COGNOS RELEASES POWERPLAY 4.1 MULTIDIMENSIONAL DATA ANALYSIS FOR THE
DESKTOP

- Supports Arbor's EssBase Multidimensional Server and Features Enhanced
Portfolio

BURLINGTON, MA -- APRIL 18, 1995 -- Cognos (NASDAQ:COGNF; TSE:CSN) today
released PowerPlay 4.1, the company's multidimensional data analysis
software for managers. Produced by Cognos' Business Intelligence Group,
PowerPlay gives managers the ability to quickly and easily explore and
understand corporate data to reach decisions faster and gain competitive
insight.

Ideal for managers and MIS professionals alike, PowerPlay can be used
without the need for programming and can be deployed with little
administrative overhead throughout an organization. PowerPlay 4.1 includes
several new and improved features for a broad array of users and
applications:

* Built-in support for Arbor Software Corp.'s EssBase multidimensional
server. Developed through a cooperative development agreement between
Cognos and Arbor Software, PowerPlay's EssBase support delivers an On-Line
Analytical Processing (OLAP) solution that is tuned for large, multi-user
and mobile user server environments; 

* An enhanced Portfolio module that creates an executive information
briefing book without the need for custom programming and can also be used
to automatically distribute PowerPlay reports across the enterprise; 

* The ability to perform incremental updates of data files with only new
data. This is especially important for remote and mobile users because it
significantly reduces connection times to the server;

* Automatic updating of standard reports with ranking and lowest details,
as well as faster suppression and undo features; and, 

* Support for Cognos' Impromptu 3.0 scheduler and encrypted security
features for added flexibility and control.

"PowerPlay's installed base makes it the number one OLAP client," said Alan
Rottenberg, Senior Vice President of Cognos' Business Intelligence Group.
"Managers learn PowerPlay so easily and find answers so quickly, that it
rapidly becomes the preferred tool for "self-service" decision support."

Leveraging the increased use of Business Intelligence solutions,
PowerPlay's multidimensional technology allows managers to view multiple
data perspectives, providing them with an instant view of what is driving
their business that was previously available only to dedicated analysts.
PowerPlay's built-in data compression capabilities allow managers to make
queries directly from the desktop or laptop, making calculations and
analyzing data on the fly.

Other features in PowerPlay 4.1 include access to additional local data
sources such as Paradox, dBASE, Foxpro, and Clipper; intelligent time or
relative time choices such as Prior Year-to-Date which are automatically
updated as new data appears; and batch running and printing of PowerPlay
reports.

PowerPlay was first released in January 1990 and is used widely in Fortune
1000 companies. It also is distributed by numerous software applications
vendors as part of their products.

Pricing and Availability

PowerPlay 4.1 is available for $695. This single-copy price includes:
PowerPlay Transformer, the administrative software for creating and
packaging multidimensional information; the PowerPlay Explorer and
Reporter user components; and PowerPlay Portfolio, for assembling report
collections using standard Windows OLE. Significant discounts apply for
volume purchases and enterprise licensing. PowerPlay 4.1 requires Windows
3.1, an IBM PC or compatible 386, and 4 MB. A 486 PC is recommended.

Cognos' Business Intelligence Group is the leading provider of desktop data
access, reporting, and analysis tools for enterprise computing. Its
interactive products -Impromptu and PowerPlay -- are used by organizations
of all sizes worldwide to reach decisions and produce results faster, and
to satisfy user needs for simple access to critical business data while
delivering among the lowest costs of ownership in the industry.

Cognos is uniquely positioned to deliver business intelligence software to
satisfy enterprise-wide data access and reporting needs. With over 100,000
seats in more than 5,000 companies, PowerPlay and Impromptu consistency
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 is a publicly held company with dual
headquarters in Ottawa, Canada, and Burlington, MA.

Cognos
Burlington, MA
617-229-6600

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