Cognos ReportNet(TM) and MetaBroker from Ascential Software Deliver Enhanced Enterprise Data Access

Cognos ReportNet(TM) and MetaBroker from Ascential Software
Deliver Enhanced Enterprise Data Access
- Industry-leading data integration and business intelligence vendors announce
plans for deep integration - 


BURLINGTON, Mass., Dec. 9  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cognos (Nasdaq: COGN; TSX:
CSN), the world leader in business intelligence and corporate performance
management (CPM), today announced it is extending its open data strategy for
enterprise reporting to support BI standardization by integrating Ascential
MetaBroker(R) from Ascential Software Corporation with Cognos ReportNet(TM).
Together, Cognos and Ascential Software will continue to help customers derive
maximum value from their corporate data and drive corporate performance
management.

Through a strengthened partnership with Cognos, Ascential Software will develop
an Ascential MetaBroker for universal metadata exchange with Cognos ReportNet. 
This seamless access to metadata will give business users confidence that the
data they query and analyze is accurate, timely, and relevant to their needs.

"Robust, end-to-end enterprise data integration functionality is critical to
successful BI implementations, and we are excited to extend our Cognos
relationship," said Bob Zurek, vice president, advanced technologies and
product management, Ascential Software.  "The deeper interoperability between
the Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite(TM) and Cognos' enterprise reporting
and analysis offerings will help enable our mutual customers to fully realize
the ROI they demand from their business intelligence initiatives."

Through its modern Web services architecture, Cognos offers an open data
strategy to leverage existing investments companies have made in capturing data
assets and data integration strategies.  Through active partnerships with
Ascential Software and other data integration solution providers, Cognos
strengthens ReportNet's appeal to meet the broad user and diverse reporting
requirements of the enterprise.

"Cognos is pleased to extend the depth and reach of our alliance with Ascential
Software," said Patrick O'Leary, Cognos vice president of strategic alliances. 
"The combination of Ascential Software and Cognos enables intuitive query and
analysis of accurate information - increasing the speed of information delivery
and enabling better decision making.  We look forward to helping our shared
customers drive more value from their enterprise to help increase
profitability."

About Ascential: Ascential Software Corporation (NASDAQ:ASCL) is the leader in
enterprise data integration.  Customers and partners worldwide use the
Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite to confidently transform data into
accurate, reliable and complete business information to improve operational
performance and decision-making across every critical business dimension.  Our
comprehensive end-to-end solutions provide on demand data integration
complemented by our professional services, industry expertise, and
methodologies.

Ascential Software is headquartered in Westboro, Mass., and has more than 3,000
customers and partners globally across such industries as financial services
and banking, insurance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, consumer packaged
goods, telecommunications and government.  For more information call
1-800-966-9875 (508-366.3888 if calling from outside the US or Canada) or visit
the Ascential Software website at http://www.ascential.com/.

About Cognos:

Cognos, the world leader in business intelligence and performance management,
delivers software and services that helps companies drive, monitor and
understand corporate performance.

Cognos delivers the next level of competitive advantage -- Corporate
Performance Management (CPM) -- achieved through the strategic application of
BI on an enterprise scale.  Our integrated CPM solution helps customers drive
performance through planning; monitor performance through scorecarding; and
understand performance through business intelligence.

Cognos serves more than 23,000 customers in over 135 countries.  Cognos
enterprise business intelligence and 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/.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: This release contains forward-looking statements based on current
expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future
events, and these statements are subject to important factors and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in
the forward-looking statements.  The forward-looking statements in this release
address a variety of subjects including, for example, the functionality,
characteristics, quality and performance capabilities of software products and
technology of both Ascential and Cognos; results achievable and benefits
attainable through deployment of the software products and provision of
services of both Ascential and Cognos; and improvements in operational
performance and decision-making and the ability of Ascential Software to
develop an Ascential MetaBroker for universal metadata exchange with Cognos
ReportNet.  The following factors, among others, could cause actual results of
either Ascential or Cognos to differ materially from those described in these
forward-looking statements: the ability of either company to expand its market
share; growth rates for the enterprise data integration software market;
general business conditions in the software industry, the technology sector,
and in the domestic and international economies; rapid technological change in
the markets served by both companies; dependence on international operations;
global and geopolitical instability; compliance costs associated with
regulations to which both Cognos and Ascential are subject, including the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and the impact of such regulations; and
difficulties that either company may experience integrating technologies,
operations and personnel of completed or future acquisitions. For a detailed
discussion of these and other cautionary statements, please refer to the
filings made by Ascential Software and Cognos Incorporated with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, the most recent
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.  Ascential Software and Cognos Incorporated each
disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward- looking statements
made herein to reflect any change in Ascential Software's or Cognos
Incorporated's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events,
conditions, or circumstances on which such statements are based. Ascential
Software and Cognos Incorporated are not responsible for statements attributed
to third parties within this release or in any materials referenced herein. 
Partnerships described herein shall be deemed to be strategic alliances only,
and shall not imply the power of either partner to bind the other partner or to
incur obligations on behalf of the other partner.

Cognos the Cognos logo and ReportNet 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.

Note to Editors: Copies of previous Cognos press releases and Corporate and
product information are available on Cognos' Web site at
http://www.cognos.com/, and at PR Newswire's site at http://www.prnewswire.com/

  Media Contacts:
   Antonietta Iafrate
   Cognos, 781-313-2454
   

   Don Jennings
   Lois Paul & Partners, LLC, 781-782-5756
   

  Investor Relations:
   John Lawlor
   Cognos, 613-738-3503
   

DATASOURCE: Cognos



CONTACT:  Antonietta Iafrate of Cognos, [phone],

; or Don Jennings of Lois Paul & Partners, LLC,

[phone], ; or Investor Relations: John Lawlor of

Cognos, [phone], 



Web site:  http://www.cognos.com/

http://www.ascential.com/ 



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