Cognos Enterprise 2001 A World Class Event

Cognos brought its bold new vision, products, and technical expertise to over 250 South African customers, at its Enterprise 2001 user conference, held on the 14th November at the Sandton Convention Centre. Described as an outstanding success by all who attended, Enterprise 2001 was aimed at equipping Cognos customers and partners with valuable information about Business intelligence trends and Cognos` strategic direction and product developments. Communicating its vision were several top international and local speakers, including the company`s president and CEO, Ron Zambonini.

The keynote address, by Zambonini, covered the Cognos vision for the future and the next wave of business intelligence value for enterprises today. "We all have to make new kinds of decisions today. We have to trade growth opportunities for return on investment and find the right balance between gaining market share and maintaining a healthy company," he says.

"At the heart of Cognos leadership is the long-term relationships we have developed with our customers," adds Zambonini. "Keeping in touch with customers is the best way to understand, address and anticipate their needs. It is the most effective way to make them successful. We have over 1,300 customer-facing personnel, and a customer support organisation that continues to win awards for their dedication. We have software specialists in over 30 countries and an over 800 strong R&D team. We are committed to customer success. We are committed to South Africa," he says.

"The conference was a tremendous success," says Peter Gerson, MD of Cognos SA. "Delegate feedback has been extremely positive, citing the excellence of the sessions, keynote address and closing function. They all said that Enterprise 2001 was a world-class event."

Gerson continues, "At Cognos, we want to make the companies that use our software really successful. We want to help them take their businesses to new levels of performance, with the knowledge that users can look to Cognos to help steer a clear course through these challenging times."

Cognos also used the conference as a launching pad for Cognos Series 7, its most comprehensive, enterprise-class business intelligence (BI) solution to date. "Today we are first with a solution that will put the broadest range and depth of functionality in the hands of tens of thousands of users," said Gerson.

Tested in several of the world`s largest and most challenging customer environments, Cognos Series 7 allows companies to address more business challenges than with any other business intelligence offering available today. "It boasts the full spectrum of BI capabilities, with reporting, analysis, ad hoc query, scorecarding, visualisation and datamart creation, and delivers a BI environment that enables users to navigate information intuitively and manage business performance from a central portal," he adds.

"Cognos is racing out in front of the market, with a solution that addresses and exceeds the requirements of today`s enterprises, such as the need for speed in which critical information is extracted to be fast enough to allow quick response to market changes."

The first Cognos forum of its kind in South Africa, Enterprise 2001 provided Cognos customers and partners with valuable information about the company`s strategic direction, product developments, live customer case studies, as well as technical tips and techniques on a broad range of topics. In addition, the speakers reviewed the scope business intelligence market opportunities, exploring how companies are using BI to optimise business performance.

Following the keynote address, three prominent Cognos figures shared their knowledge and expertise. Ralph Pecker, former MD of Cognos SA and present director of Cognos Finance, discussed Cognos Finance. Oliver Oursin, European services technical manager, spoke on Planning for the Web, Applying Best Practices and Cognos e-Applications. Pejman Javaheri, Cognos market research and strategy analyst, presented on Tuning Applications and Performance, and Cognos Product Direction.

Also featured at this one-day event were several of the company`s most significant enterprise customers, such as Beacon, Clover, Standard Bank, Sasol, Nandos and the City of Cape Town, discussing how successfully implemented complex applications have provided positive business benefits. The local speakers presented on a variety of topics, such as Visualising Information, Cognos Solutions in HR and Understanding Product Architecture.

"Enterprise 2001 is aimed at equipping Cognos customers and partners with valuable information about Cognos` strategic direction, product developments, customer case studies, as well as technical tips and techniques on a broad range of topics," continues Gerson. "The User Conference was designed to provide Cognos customers and partners with opportunities for networking and idea sharing with other members of the user community."

"Cognos is committed to delivering important information to our customers and partners in a manner that best meets their needs at this time," he adds. "Cognos Enterprise 2001 ensures that our users are the best decision-makers in the world."

Next year the user conference will run in July and is expected to attract even greater numbers.