Cognizant named RPA services leader by Forrester

Cognizant is recognised as a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) services leader in a new report on the rapidly evolving market by Forrester Research, a global research and advisory firm.

RPA uses software 'bots' to automate repetitive, time-consuming manual processes, freeing staff for higher-value work and has quickly become an essential element of digital transformation strategies.

The Forrester Wave: Robotic Process Automation Services, Q4 2019 report evaluates the automation capabilities of 13 service providers on 22 criteria, including current offering, strategy and market presence.

In the new Forrester report, Cognizant received the highest possible ratings in the customer and business outcomes, partner ecosystem, and commercial model criteria.

In Cognizant's vendor profile, the report states:

• Cognizant is the RPA 'turnaround specialist' that differs from many of its SI peers in that its organisational structure pivots around digital business, giving it a slight advantage in having a value-centric, business-first view of the impact of automation
   
• The provider's pod-based delivery model approach, emphasises on agile and lean methodologies for bot development, and relatively high willingness to engage on flexible commercial models based on the customer's context set it apart.

According to the report, "The market for RPA products and services is evolving furiously … Automation leaders cite process identification and assessment, organisational challenges, and the inability to set up the right processes around governance, control, and management of bots as the top challenges to attaining value and scale. As a result of these trends, RPA services buyers should look for providers that have operational experience stabilising and scaling RPA deployments [and] that can bring the broader automation ecosystem to bear.

"The diverse and innovative use of RPA allows clients to tap into benefits almost impossible to achieve manually – from real-time customer engagement to straight-through processing," says Cognizant digital operations president Ganesh Ayyar.

"Our expertise in deploying and managing software bots allows us to take clients from task-level solutions to enterprise-wide automation. As smart technology becomes a bigger part of everyday life, we're pleased to be recognised by Forrester as a leader in this evaluation, which we believe demonstrates how we are helping clients realise the cost savings and business benefits derived from RPA.

Offering a range of industry-specific RPA, Cognizant solutions make client processes smarter, more efficient and effective.

For a major banking and financial services client, a Cognizant-developed RPA solution streamlined inefficient mortgage servicing processes.

With RPA, the client reduced average handling time by more than 97% and realised a 60% increase in loan processing capacity among other benefits.

Clients in other industries including healthcare, life sciences, insurance and others have also worked with Cognizant to improve efficiency, services and lower costs.