 "Cognizant expands operations in Saudi Arabia")
Cognizant announced on Tuesday expansion of its operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with the opening of a new office in Riyadh.
Cognizant currently employs more than 200 professionals in KSA, delivering a broad range of services across digital business, operations, and systems and technology to more than 25 leading organisations in industry sectors such as financial services, insurance, energy, utilities, telecommunications, and retail.
"We congratulate Cognizant on the inauguration of its new office in Riyadh," said Meletis Meletiou, Chief Financial Officer at Kudu Company, a leading restaurant chain in KSA. "In working with us on a key ERP programme, Cognizant has proven itself to be a reliable and highly professional strategic partner who combines deep business and technology capabilities and experience. We thank Cognizant for its hard work and collaborative approach to helping us further strengthen our market leadership through greater efficiency, reduced operational costs and superior performance."
"We started operations in KSA in 2011 and have steadily grown our presence and investment in the country," said Narayan Iyer, Vice President, Middle East and India, Cognizant. "Our expansion in KSA underscores our confidence in the country's talent pool and its ability to help our clients drive not just operational efficiencies, but also digital transformation for the needs of tomorrow. We will continue to work closely with the academia in KSA and build talent across our full range of services by helping STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates become software professionals of global standards and work on helping clients navigate the shift to the digital era."
In 2012, Cognizant launched its graduate recruitment programme in KSA to hire entry-level technical and management talent from premier institutions in the country and has been hiring graduates from institutions such as King Saud University, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, King Faisal University, King Khalid University, Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, and Alyammamah University.
In the recent past Indian IT players, too, have scaled up their presence in the Middle East. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has opened an all women BPM centre in Riyadh in 2014. Earlier this year, Bangalore-based Wipro inaugurated an all women's Business and Technology Park. This was a result of joint venture between Princess Nourah University. The project is expected to create nearly 21,000 jobs for Saudi women over a period of ten years. There were also reports that Wipro too may set up a BPM centre.
Infosys meanwhile has opted to form a JV with a local player Saudi Prerogative Company to tap into the local IT services market.