INDUSTRY

BURLINGTON, Mass.-- Cognos, the world leader in business intelligence (BI) and corporate performance management, announced today that the Cognos North American Customer Support Team has achieved certification for the second year in a row under the prestigious Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification program. Cognos achieved certification after an extensive audit of its North American customer support center. SCP Certification quantifies the effectiveness of customer support based upon a stringent set of performance standards and represents best practices in the industry. "It is a tremendous achievement for Cognos to once again receive SCP certification," said Ed Shepherdson, Cognos vice president, customer support. "Cognos puts the highest priority on customer success and our industry-leading customer support services play a central role in that mission. This certification reflects the talent and expertise of our entire global customer support staff at Cognos and the continued strong relationships we enjoy with our customers around the world." Cognos offers the most effective global customer support and services in the BI industry, maintaining one of the industry's highest customer renewal rates. Through its award-winning Global Customer Services Portal, Cognos provides the most comprehensive range of proactive Web-based support services, including proactive notification tools, remote diagnostic support, live technical support information sessions, extensive knowledge base documents, and call tracking software. This end-to-end support system ensures premium customer service around the world, in multiple languages, and time zones. SCP Certification, an internationally recognized standard created with the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) and a consortium of leading technology companies, defines best practices for delivering world-class technology support. The program quantifies the effectiveness of customer support, establishes a foundation to build on existing quality processes, and provides a clear focus on measurable results. SCP Certification requires comprehensive on-site audits to confirm that companies meet the requirements of the over 100 business elements defined in the program. Certified organizations must demonstrate their continued commitment to high performance standards through annual re-certification audits. "Ensuring that each Support Analyst is focused on the needs of the customer is of strategic importance to Cognos," said Jerry Concannon, SCP Auditor. "The staff and management of the North American Support Center recognize that satisfied customers are the main ingredient in the recipe for enhanced business growth." Cognos ranks among other leading technology companies that have achieved the prestigious and sought-after SCP Certification, including Lawson Software, Lockheed Martin Incorporated, PeopleSoft Incorporated, McKesson Corporation, Mentor Graphics Corporation, Network Appliance Incorporated and Xerox Corporation, among others. Currently, more than two hundred technology support organizations around the world participate in the SCP program.