ratio of its business intelligence solutions, plus their wide functional latitude which best covers BMW's current and future spectrum of far-flung applications," said Dr. Joerg Rothermel, BMW head of Data and Object Management. "For us, an additional benefit was Cognos’ commitment to include our requirements into their future product development process." Dr Rothermel also noted that ease of integration and superior support were also critical factors in the decision-making process.

Cognos PowerPlay and Impromptu form the backbone of BMW’s business intelligence applications. The Data Warehouse Group, which functions as an internal service provider within BMW's overall corporate structure, will receive support from Softlab in putting the project in place and expanding it further. As a BMW subsidiary, Softlab operates the Helpdesk end-user support—a function also slated for expansion—in line with further extended systems applications.

"We are very pleased to be working with BMW and feel that this deal further extends and solidifies Cognos strong presence in the European market," said Uwe Richter, Cognos area vice president Central & Eastern Europe. "With customers like Cognis, Olympus, and now BMW, Cognos clearly ranks as the leader among business intelligence solution providers in Germany."

About BMW:
The BMW brand profile has developed over many years: energy, performance and sheer driving pleasure. These form the basis of the lasting success of the BMW brand. The brand also stands for determination and high standards. Professionalism defines every element. The characteristic BMW profile, plus the generous power reserves and exclusivity, make it a uniquely sophisticated vehicle.