ComputerWeekly: Cognizant CEO Talks About the Company’s Entrepreneurial Culture and Strategy to Retain High Growth Levels

“The trends are very clear—it’s no longer labor arbitrage but intellectual arbitrage,” says Francisco D’Souza. “Just like the manufacturing supply chain went global, we are seeing the services value chain also go global. This means companies need to tap into the most appropriate, qualified and experienced talent wherever they are available, near or far. In order to tap into the best and the brightest wherever they are, we have made significant investments in local, regional and global delivery and operations centers.”

D’Souza says that the market is experiencing a secular shift to new technologies such as social, mobile, analytics and cloud (or SMAC). “While our clients clearly realize the tremendous potential of these new technologies, they are also mindful of the continued volatility in markets and demand around the world,” he says. “As a result, they are grappling with the dual mandate of improving current business performance, while investing in technology-based innovation for future growth. This context of rapid business and technology change sets the context for the IT services industry. It means IT services firms must evolve rapidly, and that requires a culture of entrepreneurialism, customer focus and agility.”

Such a culture, he maintains, is not a function of size. “Rather, it can be fostered and strengthened with the right strategy, people and operating practices. This culture is important because just as this environment introduces lots of new opportunities, the environment also brings risks,” he notes. “It is an exciting journey of on-going discovery for the market, for our customers, and for us at Cognizant. At Cognizant our brand statement talks about the need to ‘Keep Challenging’ the status quo—this epitomizes the culture needed to fuel future growth.”

Commenting on the start-up mentality within Cognizant, D’Souza says, “The hallmark of a startup is empowerment, quick decision-making, and encouragement of risk-taking. At Cognizant, we have always had this…We also encourage our employees to think like entrepreneurs and have found a way to take their ideas to market.” He cites the instance of Cognizant’s Emerging Business Accelerator (EBA) initiative, which “identifies trends and ideas by leveraging Cognizant’s employees, deep client relationships, and an ecosystem of external partners”. He adds, “It helps incubate the most promising ideas across new technologies, new delivery models and new markets. The EBA works hand-in-hand with our core business and operates similarly to a Venture Capital model.”

“The future growth is going to be fuelled by a once-in-a-decade shift in the new technologies driven by SMAC, which is affecting business models across many industries,” D’Souza observes. “As businesses become more tech-centric, technology is increasingly a top priority item for companies. Clients are also trying to figure out how to manage the information that surrounds people, organizations, processes, and products—something we call Code Halos. Code Halos consist of the data that are rich with meaning and insight—they are becoming vital for business success.”

The next ten years, avers D’Souza, promise to be one of the most exciting periods in the IT services industry. “With the explosion in data and devices, businesses are become more tech-centric, Cognizant is well positioned in the long run to become a strategic transformation partner for our clients,” he says. “We will continue to make investments in building integrated capabilities across key areas that we believe will be a key differentiator for the company— advisory and consulting services, industry-specific business processes, and scalable technology and service operations—while preserving the culture of innovation and agility.”

D’Souza adds, “We believe that non-linear models will be an important driver of growth and differentiation and we continue to look for appropriate solutions and opportunities for investment. For instance, our portfolio of Cognizant BusinessCloud Solutions enables clients to deploy a range of on-demand business and IT solutions without the longer implementation timelines that are sometimes associated with traditional on-premise solutions. We have already rolled out 18 platforms and solutions to more than 150 clients.”

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