Cognizant Technology Solutions (Cognizant) (NASDAQ: CTSH) is an American multinational provider of custom information technology, consulting and business process outsourcing services headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA. The company has been named to the 2010 Fortune 100 Fastest-Growing Companies List for the eighth consecutive year.[2] Cognizant has also been named to the Fortune 1000 and Forbes Global 2000 lists. It has consistently ranked among the fastest growing companies including the 2010 Business Week 50 list of the top-performing U.S. companies, the Business Week Hottest Tech Companies 2010, and the Forbes Fast Tech 2010 list of 25 Fastest Growing Technology Companies In America.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation is a provider of custom information technology, consulting and business process outsourcing services. The Company is engaged in Technology Consulting, Complex Systems Development and Integration, Enterprise Software Package Implementation and Maintenance, Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence and Analytics, Application Testing, Application Maintenance, Infrastructure Management, and Business and Knowledge Process Outsourcing, (BPO and KPO). It operates in four segments: Financial Services; Healthcare; Manufacturing, Retail and Logistics, and Other, which includes Communications, Information, Media and Entertainment and High Technology.
The Company provides a range of project delivery services, including post-acquisition integration, business and information technology integration, business transformation, product/service launch and organization relocation services. The Application Design, Development, Integration and Re-engineering services include Data Warehousing / Business Intelligence, ERP and customer relationship management (CRM) implementation services. Application Maintenance services include Year 2000 compliance, Eurocurrency compliance, decimalization within the securities industry and compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act for the healthcare industry.
Financial Services
During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Financial Services business segment represented approximately 42.4% of total revenues. This business segment provides services to customers operating in the industries, such as Banking and Insurance. Through Banking the Company focuses on retail and commercial banks, and diversified financial enterprises. It assists theses clients in such areas as Consumer Lending, Cards and Payments, Wholesale Banking, Risk Management, Investment Banking and Brokerage, Asset and Wealth Management, Corporate Services and Retail Banking. It also focuses on the needs of broker/ dealers, asset management firms, depositories, clearing organizations and exchanges. Areas where it helps the clients to include Front Office, Middle Office, Back Office, Sales and Brokerage, Research, Exchange Operations and Prime Brokerage Solutions.
Through Insurance the Company assists with the needs of property and casualty insurers, life insurers, reinsurance firms and insurance brokers. It focuses on such areas as: Business Acquisition, Policy Administration, Claims Processing, Management Reporting, Regulatory Compliance and Reinsurance.
Healthcare
During 2010, the Healthcare segment represented approximately 25.6% of the total revenues. This segment provides services to customers operating in industries, such as healthcare and life sciences. The Healthcare service teams focus on the solutions, such as Broker Compensation, Sales and Underwriting Systems, Provider Management, Plan Sponsor Administration, Electronic Enrollment, Membership, Billing, Claims Processing, Medical Management and Pharmacy Benefit Management. It has also partnered with customers to enable their information technology systems to deal with initiatives, such as self service portals (member / provider / broker), consumer-driven healthcare, behavioral health, regulatory compliance, Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), and healthcare data warehousing and analytics. The Company’s life sciences solutions include Prescriber Behavior Analysis and Insight, Longitudinal Prescription Data Management Systems, Sales Force Compensation Systems, Sales Data and Claims Data Management Systems, Clinical Trial Solutions, 21CFR11 Assessment and Computer Systems Validation, Data Mining and Business Intelligence Solutions, e-Business and Data Portals, and ERP implementation, upgrade, and maintenance services.
Manufacturing / Retail / Logistics
During 2010, Manufacturing, Logistics and Retail business segment represented approximately 18.5% of total revenues. It helps organizations improve operational efficiencies, enhance responsiveness and collaborate with trading partners to serve their end customers. Some of Manufacturing and Logistics solutions include Supply Chain Management, Warehouse and Yard Management, Waste Management, Transportation Management, Optimization, Portals and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions. The Company serves a range of retailers and distributors, including supermarkets, specialty premium retailers, department stores and large mass-merchandise discounters. It also serves the travel and hospitality industry including airlines, hotels and restaurants, as well as online and retail travel, global distribution systems and intermediaries and real estate companies. Services provided include Upgrade supply chain systems, ranging from order management to category and space management, warehouse management, logistics management, pricing and promotions, and merchandising management; Implement new point of sale solutions that embrace new international standards and provide new flexibility for supporting new merchandising initiatives; Accelerate the implementation of enterprise and customer relationship management; Improve business intelligence effectiveness, and provides BPO and niche processes in restaurants, hotels and airlines. It works with the consumer goods manufacturers also.
Other
During 2010, Other business segment represented approximately 13.5% of total revenues. The Other business segment includes Communications, Information, Media and Entertainment Services and High Technology operating segments. The Company has industry-specific solutions, including: OSS / BSS Implementation, Network Management Services, Mobile Applications, Conformance Testing, Product Lifecycle Management, Product Implementation, Portals, Business Activity Monitoring, Mobile Systems Integration, Broadband Evolution Services and Billing Quality Assurance. Its information, media and entertainment solutions include Supply chain management solutions, from pre-press to material procurement, circulation, logistics, and vendor management; Business solutions covering advertising management, online media, and e-business; Workflow automation covering the product development process for broadcasters; Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Digital Rights Management (DRM), and Operational systems including ad sales, studio management, outsourcing billing and payments, along with content management and delivery.
The Company competes with Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, WIPRO, Accenture, Computer Sciences Corporation, HP Enterprise, Perot Systems and IBM Global Services.

At first, the Indian subsidiary focused on large-scale full lifecycle software projects for such D&B businesses as AC Nielsen Co. and IMS Health. In November 1996 D&B spun off the unit along with Erisco, Inc.; IMS International Inc.; Nielsen Media Research; Pilot Software, Inc.; Sales Technologies, Inc.; and other assets to form a company named Cognizant Corporation. This move was part of a major restructuring of the parent corporation, which split into three major divisions: Dun & Bradstreet, AC Nielsen Consumer Products, and Cognizant Corporation. Three months later, Dun & Bradstreet Satyam changed its name to Cognizant Technology Solutions and began to function as a division of the newly formed Cognizant Corporation. It would now look to service companies outside of the D&B family, offering Y2K solutions as well as web page development. In July 1997 the subsidiary became wholly owned when the parent corporation bought Satyam's minority interest for $3.4 million. Because Cognizant lacked a reputation outside of D&B, it had some difficulty in attracting clients. Mahadeva fell back on his McKinsey experience and concentrated on customer satisfaction and the building of long-term relationships. Major signings for Y2K solutions included Northwest Airlines and Aetna Life Insurance Co. of Canada.
Mahadeva also proved to be adept at keeping Cognizant ahead of trends. Early in 1998, at a time when the Y2K business accounted for almost half of the company's revenues, he began to pull back Cognizant's exposure to the practice so that by the first quarter of 1999 Y2K work represented just 26 percent of revenues. According to a 1999 Forbes profile, "Sensing that another consulting obsession was about to peak, Mahadeva kept clear of the $16.6 billion enterprise resource planning (ERP) software business--installing monolithic software packages that manage companies' backoffice functions. While other consultants were raking in fat fees, Mahadeva steered Cognizant toward the more pedestrian chores of maintaining corporate software systems--fixing kinks in the code or extending the life of existing applications by adding new functions." Moreover, applications management was a business that would "be around for as long as companies use computers."
The parent company, Cognizant Corporation, underwent some structural changes in early 1998, dividing into two separate public companies as a way to help each unit maximize growth. Certain assets, including Cognizant Technology Solutions, were spun off to form IMS Health Incorporated. Cognizant Corporation and its remaining entities were renamed Nielsen Media Research. Several months later, in June 1998, IMS partially spun off Cognizant Technology Solutions and conducted an initial public offering (IPO) of stock. The timing proved to be less than ideal, as market conditions were poor for IPOs. As a result, Cognizant was only able to sell shares at $10, instead of the $11 to $13 the company and its underwriters had hoped it would fetch. The money was earmarked to pay off debt and finance the upgrading of offices in India, but in the end most of it was simply banked.
Mahadeva was named Cognizant's chairman and CEO in March 1998. He continued to display a creative and forward-looking mindset. According to a profile in the Economic Times, "Another business model innovation the company came up with as early as 1998, when peers aligned themselves along geographies or technologies, Cognizant aligned itself along verticals. The results of early verticalisation is seen in the robust growth in each of the verticals that Cognizant focuses on--financial services, banking, insurance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing and logistics, and media and publishing. ... The final distinction in strategy is in its listing destination. While its peers got listed in the geography they sourced from--that is India, Cognizant got listed in the geography they serviced, namely the US."
In 2000 Cognizant looked to become involved in e-business, introducing a suite of services and offering to help customers build IT systems that it could then maintain on an outsourcing basis. The company also expressed interest in funding Internet start-ups in both the United States and India. When the Internet bubble burst and the tech sector in general suffered from the effects of a recession, Cognizant was nimble enough to stay afloat and actually maintain its growth. The cost savings that Cognizant could provide its customers through offshore centers made the company's services more attractive during lean economic times. Even following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, corporations remained willing to have their IT services handled offshore by Cognizant and others. India's large pool of inexpensive IT talent was no longer a secret, but Cognizant was one of the few companies able to make the complicated onsite/offshore model run smoothly. Tensions between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region that might lead to a military conflict between the two nuclear powers dampened investor enthusiasm and adversely impacted the price of the company's stock, but customers still did not pull back.
Rising Stock Prices in 2002
Because of its onsite/offshore arrangement, Cognizant was able to realize significant tax savings that also helped to improve profits during lean times. Wholly owned subsidiaries


OVERALL
Beta: 1.07
Market Cap (Mil.): $25,009.62
Shares Outstanding (Mil.): 304.22
Annual Dividend: --
Yield (%): --
FINANCIALS
CTSH.O Industry Sector
P/E (TTM): 34.67 20.85 19.30
EPS (TTM): 33.54 -- --
ROI: 23.13 21.51 16.14
ROE: 23.52 23.57 17.81

Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1994 as Dun & Bradstreet Satyam Software
Employees: 6,165
Sales: $229.1 million (2002)
Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
Ticker Symbol: CTSH
NAIC: 541511 Custom Computer Programming Services


Company Perspectives:
We provide application outsourcing services and enterprise consulting solutions to Fortune 500 and Blue Chip companies in the US and Europe. Leveraging a streamlined on-site/offshore development model, we can help your organization achieve a world-class level of technical excellence for less than half the cost of having the same work done by other e-business and outsourcing leaders.


Key Dates:
1994: The company is formed as a Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) in-house unit.
1996: D&B spins off the business as part of Cognizant Corporation.
1998: Parent Cognizant Corporation restructures, with Cognizant Technology now a public subsidiary of new parent IMS Health Incorporated.

Name Age Since Current Position
Klein, John 69 2003 Independent Chairman of the Board
D'Souza, Francisco 42 2007 President, Chief Executive Officer, Director
Narayanan, Lakshmi 58 2007 Vice Chairman of the Board
Coburn, Gordon 47 2007 Chief Financial and Operating Officer, and Treasurer
Schwartz, Steven 43 2007 Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary
Chandrasekaran, Ramakrishnan 53 2006 President & Managing Director - Global Delivery
Mehta, Rajeev 44 2006 Chief Operating Officer - Global Client Services
Howe, Robert 64 1999 Independent Director
Weissman, Robert 70 2001 Independent Director
Wendel, Thomas 74 2001 Independent Director
Fox, John 68 2007 Independent Director
Breakiron-Evans, Maureen 56 2009 Independent Director


Address:
500 Glenpointe Centre West
Teaneck, New Jersey 07666
U.S.A.
 
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