The initial public offering followed a series of corporate reorganizations in 1998. After the Y2 K and DOT-K boom of the early 1990s, the organization expanded through critical software growth and maintenance support, as businesses concentrated on challenging business metrics, such as sales and revenue. Cognizant had a rapid growth period in the 2000s and became a Fortune 500 business in 2011.
Cognizant has grown its offices to 166 locations around the world. The total number of workforce is 281600, based on the year 2018 and the number of operations in more than 37 countries. The company employs 150,000 employees in India, but in Chennai alone, it has more than 50,000 staff in different locations. The remaining Indian business centers are Bangalore, Coimbatore, Gurgaon, Noida, Kochi, Kolkata, Mangalore, Mumbai, and Pune. Other business centers include the United Kingdom, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, China, the Philippines, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico.
History
The company was jointly founded by Dun & Bradstreet and Sathyam Computers at the beginning of 1994. It was named after Sathyam Systems Dun and Bradstreet (DBSS). As the internal technology department of Dun & Bradstreet Business, it aimed to build large-scale IT projects for companies in Dun & Bradstreet.
It began tracking customers beyond Dun & Bradstreet from 1996 onwards. DBSS was renamed Cognizant in 1997. Teaneck, New Jersey of the United States became the headquarters of the company in March 1998 and Kumar Mahadeva became the first CEO.
The main focus of the company during those days was on Y2K and Web Technology related projects.
In 1998, Cognizant Corporation was split into two organizations, called IMS Health and Nielsen Media Research. In the same year, the company’s focus changed from Y2K related ventures to application management.
In 2002, the company’s revenue amounted to $229 million. The business began to expand further by pursuing maintenance-related ventures that were rejected by the major IT companies of the time. Cognizant was the organization to be tested for industrial-process certifications, such as P-CMM level 5, BS 7799, SEI-CMMi level 5.
Lakshmi Narayanan was appointed CEO in 2003. During his term, the service area of the company was expanded to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). In addition, the company began offering its services in the area of business consulting.
In 2006, Fransico DSouza became the company’s third CEO. In the early 2000s, the company began to experience rapid growth both horizontally and vertically. In 2004, Cognizant was recognized as a leading provider of IT services by Gartner, Forrester, AMR, and IDC. In the same year, the popular NASDAQ 100 Index was added.
In 2006, it emerged as the fastest global provider of IT services to cross $1 billion in revenue. The year 2008 is a significant one in the history of Cognizant as it reached Fortune 1000 with more than $2.8 billion in sales.
In 2011, the company was enlisted in Fortune 500 with a ranking of 484. With its increased revenue the ranking got improved and is currently at 194 in Fortune 500.
Business Model
Cognizant has announced that the Chennai branch is the head office and the overseas delivery center. Like several other IT business firms, Cognizant pursues a multinational R&D and Off-Shore Outsourcing service model.
The company operates a number of offshore manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, and South America outside the United States and close to the coast. Early years, Cognizant became active with the support of the Dun & Bradstreet brand in several American and European businesses. The company’s senior managers found the company to be a high-end customer support provider at the same standard as the six major modern system integration schemes, but at reduced rates.
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Products and Services
Products
Cognizant’s digital product and the platform provide a range of products currently available on Cognizant IP, such as Cognizant Big Decisions (Cloud-based data lake and analytics solution), Cognizant Catalyst, ADPART (Model-based Testing Tool), Scriptz (Scriptless Automation), Mint (Mobile Automation).
Services
Cognizant offers IT services, information security services, consultancy services, ITO services, and BPO services.
These include analytics, technology integration, supply chain management, business & technology consulting, enterprise information, digital enterprise, application creation & maintenance, IT infrastructure services, company resource planning, information storage, customer relationship management, outsourcing for research & development, engineering & production services, and testing services.
Cognizant has three major company sectors are digital systems, digital innovation, and technology.
The service lines of Cognizant Technology Services include Software Provider, Online Company, Business Products, Virtual Marketer, CRM Advisory, Health Care IT, Smart devices, Internet, Project Management, HR Services, Customer Experience, Facilities, Digital Technology (Innovation and User Design), BPO Service, Phone, and Web Apps. Digital insurance, Insurance Payer Technology, Business Profit pattern systems, accounting consulting services, financial management services, financial services, automation of sales, recording of the drug, advertising, engineering SAP consulting, mortgage processing. Operation of the Oracle Retail Merchandising, scheduling and development suite, Business consulting for entertainment and entertaining businesses, System integration, Life Sciences Analytics, Program & Project management consultancy.
In 2012, the company was able to optimize the technology for a wide variety of applications. The Virtual Data Center Service (VDCS) is a managed on-demand platform that offers true enterprise computing in a cloud-based environment.
VDCS is based on a best-of-breed infrastructure that features network, network security, computing, storage, and hosting network connectivity—all controlled and managed to ensure multi-tiered security, robust efficiency, and superior service levels that you’re looking for in a custom cloud solution.
The cloud services team will be able to identify, configure, and deploy your digital data center within a few hours on request. In 2015, Cognizant surveyed 15-plus global companies spanning sectors, including life sciences, hospitality, manufacturing, and technology, with revenues of more than two billion.
The results of the survey revealed important takeaways on Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), adoption, and associated policies.
For example, only five of the surveyed companies had well-defined BYOD guidelines for all device formats (e.g. smartphones, tablets, and laptops) and user types. BYOD services were mainly focused on mobile devices; contingent employees who were not on the payroll were generally not included in the program.
Also Read: TCS Brand Story
Mergers and Acquisitions
The company is betting on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to develop its digital business, which the company believes is still in its infancy.
In February, Code Zero, a provider of cloud-based billing solutions, and French operations of EI-Technologies, an independent Salesforce specialist based in Paris, were acquired. In March, Lev, a digital marketing consultancy that helps companies modernize their marketing strategies with data-driven insights, was acquired.
In May, it acquired Collaborative Solutions, which is expected to add new finance and HR consulting and deployment services to its cloud offerings, and in June, it entered into an agreement to acquire New Signature, an independent Microsoft Public Cloud Transformation Specialist.
Rewards
• Cognizant is ranked 194 on the Fortune 500 in the year 2020.
• In the year 2019, the company received IBM’s beacon award for its outstanding services in the field of hybrid cloud solutions.
• It is ranked at 16 in Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies for the year 2018.
• It is at 17th place on Fortune 50, at 18th place on the Fast Tech 25 by Forbes.
• It is awarded as Forbes’ Best Employers for Women in the year 2018.
• It is regarded as Fortune’s one of the most admired companies from the past 11 years.
• It is named as a leader in services like Application Testing, Application Modernization and Artificial Intelligence by Gartner
• It is ranked among the Top 3 employers in the software industry by IDC with a higher ranking based on several key parameters such as employee satisfaction index, job satisfaction and career development, compensation, and benefits.
Conclusion
Over the years, Cognizant has been restructured many times. It has shifted its focus from providing technology solutions to business firms to providing solutions to emerging technologies. It is the first to respond positively to changing technologies.
It is currently offering services in emerging technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, and the Internet of Things. The company’s employee training programs, Versatility, Diversified market markets, Employee retention policies, Customer Retention policies, strategic alliances with relevant experts, efforts towards green initiatives, and Corporate Social Responsibility are testimonies to the company’s performance.
