Cognizant strengthens its global delivery network with new innovation hub in Malaysia

The new Cognizant regional innovation hub in Malaysia is officially launched by YB Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.

(From left to right): Kaldip Singh, Head of Delivery, Malaysia, Cognizant; Andrew Lim, Vice President, Head of ASEAN and Greater China, Cognizant; Ts. Mahadhir Aziz, Chief Executive Officer, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC); YB Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade & Industry (MITI); Jane Livesey, Senior Vice President, CEO of APAC, Cognizant; Effendi Azmi Hashim, Country Manager, Malaysia, Cognizant; YBhg. Datuk Seri Isham Ishak, Secretary General, Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry (MITI); Datuk Muhammad Azmi Zulkifli, Chief Executive Officer, InvestKL.

Featuring Cognizant’s first ASEAN Innovation Experience Lab and Centres of Excellence providing best-in-class innovative digital solutions and transformation strategies for its clients.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19, 2023 ― Cognizant has officially opened its new regional innovation hub in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, further strengthening its global delivery network. Cognizant plays a key role in helping businesses on their digital modernization journeys and the new hub aims to bring our technical expertise and industry capabilities closer to clients around the world. We expect this new hub to also enable us to grow our skilled talent pool to support local, regional, and global customers. Cognizant has grown from just 32 Malaysia-based employees in 2010 to more than 2,000 today and expects to further increase its workforce to 5,000 by 2026.

The Honorable YB Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry was the Guest of Honor at the opening ceremony. Alongside him were YBhg. Datuk Seri Isham Ishak, Secretary General for the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, Datuk Muhammad Azmi Zulkifli, CEO of InvestKL, Encik Mahadhir Aziz, CEO of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and key leaders from Cognizant: Jane Livesey, CEO of Asia Pacific, Andrew Lim, Vice President of ASEAN and Greater China, and Effendi Hashim, Malaysia Country Head.

Spanning more than 70,000 square feet, the innovative hub houses Cognizant’s first Innovation Experience Lab and Centres of Excellence in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and 17 offshore development centres to offer the development of services and innovative solutions for offshore and in-market clients.

“Cognizant’s growing footprint is a testament to Malaysia’s ease of doing business, and strong economic fundamentals that support MITI’s pro-industry, pro-trade and pro-investment stand,” said Tengku Zafrul. “It is also an affirmation that Malaysia is a competitive investment destination in the region. Cognizant’s decision to invest more and grow its delivery presence in Greater KL is also reflective of the city’s position to attract leading global companies looking to expand their foothold in the region, and the Government’s continued efforts to create a conducive landscape for businesses to thrive in Malaysia. Our New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030) will also further enhance all these advantages and the ease of doing business for investors, to better position Malaysia and Greater KL as the gateway to Asia.”

Innovation Experience Lab

The Innovation Experience Lab and Centres of Excellence are designed for regional and global clients to experience Cognizant’s capability to help drive their business forward with leading technologies and solutions. The lab features multi-industry themes such as banking and financial service, insurance, life sciences and healthcare, while showcasing technologies in Quality Engineering & Assurance (QE&A), Robotic Process Automation and Internet of Things. The lab is a display of Cognizant’s leading offerings as well as those jointly developed with our strategic partners from trusted names in their field.

Cognizant Global Quality Engineering and Assurance Centre of Excellence

As an extension of Cognizant’s global QE&A ecosystem, which is recognized by industry analysts like Everest and Forrester as leaders of NextGen Quality Assurance, Kuala Lumpur was chosen by Cognizant to be the QE&A Centre of Excellence (CoE) regional hub to increase the proximity of its leadership expertise to clients globally. With strong business knowledge and technical expertise in cosmopolitan Kuala Lumpur, coupled with knowledge of diverse Asian languages and culture, our CoE is set to be the gateway for Malaysia to connect with the rest of the world.

AWS Centre of Excellence for Cognizant ASEAN

Putting in place a collaborative framework allows Cognizant and its partners to combine capabilities and efforts to better drive change and digital transformation for the larger community. Cognizant has set up a dedicated CoE in Malaysia for cloud technologies powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud, offering more than 200 fully featured services. By combining our capabilities and efforts with AWS services, Cognizant intends to drive better cloud transformation in Malaysia and the rest of the region, while building and training AWS-certified resources with proven methodologies and best practices that can be deployed using AWS on projects across ASEAN.

"Our people are key to Cognizant's growth and ability to deliver sustained and improved results for clients successfully and consistently over the long term. We recognize that the best way to lead the market is to ensure that we cultivate an innovative culture which helps us adapt, attract the best talent, and accelerate growth," said Jane Livesey, CEO of Cognizant Asia Pacific. “We aim to continue fostering the conception and realization of fresh ideas among our employees to create more value for both Cognizant and our clients."

"Cognizant's presence in Malaysia is a significant step towards firmly establishing Malaysia as the digital hub of ASEAN. Through the Malaysia Digital (MD) national strategic initiative, we are dedicated to revolutionizing our nation's digital capabilities, enhancing our value proposition to attract digital investments, and catalysing the growth of our digital economy,” said Mahathir Aziz, Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). This state-of-the-art facility reflects our joint commitment to drive digital transformation and foster innovation. We are committed to supporting their presence here and the growth of our nation through various PEMANGKIN initiatives. Cognizant's decision to establish its presence here reaffirms Malaysia's potential to lead in the ever-evolving digital economy, creating jobs, driving growth, and transforming industries."

“This hub joins a list of over 120 leading global companies,” said Datuk Muhammad Azmi Zulkifli, CEO of InvestKL. “The launch of Cognizant Malaysia’s Regional Hub is a show of confidence towards Malaysia’s ease of doing business. It is a milestone moment that positions Greater KL as Cognizant’s hub for digital and technology. Its commitment towards job creation, knowledge transfer, and social and sustainability efforts, brings immense spill-over effects to the growth of the industry and the country's economy. With its need for advanced capabilities and talented workforce, one that Greater KL is able to offer, Cognizant is well-equipped to drive innovation and realize their investment goals."

What truly drives business value is innovation. This state-of-the-art innovation hub reinforces our commitment to help our clients improve their digital transformation blueprint. By using a combination of novel solutions, advanced technology and complemented by Cognizant’s skilled talent, we aim to empower these modern businesses to become more innovative, efficient, productive, and competitive.