COGNOS(a) SOFTWARE INTEGRATION ENABLES OPERATIONAL MANAGERS TO UTILIZE ACTIVITY-BASED COSTING.

BEAVERTON, OR and BURLINGTON, MA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--JULY 24, 1995 -- ABC Technologies Inc. (ATI - a privately held firm) and Cognos(a) (NASDAQ:COGNF;TSE:CSN) today announced the integration of Cognos' PowerPlay(a) Business Intelligence software with Oros(a), ATI's industry-leading Activity Based Cost Management System. This new integration -- Oros with PowerPlay -- gives operational managers access to critical cost management data. It extends executive analysis and reporting multidimensionally to include activity-based cost information.

Activity-based costing enables companies to understand the true costs of day-to-day activities and business processes. ATI's Oros with PowerPlay software translates the multidimensional cost models in its Oros database into PowerPlay's multidimensional format for direct distribution to management.

Oros with PowerPlay presents a highly interactive, graphical view of activity-based data through charts, graphs and crosstabs. To examine details -- such as costs categorized by "value add" and/or "quality" -- managers simply drill down through the data. PowerPlay's graphical navigation is ideal for examining the complex relationships in activity- based costing.

"Our clients are excited. Oros with PowerPlay makes Activity Based Management (ABM) data easily accessible and understandable. It allows the manager to see the big picture and yet quickly peel down to the lower levels of operational detail as desired. Oros with PowerPlay truly makes activity information an integral part of the day-to-day management process," said Jim Bramante, principal, Coopers & Lybrand. "Many ABM projects fail because users cannot get at the data they require. Oros with PowerPlay provides the most comprehensive access to activity information that we have seen to date."

"ATI has significantly broadened the scope of business intelligence which can now be distributed across the management team by PowerPlay," said Alan Rottenberg, senior vice president, Cognos Business Intelligence Unit. "This combination of tools allows managers to quickly and easily pinpoint which enterprise activities, products or customers are consuming resources and adding to overhead costs. The ease of use offered by this pairing creates a powerful and comprehensive decision-making environment at a low cost and a dramatically reduced time to result."

Chris Pieper, CEO, ABC Technologies Inc., said "Cognos and ATI share a vision of providing managers with the ability to explore and understand data with an eye toward uncovering hidden costs. This information is critical not only to enterprise operation but also to every reorganization. Our agreement fills a major void in the activity-based costing phenomenon -- how to reach operational managers with the information they need. We're going to see a rapid acceleration in the market for activity- based costing as a result of our partnership."

Oros with PowerPlay will be available August 18, 1995, in configurations from ABC Technologies. Oros with PowerPlay Engine for generating and viewing activity-based information lists for $4995. Oros with PowerPlay for managers' use in information lists for $995. Company Information

ATI

ABC Technologies Inc., is the world's leading supplier of activity-based cost information software. The company's products -- Oros (enterprise-wide/multi-user/multi- application), EasyABC(a)Plus(a) (single user) and EasyABCQuick(a) (education) -- are designed to provide business managers with timely and accurate information regarding key activities and related performance metrics -- specifically cost, quality and time. Educational workshops, partnership programs, and strong support plans empower customers with a framework for growing their efforts to production and beyond. ABC Technologies, a privately- held company, is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon with offices in Europe and ABC Affiliates worldwide.

Cognos

Cognos is uniquely positioned to deliver business intelligence software to satisfy enterprise-wide data access and reporting needs. With over 100,000 seats in thousands of companies, PowerPlay and Impromptu consistently service the widest range of users across corporate, department, workgroup, personal, and mobile applications. The products support over 100 relational and OLAP data sources and are translated in eight languages. Cognos products are available through the company's 45 sales offices and over 250 resellers worldwide.

Cognos develops, markets and supports -- both directly and through resellers worldwide -- advanced client/server development and reporting tools on a wide range of open and proprietary platforms, including UNIX and Microsoft Windows desktop. Cognos is a publicly held company with dual headquarters in Ottawa, Canada and Burlington, Mass.

EasyABC(a)Plus(a) and Oros(a) are trademarks of ABC Technologies Inc. COGNOS, IMPROMPTU, and POWERPLAY are registered trademarks of Cognos Inc. Other products mentioned in this document are registered, trademarked, or service marked by their respective owners.

CONTACT: Kent Mehrer,

ABC Technologies, Inc.

503-626-4895

or

Roberta J. Carlton,

Cognos

617-229-6600

or

Rich Nagle or Larry Bouchie

LNS Communications

617-577-9777