CHENNAI, INDIA: Many sourcing professionals are now trying to rapidly assess whether they can realize near-term cost savings by outsourcing some or all of the IT infrastructure as per a recent report by independent research firm Forrester.

“The Forrester Wave: Global IT Infrastructure Outsourcing, Q1 2009,” elaborates on the role of the IT infrastructure outsourcing services to the global economy: “Smart technology decision-makers are also now looking at IT infrastructure outsourcing as a way to deliver near-term cost savings while positioning IT as more of a business enabler for the future – rather than a ‘keep the lights on’ tax to the firm. This strategy is actually driving a healthy growth in certain areas of the outsourcing business even in the context of a highly distressed economy.”

In this report, Cognizant is named a “Leader” in “The Forrester Wave: Global IT Infrastructure Outsourcing, Q1 2009” by Paul Roehrig, Ph.D.

Cognizant has moved to the “Leaders” category for the first time in the benchmarking report, which evaluated 15 global firms with a track record of success in infrastructure services.

The Forrester study evaluated and ranked Cognizant IT Infrastructure Services (IT IS) on the basis of a comprehensive methodology across 31 criteria – as well as an additional 25-item reference client survey – relating to current offerings, strategy, and market presence.

The 15 global firms in Forrester’s assessment delivered about $83.9 billion worth of infrastructure services over the past year. The 349,000 dedicated-infrastructure services employees supported about 9,400 clients. Overall, the firms included in this study accounted for about $384 billion in total annual revenue over the past year.

Cognizant IT IS received the highest possible scores for client feedback on service quality, customer value proposition and vision, and investment to support growth strategy, said a release.

“… solid performance across the current offering criteria, balanced with an equally solid strategy, edged Cognizant into the Leaders. Cognizant has a good story to tell around current delivery – supported by solid client reference scores – and good plans for growing the business,” as cited from the report.

The Forrester evaluation specifically cited Cognizant’s remote infrastructure management capabilities, or RIM 2.0.

“Forrester Research offers an educated and unbiased analysis of the global IT infrastructure services market, and we are especially pleased that our strong client satisfaction scores contributed to their evaluation – a strong testament to the business value we deliver,” said Robert Boles, Vice President, IT IS, Cognizant.

Cognizant is a provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services.