Bowater Standardizes on Cognos Performance Management Capabilities for Reporting, Analysis and Financial Consolidation.

- Leading paper producer to report on production, operations and sales initiatives while automating financial consolidation processes -

BURLINGTON, Mass. -- Cognos (Nasdaq: COGN) (TSX: CSN), the world leader in business intelligence and performance management solutions, today announced that Bowater Incorporated has standardized on Cognos' performance management capabilities to quickly and efficiently analyze and report on its production operations, measure the effectiveness of its sales initiatives and automate its financial consolidation processes.

Prior to selecting Cognos, Bowater had varied reporting solutions throughout the company. Following a competitive review, it turned to Cognos' performance management platform to gain a consistent view of the organization's performance information. Cognos 8 Business Intelligence (BI) and Cognos 8 Controller will be implemented enterprise-wide to replace disparate legacy systems within the company.

"We wanted a proven performance solution that was scalable and Web-based with mainstream BI capabilities where key performance information would be easy to find and analyze," said Tom Griffith, CIO, Bowater. "With Cognos, we get a standard enterprise view of operational and financial data in an easy to consume format. It is much more efficient than our legacy systems for pushing key reports and analysis out to our users and having all the data secured and controlled in a centralized manner ensures our decisions are driven from a consistent source."

Bowater's paper mills will use Cognos 8 BI to measure production across its 12 pulp and paper mills via standard operational reports and its sales team will use it to measure effectiveness of sales initiatives. Cognos 8 BI provides decision makers at all levels of the enterprise with a consistent, accurate view of information they trust to better manage performance. As a single platform based on a service-oriented architecture (SOA), Cognos 8 BI integrates easily into Bowater's existing environment, leveraging its relational data warehouse infrastructure, multiple systems and disparate data sources. Cognos 8 BI provides Bowater with a robust technology foundation for BI standardization and performance management.

With Cognos 8 Controller as its financial consolidation solution for all of its general ledgers across the U.S. and Canada, Bowater gains a finance-focused solution that automates and structures the financial consolidation process, delivers validated financial information for internal and external reporting and provides a transparent, accurate and timely management view of enterprise-wide corporate performance. Cognos 8 Controller also supports the improvement of the internal control environment and helps Bowater meet compliance requirements to ensure financial data quality.

"Manufacturers are constantly striving to be more efficient and effective, and with the unique combination of strength and ease-of-use provided by the Cognos performance management platform, Bowater will be able to leverage that value," said Paul Hoy, director of manufacturing industry solutions at Cognos. "Bowater is a customer-focused company that values growth and the advancement opportunities it generates. By standardizing on Cognos for performance management, Bowater is empowering its business users to make better business decisions."

Business Intelligence and financial consolidation are key elements of the Cognos Performance Management System, which combines technology, best practices, analytical applications and solutions, and a broad network of partners into a single performance management solution for customers.

Cognos is a recognized leader in delivering performance management solutions for the manufacturing industry, including 9 of the top 10 high tech companies, 19 of the top 20 consumer goods companies and all of the top 10 automakers in the world. In addition to Bowater, other leading manufacturing customers include TELUS Mobility, Del Monte Foods, Mercedes-Benz. For more information about Cognos solutions for the manufacturing industry, please visit http://www.cognos.com/solutions/industry/manufacturing/index.html.

About Bowater:

Bowater Incorporated, headquartered in Greenville, SC, is a leading producer of coated and specialty papers and newsprint. In addition, the company sells bleached market pulp and lumber products. Bowater employs approximately 6,900 people and has 12 pulp and paper mills in the United States, Canada and South Korea. In North America, it also operates a converting facility and owns 10 sawmills. Bowater's operations are supported by approximately 708,000 acres of timberlands owned or leased in the United States and Canada and 28 million acres of timber cutting rights in Canada. Bowater operates six recycling plants and is one of the world's largest consumers of recycled newspapers and magazines. Bowater common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. A special class of stock exchangeable into Bowater common stock is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BWX). To learn more, visit www.bowater.com.

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.

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