Mark Livingston
Executive Vice-President, Consulting
Cognizant
Q: Where is the firm right now?
A: Clients are increasingly seeking a partner in business transformation, not simply a consultant. That has played to Cognizant's strengths, which combine deep technology capabilities with extensive domain expertise and the ability to provide end-to-end solutions. Clients realize they face a dual mandate. They need to "run better" by improving the efficiency of their existing operations, while at the same time they must "run different" by challenging established models and investing in innovations that will drive future success. They need to partner with a firm that can help them achieve both parts of this dual mandate.
The result is that we've had strong growth for the sixth consecutive year, across virtually all sectors and aspects of our practice, and we have a full pipeline of work that should continue to fuel our growth. Cognizant Business Consulting, our consulting practice, is strongly integrated with the rest of Cognizant, and many of the firm's most notable transformation assignments are consulting-led. What's somewhat surprising is the acceleration of the shift in consulting models. The pace of change in the consulting market continues to quicken. We are seeing a major shift in the profession from advisory to end-to-end implementation, from a process focus to solution and asset-based consulting models. That means shifting from being a services provider to partnering on innovations and solutions, and going from traditional fee per-hour to outcomes-based pricing.
Q: How would you describe your firm's outlook for 2014?
A: Overall, our market position is stronger than ever. Our value proposition is being accepted and clients see us as a viable alternative to traditional consulting firms. We challenge companies to unlock new business potential by leveraging deep domain knowledge across a range of vertical industries, and by offering cross-industry capabilities such as business and IT strategy, program management, process and quality consulting, enterprise information management, and digital transformation.
Q: How do you see the profession evolving in 2014?
A: Consultants must look at defining solutions more broadly, as the profession moves from a focus on pure advisory to end-to-end implementation. We must look at what problems the client is trying to solve and use our collective resources to create market-related solutions.
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