Cognos Inc. announced a business partnership Monday with a consulting firm headed up by Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York who led the city through the trauma of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Giuliani Group, founded a little more than a year ago, provides management consulting services targeted at both the public and private sectors.

Under the terms of the deal, the group will promote Cognos's Series 7 line of business intelligence tools as the technology of choice for its clients to improve their operations.

Cognos spokesman Sean Reid said the partnership is a step toward Cognos' goal of broadening its BI offering.

"It allows us to partner with an organization that has significant opportunities and significant customer visibility," he said.

Financial benefits of the deal are not yet known. However, Reid said that, considering that the Guiliani Group already boasts some of the largest public and private sector enterprises in the U.S. among its clients, expectations are high.

Giuliani's team includes many top municipal officials who served under him during his eight years as mayor of New York. Among them are former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, former Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen and former Director of the Office of Emergency Management Richard Sheirer.