Forbes: Cognizant CEO Says Companies are Investing in New Technologies to Drive Top-Line Growth

“We’re at a very interesting transitional phase in the technology market,” says Francisco D’Souza. “Once in a decade or so you get a new generation of technology [social, mobile, analytics and cloud - SMAC] that comes a long that has a dramatic impact on clients’ ability to differentiate, drive productivity and compete. The last time we saw that happening was in the 1990s when the internet went commercial. Today, you have mobile and the cloud. All this new technology is having a profound impact on companies. We are seeing that impact across virtually all industries served by IT outsourcing firms like ours, whether it’s retailing or healthcare. It’s changing the way our clients do business.”

“Companies are facing these dual mandates today,” says D’Souza. “On one hand, they tell us that they have to be more efficient and effective. They’re driving down costs. On the other hand, they have all these investments they need to make in new technology, and then there are new regulations. The one thing that is clear across segments is that companies are investing in new technologies to drive top-line growth. A lot of that investment is going to companies like us who have to be prepared with the latest technology to deliver to them.”

On the company’s acquisition strategy, he says, “We will acquire companies in geographic areas where we don’t yet have a footprint. But we don’t really acquire for growth in the traditional sense. We are looking for capabilities. So if a company is in a segment we’re not in, or has a product line we don’t have or want to expand upon, we will consider. There are lots of areas we want to acquire, but primarily they are focused on new geographies and the new technologies. The sheer velocity of change in the industries we serve is driving the C-suite to challenge the status quo and rethink their business models to be relevant for the future,” he adds.

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