TEANECK, N.J., March 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH), a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, today announced that it has won the Excellence in Business Transformation award at the first annual Partner Excellence Awards presented by Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGA), a leading provider of business process management (BPM) and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions.

Cognizant received the award for a major business transformation program it is implementing at Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS), a leading pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) with the nation's largest mail order pharmacy operations, to help Medco achieve significant productivity gain, improve customer satisfaction, keep up with regulatory changes, and define new benchmarks in the PBM industry.

As part of the engagement, which is among the world's largest BPM initiatives using Pega, Cognizant is helping Medco optimize, automate, and re-engineer a range of business functions, such as order processing, client, physician, and patient advocacy, and therapeutic resource centers. In keeping with the needs of Medco's business expansion, Cognizant is supporting Medco's complex business lines capabilities, and providing thought leadership and management support to Medco in the areas of program governance, BPM, and delivery management.

"Working with Cognizant on this critical business transformation program enhances Medco's competitiveness and reinforces our desire to be innovative at every level," said Kenny Klepper, Medco's President and Chief Operating Officer. "Our relationship with Cognizant has allowed us to leverage its extensive domain, technology, and consulting capabilities to further our mission of providing millions of Americans access to affordable, high-quality prescription healthcare."

"We are delighted to work with Medco to realize its goal of becoming an agile enterprise by building the capability to rapidly optimize and redesign core business processes," said Krish Venkat, Executive Vice President and Global Leader of Cognizant's Healthcare practice. "In times of regulatory changes, coupled with commoditization of services, the business transformation program at Medco will help it customize processes rapidly for different market segments, deliver significant improvement in productivity, and lower the cost of healthcare for all. This accolade underscores our reputation as a business partner best equipped to help global healthcare corporations transform their businesses and hone their competitive advantage."

"We are truly impressed by the vision that Medco has demonstrated in the adoption of BPM as a strategic means to realize greater operational efficiencies," said Peter Grambs, Senior Vice President of Customer Solutions Practice at Cognizant. "We are committed to helping Medco execute its vision of a transformational program and strengthen its leadership in the PBM industry by delighting its customers and driving greater business value. We are honored to win the Pegasystems award."

"Pega greatly appreciates Cognizant's collective commitment to excellence, along with its extensive Pega experience and expertise," said John Barone, Vice President of Global Strategic Alliances at Pegasystems. "At our first annual Partner Excellence Awards, Cognizant also won the Excellence in Practice Development award in recognition of the depth and breadth of its Pega practice, thus becoming the only company to win two awards for best-in-class achievements."

About Medco

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS) is pioneering The world's most advanced pharmacy® and its clinical research and innovations are part of Medco making medicine smarter™ for approximately 65 million members. With more than 20,000 employees worldwide dedicated to improving patient health and reducing costs for a wide range of public and private sector clients, and 2010 revenues of $66 billion, Medco ranks 34th on the 2011 Fortune 500 list and is named among the world's most innovative, most admired and most trustworthy companies. For more information, go to http://www.medcohealth.com.

About Cognizant

Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, dedicated to helping the world's leading companies build stronger businesses. Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant combines a passion for client satisfaction, technology innovation, deep industry and business process expertise, and a global, collaborative workforce that embodies the future of work. With over 50 delivery centers worldwide and approximately 137,700 employees as of December 31, 2011, Cognizant is a member of the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing and fastest growing companies in the world. Visit us online at www.cognizant.com or follow us on Twitter: Cognizant.

About Pegasystems

Pegasystems, the leader in business process management and software for customer centricity, helps organizations enhance customer loyalty, generate new business, and improve productivity. Our patented Build for Change® technology speeds the delivery of critical business solutions by directly capturing business objectives and eliminating manual programming. Pegasystems flexible on-premise and cloud-based solutions enable clients to quickly adapt to changing business conditions in order to outperform the competition. For more information, please visit us at www.pega.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements which may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include general economic conditions and the factors discussed in our most recent Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cognizant undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SOURCE Cognizant