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Munich Re UK Life Branch builds intelligent business with enterprise search

~ IBM Cognos 8 Go! Search helps world’s largest re-insurer improve decision making through pervasive BI ~

March 13, 2008

Cognos, an IBM Company, has announced that Munich Re UK Life Branch has selected IBM Cognos 8 Go! Search to escalate the number of decision makers who access reports on business critical information.

Currently, 160 combinations of BI reports are used by Munich Re UK Life Branch and this number is growing. The 'Google-style' search interface will help executives to quickly isolate the key reports that allow them to compare the risk across different departments and areas, as well as spot key trends, by entering simple keywords. IBM Cognos 8 Go! Search will instantly bring up all related information and metrics using familiar search engine terms.

Previously, Munich Re used an in-house built tool for enterprise search, which was time consuming to manage and difficult to use.

“Risk is the focus of our business so it is critical we have full visibility of the spread of risk we are exposed to by area, by customer and geographically,” said Tony Dumycz, BI Manager of Munich Re UK Life Branch. “This means navigating an enormous volume of information, across different departments and different teams.”

“IBM Cognos 8 Go! Search’s easy-to-use and familiar interface will help us achieve this visibility by driving BI usage, both in terms of numbers and in the breadth of reports our current users’ access,” said Tony Dumycz, BI Manager of Munich Re UK Life Branch.

“Many decision makers who are familiar with BI reports relating to their own specific areas aren’t aware of the knowledge available in other reports, which could actually be relevant to their job. By using a simple keyword search, executives will find and benefit from reports that they didn’t even know existed.”

“We have been growing the number of frequent BI users every year, and we’re confident that IBM Cognos 8 Go! Search will continue this trend.”

Munich Re is also hoping to prevent duplication of effort by making existing reports easier to find.

“Business executives use consumer search tools many times a day, so it makes sense that enterprise search should be just as simple,” said Graham Walter, VP UK, Middle East and South Africa Cognos.

“IBM Cognos 8 Go! Search will drive the demand for BI reports, at all levels of Munich Re’s organisation. Increased access to business critical information and metrics leads to better informed decision and, ultimately, results in better performance management.”

IBM Cognos 8 Go! Search will go live at Munich Re later this month, as part of the larger migration to IBM Cognos 8 version 3.

Executive quote

“Business executives use consumer search tools many times a day, so it makes sense that enterprise search should be just as simple,” said Graham Walter, VP UK, Middle East and South Africa Cognos.

“IBM Cognos 8 Go! Search will drive the demand for BI reports, at all levels of Munich Re’s organisation. Increased access to business critical information and metrics leads to better informed decision and, ultimately, results in better performance management.”

Customer quote

“Risk is the focus of our business so it is critical we have full visibility of the spread of risk we are exposed to by area, by customer and geographically,” said Tony Dumycz, BI Manager of Munich Re UK Life Branch. “This means navigating an enormous volume of information, across different departments and different teams.”

“IBM Cognos 8 Go! Search’s easy-to-use and familiar interface will help us achieve this visibility by driving BI usage, both in terms of numbers and in the breadth of reports our current users’ access,” said Tony Dumycz, BI Manager of Munich Re UK Life Branch.

“Many decision makers who are familiar with BI reports relating to their own specific areas aren’t aware of the knowledge available in other reports, which could actually be relevant to their job. By using a simple keyword search, executives will find and benefit from reports that they didn’t even know existed.”

“We have been growing the number of frequent BI users every year, and we’re confident that IBM Cognos 8 Go! Search will continue this trend.”

About the company

About Cognos, an IBM Company
Cognos, an IBM company, is the world leader in business intelligence and performance management solutions. It provides world-class enterprise planning and BI software and services to help companies plan, understand and manage financial and operational performance. Cognos was acquired by IBM in January 2008. For more information, visit http://www.ibm.com/software/data/ and http://www.cognos.com

About Munich Re worldwide

The Munich Re Group operates worldwide, turning risk into value. In the financial year 2006, it achieved a profit of €3,519m, the highest since the company was founded in 1880, on premium income of approximately €37bn. The Group operates in all lines of business, with around 37,000 employees at over 50 locations throughout the world and is characterised by particularly pronounced diversification, client focus and earnings stability. With premium income of around €22bn from reinsurance alone, it is one of the world's leading reinsurers.

Its primary insurance operations are mainly concentrated in the ERGO Insurance Group. With premium income of almost €17bn, ERGO is one of the largest insurance groups in Europe and Germany. It is the market leader in Europe in health and legal expenses insurance, and 33 million clients in 25 countries place their trust in the services and security it provides. The global investments of the Munich Re Group amounting to €177bn are managed by MEAG, which also makes its competence available to private and institutional investors outside the Group.

For more information about the Munich Re Group, please visit www.munichre.com.

Munich Re in the UK
In the UK, Munich Re is a leading player in the UK and Irish reinsurance markets. The UK operations cover both the general and life and health markets through four different operations in the City of London and in Canary Wharf.

We focus on developing and maintaining long-term professional partnerships, and adding value through the application of our skills, knowledge and capital strength. In addition, we offer first class service through our client management approach and utilise our enviable technical knowledge to develop and deliver cutting edge solutions for our clients.

Contact details

For further information about IBM Cognos, please contact:

Steve George or Tulna Shah at LEWIS
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7802 2626 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7802 2627
cognos@lewispr.com
Internet: http://www.lewispr.com

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