Leading Canadian insurance company selects Cognos for internal reporting, analysis, and scorecarding; plans to deploy Extranet application for insurance brokers
BURLINGTON, Mass., Dec. 14, 2004 — Cognos (Nasdaq: COGN; TSX: CSN), the world leader in business intelligence (BI) and corporate performance management, today announced that Expert Travel Financial Security (ETFS) Inc. has elected to standardize on Cognos’ industry-leading BI solutions. Based in Canada, ETFS manages high added-value niche health and travel insurance programs for insurers, brokers, benefit consultants and large organizations worldwide.
Cognos was selected following a review of the business intelligence solutions from a number of vendors, including Business Objects and Microstrategy. The agreement, which includes Cognos ReportNet(TM), Cognos(R) PowerPlay, and Cognos Metrics Manager, will allow ETFS to report and analyze internal data and metrics across business divisions, and also allow external insurance brokers and vendors to review performance on insurance claim processing via a scalable Extranet application.
Cognos’ powerful analytical capabilities will enable Extranet users to
drill down into the data to understand the metrics driving the business, and get easy access to key reports. Sales representatives, for example, will be able to track and analyze important sales and claims information for out-of- country emergency medical insurance products and services.
“We are continually challenging ourselves to improve operating efficiency
using cost-effective solutions and cutting-edge technology. Standardizing on Cognos BI will give us the ability to really understand our data and significantly improve our decision-support and operational processes,” said Robert Laughton, Chief Operation Officer, Expert Travel Financial Security Inc. “Everyone from the CEO to operational workers to insurance brokers now have real-time access to business data, allowing them to solve problems quickly and with accurate information, without the need for IT resources.”
“With our extranet solutions, financial services organizations like ETFS.
can truly turn data into assets and make extranets a key competitive tool to win customers, support partners, make employees more efficient, and strengthen communication with suppliers,” said Leo Tucker, director, financial services, Cognos. “The high-impact analysis and information delivered by Cognos helps coordinate the extended enterprise, and create new sources of value and competitive advantage.”
ABOUT EXPERT TRAVEL FINANCIAL SECURITY (E.T.F.S.) INC.:
Expert Travel Financial Security (E.T.F.S.) Inc. is Canada’s fast growing group of specialized companies focusing exclusively on high added-value niche health and travel insurance programs, in Canada and around the world. Founded in 1984, the company is privately-owned, with world headquarters located in Lennoxville, Canada. The ETFS Financial Group consists of four companies: ETFS, Globetrek Travel Insurance Management Inc., Special Risks International and Global Excel Management Inc.
ABOUT COGNOS:
Cognos, the world leader in enterprise business intelligence and corporate
performance management, delivers software and services that help 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.
Cognos and the Cognos logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cognos Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
