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Cognizant Acquires Idea Couture, Bolstering Social Science Capabilities

IT, business consulting, and enterprise applications provider Cognizant has acquired Canadian technology firm Idea Couture, adding more next-generation IT solutions in the social science sector to its portfolio.
This is Cognizant’s second acquisition in social science after it picked up a 49% stake in German firm ReD Associates in April this year. Like ReD Associates, the Canadian firm will also be folded into Cognizant’s Digital Works business that was founded two years ago.
“Building on our recently announced partnership with ReD Associates, this acquisition further advances our strategy to bring together world-class capabilities in behavioral insight, strategy, design, and technology to deliver innovative and impactful solutions for our clients in banking, insurance, life sciences, and our other key industries,” said Gajen Kandiah, Executive Vice President, Cognizant Digital Works.
Toronto-based Couture claims to have over 170 social scientists, strategists, anthropologists, user experience experts, designers, and product developers. With offices in the U.S., Europe and Latin America, Couture counts global business conglomerates Samsung, PepsiCo, and Citi Ventures among its customers.
Faced by decreasing revenue from outsourcing and application management, Cognizant is shifting towards disruptive digital technology, focusing mainly on social, mobile, analytics, and cloud computing (SMAC).
“Enterprises are looking to understand and apply these next-generation technologies to the front office customer experience, middle office business process, and back office IT systems,” a Cognizant representative stated in a press release.
Analysts say Cognizant will soon deploy Couture’s social scientists to identify consumer behavior and create technology prototypes. Both ReD Associates and Idea Couture are best at using social science to identify consumer behavior, something technology firms need to be aware of when creating solutions.
Although headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant was founded by Kenya-born Indian businessman Francisco D’Souza. A majority of its employees are working at its delivery centers spread across India.

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Narayan Ammachchi

News Editor for Nearshore Americas, Narayan Ammachchi is a career journalist with a decade of experience in politics and international business. He works out of his base in the Indian Silicon City of Bangalore.

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