Cognizant to Establish a Digital Works Collaboratory in Melbourne, Australia

Minister Philip Dalidakis (second from left) and Cognizant's Gajen Kandiah (second from right) in New York

On September 27, 2016, Cognizant announced that it will establish a Cognizant Digital Works Collaboratory in Melbourne, Australia. The Collaboratory will provide dedicated space for open collaboration among Cognizant, customers, and partners to design, prototype, and build digital solutions of the future.

“U.S.-based digital trailblazer Cognizant will establish its first Asia Pacific Collaboratory in Melbourne,” the Government of Victoria said in a news release. “Cognizant’s Melbourne-based Collaboratory space will be collocated with their Australia New Zealand headquarters and will be used by strategists, designers, technologists, data scientists and human sciences experts to work with customers and partners to develop digital solutions that will help improve business services. Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis met with Cognizant Digital Works President Gajen Kandiah in New York over the weekend and welcomed the company’s decision to locate their state-of-the-art facility in Melbourne — Australia’s tech hub.”

Speaking with The Australian, John Burgin, ANZ Head of Cognizant and APAC Head of Cognizant Digital Works, said: “We’ve been active in Australia for more than a decade and we’re excited for the Collaboratory to be up and running from early 2017. It’s really bringing in the right industry expertise, human-centric design capabilities, technologists, and data scientists into the room with our clients to provide a really interesting array of talent to look at how an industry might transform and our client’s place within that.”

Dalidakis said, “It’s the only one in the southern hemisphere, and the fact is they wouldn’t be locating here if they didn’t think they’d receive value out of it.”

CIO.com.au quoted the Minister as saying, “Cognizant is a world leader in building the digital economy and we welcome the company’s decision to locate their new Australia New Zealand HQ and state-of-the-art Collaboratory in Melbourne. This is a huge vote of confidence in Victoria as a magnet for tech and business investment, as well as a big boost for high-skill jobs in our booming tech sector.”

Burgin said the investment was mainly in talent. “Cognizant Digital Works, our digital transformation practice that brings together human insight, digital strategy, industry knowledge, design, and new technologies to help clients create, build, and run digital business solutions, is the single point of entry that brings the power of Cognizant’s digital resources to our clients in a nimble way to help them crystallise digital strategies with an eye to cross-industry implications, enhance technical capabilities, and make digital the default way of doing business,” he said.

“Cognizant, a $33 billion US tech giant, announces big expansion in Melbourne and a new innovation hub,” read the Startup Smart headline. “It’s really exciting,” Dalidakis said. “Cognizant is such a huge company in its own right…For Australia to have one of their Collaboratories and the only one in the southern hemisphere, is a tremendous vote of confidence in what the government is doing.”

Dalidakis added, “It’s an opportunity to bring in designers, data scientists and technologists to have a look at what they’re doing, and an opportunity to be a part of a global company with global resources and networks. That provides opportunities to people in the local scene to be able to access those resources and access the collaboration that occurs across the three collaboration workspaces.”

Bringing tech giants like Cognizant to the city is all part of the government’s plan to transform Victoria into a world-leading tech hub, Dalidakis said. “It’s the Victorian government’s vision to see ourselves as the number on tech destination across the Asia-Pacific region,” he noted. “Cognizant’s decision to bring the Collaboratory to Melbourne reaffirms that stated desire and that we continue to be on the right track in attracting the top talent and top companies in the local ecosystem.”

Technology Decisions quoted Kandiah as saying, “As physical value chains of the industrial era give way to more agile value chains with data and digital capabilities infused at every step of the process, the opportunity is to build new business and operational models, improve productivity and drive superior customer experiences.”

iTWire quoted Kandiah as saying that interdisciplinary teams of strategists, designers, technologists, data scientists, and human sciences experts will work in the Collaboratory side-by-side with customers and partners to reimagine business and explore the art of the possible with new technologies. “The Melbourne Collaboratory will connect into the greater Cognizant global network of digital solution facilities,” it reported.

“As one of the leading builders of the digital economy, we integrate analytics, intelligent products, design capability, cloud services, mobility, advisory services, and deep industry domain expertise. Our network of Collaboratory spaces helps us do that,” said Kandiah.

“New center set to boost Cognizant Aussie partner collaboration,” wrote ARN. It quoted Burgin as saying, “The investment is mainly in talent, including designers, strategists, technologists, data scientists and human sciences specialists, who will design, prototype and iterate next-generation digital solutions and help clients reimagine their businesses.”