FCA selects Cognizant as partner to transform technology portfolio
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has selected Cognizant to enhance the efficiency, reliability and scalability of core IT applications and quality assurance processes related to the agency’s market surveillance, supervisory analysis, reporting and risk management functions.
IT and business process outsourcing consultancy Cognizant has been selected by the Financial Conduct Authority to overhaul the core IT applications of the UK’s financial watchdog. The three year agreement will see Cognizant develop and implement new software, leveraging automation across the enterprise, and driving best practices for agile development. Cognizant will also support the FCA with enhancing its digital analytics maturity to further improve internal decision-making.
The FCA is the conduct regulator for 56,000 financial services firms and financial markets in the United Kingdom. Cognizant's Financial Services practice, which includes banking, insurance and transaction processing, is the company's largest industry segment, and serves clients in financial and insurance institutions in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Streamlining
The deal sees Cognizant further trusted as an outsourcing contractor by members of the financial watchdog world, and this news comes as the latest in a long-standing relationship. Originally the consulting firm was selected by the FCA's predecessor, the UK Financial Services Authority originally, as an outsourcing supplier in 2011, as part of a Strategic Outsourcing Framework Agreement (SOFA), as the watchdog looked to make efficiency savings.
"Cognizant is pleased to be the FCA’s partner of choice in transforming its applications portfolio for greater efficiency, effectiveness and agility. We are committed to helping the FCA meet its objective of ensuring that the financial markets are operating in a fair, honest, and effective manner,” said Vivek Daga, Vice President and Head of the United Kingdom and Ireland at Cognizant.
Recently, it was reported that Cognizant themselves meanwhile planned shed up to 4% of its workforce as the firm also faces harsh market competition, and continues to look to cost cutting measures to get the upper hand in a tumultuous IT consulting sector which has, like many other markets, been the target for new innovative disruptors in recent years. The firm is headquartered in the US, but the majority of its workforce – 75% of 260,000 employees overall – is based in India, while by March it was announced the technology consultancy had already downsized its total workforce by 3%.
Cognizant recently launched a new Collaboratory lab in London. The new interactive work space brings together a multi-disciplinary team of social scientists, design thinkers, creative technologists, engineers, and strategists to help organisations transform and reimagine their business, operating, and technology models for the digital era.
