Cognizant opens 2nd delivery center in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Cognizant, a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, has announced that it has expanded its presence in the Philippines with the opening of a new delivery center in Pasig City.

The center, located in the IT-BPO services hub, Ortigas Center, will accommodate approximately 1,000 professionals, and will deliver a full range of applications, IT infrastructure, and business process services to global clients in the financial services, health care, manufacturing and logistics, retail, hospitality, telecommunications, and consumer goods industries.

Cognizant started operations in the Philippines in December 2009 to provide business process services to global clients, and has since grown to more than 700 professionals delivering a broad range of services from the company’s existing facilities in Manila.

In April 2011, Cognizant won the prestigious Philippines’ International ICT Award for Best New BPO Locator of the Year.

Cognizant is working closely with academia in the Philippines to develop talent across a full range of services, and has an active campus recruitment program in the country.

As part of its corporate social responsibility program, Cognizant is running several community initiatives. Key among them are conducting classes, setting up libraries, and organizing health camps in local schools to develop talent at the grassroots level. The company has also adopted Eusebio C. Santos Elementary School in Taguig City.

“I congratulate Cognizant on the expansion of its operations in the Philippines, one of the world’s fastest growing ICT destinations,” said Louis Casambre, undersecretary and executive director of the Information and Communications Technology Office of the Department of Science and Technology.

“Cognizant’s decision to expand its operations in the Philippines underscores the confidence that the company has in our country and our people. By creating high-value jobs, enhancing the local talent pool, and engaging actively with academia and the local community, Cognizant has brought to the Philippines the benefits of its industry-leading growth, and industry-acclaimed business and technology insights,” Casambre said.

“Our people in the Philippines are prepared to take on the global challenges that come with the demands of the industry. We shall work hand-in-hand to make our country synonymous with world-class excellence,” Casambre added.

“We are delighted at the way Cognizant has established itself in the Philippines, and enriched the country’s ICT credentials in the global marketplace,” said Gigi Virata, senior executive director of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines.

“Cognizant’s expanded presence will further help the consulting, IT and BPO industry in the Philippines increase its competitiveness to meet the demands of a fast-changing global business landscape. We thank Cognizant for investing in the Philippines, and providing an opportunity for experienced professionals as well as fresh graduates in the country to serve global customers,” Virata added.

“The new center is a result of our continued investments in people, facilities, systems, and processes to meet continued strong demand for our services,” said Lakshmi Narayanan, vice chairman of Cognizant.

“The Philippines is among our key global delivery centers that provide a broad array of capabilities across industries and service lines. It has played an important role in helping our customers build agility into their businesses, unlock enterprise value, and drive top-line growth. The new development center further strengthens our integrated global delivery capability, and our success in leveraging the best talent globally,” Narayanan said.

For his part, Cognizant Philippines country head Prabhakar Bisen, said, “We are pleased with our experience and growth in the Philippines, and chose Pasig City to expand our footprint in the country because of its high-quality talent, sound infrastructure, good connectivity, and a great business environment.”

“In our mission to help customers drive operational efficiencies and innovation, we have benefited immensely from the rich talent pool and high-growth ecosystem provided by the Philippines. We are committed to growing our operations in the Philippines by expanding existing facilities and adding new ones,” Bisen said.