Consulting Magazine: Cognizant’s Executive Vice President for Consulting Talks About the Growth of the Company’s Consulting Business and its 2014 Outlook

“Clients are increasingly seeking a partner in business transformation, not simply a consultant,” says Mark Livingston. “That has played to Cognizant’s strengths, which combine deep technology capabilities with extensive domain expertise and the ability to provide end-to-end solutions.”

“We’ve had strong growth for the sixth consecutive year, across virtually all sectors and aspects of our practice, and we have a full pipeline of work that should continue to fuel our growth,” adds Livingston. “Cognizant Business Consulting, our consulting practice, is strongly integrated with the rest of Cognizant, and many of the firm’s most notable transformation assignments are consulting-led.”

According to Livingston, what’s somewhat surprising is the acceleration of the shift in consulting models. “The pace of change in the consulting market continues to quicken. We are seeing a major shift in the profession from advisory to end-to-end implementation, from a process focus to solution and asset-based consulting models,” he says. “That means shifting from being a services provider to partnering on innovations and solutions, and going from traditional fee per hour to outcomes-based pricing.” He adds, “Overall, our market position is stronger than ever. Our value proposition is being accepted and clients see us as a viable alternative to traditional consulting firms.”

When asked about the evolution of the consulting profession in 2014, Livingston says, “Consultants must look at defining solutions more broadly, as the profession moves from a focus on pure advisory to end-to-end implementation. We must look at what problems the client is trying to solve and use our collective resources to create market-related solutions.”

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