Cognos and IBM Merger

Message from David McWilliam
Managing Director - Cognos, South Africa
(Feb 2008)

Dear Customer,

I am pleased to announce that IBM has completed the acquisition of Cognos. As we mark this milestone, I would like to confirm our continued commitment to your success, and to highlight the benefits resulting from this acquisition.

Cognos will become the Business Intelligence and Performance Management segment within IBM's Software Group's Information Management software unit. I and your current Cognos account and support teams will continue to serve you. Cognos business partners will also continue to serve your needs through consultation, implementation, fulfillment and support, and will be invited to join the IBM Business Partner program.

For decades, IBM has been focused on providing the underlying information infrastructure to support business intelligence and performance management solutions. This includes databases and data warehouses to manage data, information integration and master data management to establish accurate and trusted information, as well as various analytic capabilities. With the addition of Cognos, IBM is moving to help customers solve new business challenges and meet the demand for more sophisticated, real-time uses of information.

Cognos provides the industry's most comprehensive solution to help companies plan, understand, manage and optimize their financial and operational performance. Together, IBM and Cognos will become the leading provider of technology and services for business intelligence and performance management, delivering the industry's most complete, open standards-based platform with the broadest range of expertise to help expand the value of your information, optimize your business processes, and maximize performance across your enterprise.

IBM intends to support your investments in Cognos by using IBM's world-class technology resources to deliver innovative solutions and expanded value. Building on a tradition of client success and satisfaction, IBM plans to continue to deliver support services, implementation and education services for Cognos customers using current support contacts and processes. Going forward, we intend to leverage our extensive global support resources to enhance and expand service and support offerings, both directly and through business partners.

I am very excited about the future of this important new relationship, and I look forward to continuing to provide innovative products and services for your business.

Sincerely,
David McWilliam
Managing Director
Cognos, an IBM Company South Africa