INDUSTRY

Cognos today announced that Mueller Inc., a leading manufacturer of steel building and metal roofing solutions, has selected Cognos 8 Business Intelligence as its enterprise-wide BI standard. Previously, Mueller deployed Cognos planning, reporting and performance applications to track key performance indicators and share its balanced scorecard with business managers. As a result, Mueller gained deeper insight into finances, customers, and internal processes and was able to evaluate market strategies to make more informed business decisions. With Cognos 8 BI, Mueller will benefit from having the complete range of BI capabilities, from analysis, scorecarding, and reporting, on a single, proven architecture. In addition to delivering a single point of entry for business managers to access information, Cognos 8 BI will simplify deployment and administration for the IT department. As a result, Mueller plans to standardize on Cognos 8 BI and deploy the product to a wider audience, bringing more people into its management reporting structure and allowing for even greater visibility and insight into business performance. "Cognos 8 BI has everything we are looking for in one product and on one platform," said Mark Lack, planning and financial analysis manager, Mueller, Inc. "Other products may give the illusion of being a single product, but with Cognos 8 BI, we receive truly integrated data and functionality. In addition, Cognos has demonstrated a commitment to Mueller's success as a company. The high level of dedication and support in the past, combined with the breadth and depth of functionality delivered in Cognos 8 BI, made the decision to standardize on Cognos an easy one." Cognos 8 BI is a groundbreaking product that provides decision makers at all levels of the enterprise with a consistent, accurate view of information to better manage performance. As a single product that easily integrates into existing infrastructures with multiple systems and data sources, Cognos 8 BI is a robust technology foundation for BI standardization and performance management. "Both business users and IT departments value the unique combination of strength and ease-of-use provided by Cognos 8 BI," said Paul Hoy, director of manufacturing industry solutions at Cognos. "Mueller is a customer-focused company that values growth and the advancement opportunities it generates. By standardizing on Cognos 8 BI, Mueller, Inc. is expanding its BI deployment and fueling the company's growth by empowering its business users to make better business decisions." Cognos is a recognized leader in delivering business intelligence and corporate performance management solutions for the manufacturing industry, including energy, natural resources and chemical production companies. In addition to Mueller, other leading manufacturing customers include Eka Chemicals, Kennemetal, Mold-Masters and Advantis Technologies. For more information about Cognos solutions for the manufacturing industry, please visit its Web site.