Cognizant to focus on Dubai
to gain share of $18b market

Cognizant recently hosted its first testing summit at the Burj Al Arab, which was attended by CIOs across industries in the Middle East.

The summit complements the company’s move to create a stronger market presence in the UAE and the rest of the Middle East region. The importance of testing in ensuring business confidence and providing superior end-user experience was the central theme of discussion at the summit.

Cognizant recently reported $4.59 billion in revenue for 2010, up 40.1 per cent from 2009. The company, whose global headcount was approximately 104,000 as of December 31, 2010, has been growing at an industry-leading rate and has guided to fiscal 2011 revenue of at least $5.79 billion, a company spokesman said.

Cognizant’s testing practice is an independent business unit within the company and has grown organically to more than 15,000 career testers, testing code written by Cognizant as well as by third parties such as clients and competitors.

‘Cognizant Testing Summits’ are a unique forum for learning and sharing current and critical information about testing,” said Theresa Lanowitz, Principal Analyst, Voke Inc. “The testing summits focus on networking and interaction among attendees who find considerable value in discussing enterprise testing concerns, challenges, and solution paths with professional peers. The ‘Cognizant Testing Summits’ are a rare and valued occurrence in today’s business landscape.”

“We congratulate Cognizant on the inaugural Middle East edition of the testing summit,” said Peter Bauer, Chief Services Officer, National Health Insurance Company - Daman.

Industry research firm IDC forecasts a five-year compounded annual growth rate of 19 per cent for discrete global testing services, reaching an estimated $17.7 billion by 2013. Companies are increasingly outsourcing testing services to gain easy access to a global pool of IT experts and consultants; manage resource requirements based on need, especially through sudden rise and fall of demand. Other key benefits received from using testing services include reduced cost, improved quality and increased speed in operations; higher productivity and increased confidence levels during application go-live decision-making.

“‘Outsourced Testing Services’ have been growing significantly, not only for their value in lowering the cost of quality assurance and maintenance, but for ensuring tighter alignment of IT with business objectives, greater operational effectiveness, and improved governance and risk mitigation,” said Sumithra Gomatam, senior vice president and Global Head of Testing Practice, Cognizant. 


issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com