The Dozen 2004
Cognos Inc.
Ottawa
Convergence is bliss when it comes to business intelligence. Increasingly, organizations private, public, large, small, and medium get the big picture. They must have BI capability so that they can tap the value of all relevant information resources; raise enterprise IQ; and thereby become smarter, faster, and more profitable than the competition. What began as a piecemeal evolution out of manual or mainframe reporting — led by pioneering analysts, statisticians, and tech-savvy business managers and executives — is now a rolling thunder of diverse users demanding the ultimate payoff from their IT investment.
The BI industry has become the focus, and now it must deliver. Founded in 1969, Cognos is part of the BI establishment. Led by one of the industry's memorable characters, Cognos has located the fountain of revenue growth, which keeps Wall Street happy and customers confident. The company is focused on delivering the performance management, business analytics, and reporting infrastructure that companies now realize they have to have.
Prescient vision, product depth helped by a series of shrewd acquisitions, and fearlessness in the face of patent scuffles and industry consolidation were all evident in the launch of ReportNet, the company's major release of 2003. Answering the call for flexibility and power that diverse BI users demand, Cognos has earned the Number One spot in the 2004 Dozen.
