Cognizant inks five-year deal with Telstra to uplift software engineering and IT

Global systems integrator Cognizant has secured a five-year partnership with Telstra that aims to accelerate the telco's software engineering and IT capabilities.

Cognizant said it will help Telstra leverage new ways of working and technologies like AI to drive innovation and improve operational efficiency.

The company will implement modern product engineering practices that will enable Telstra to further improve its customer experience and speed to market.

Leveraging its global capabilities, Cognizant will support Telstra’s strategy to enable more efficient software engineering and IT operations and decommission legacy systems.

"Cognizant is excited to partner with Telstra in support of its bold aspirations", said Ravi Kumar S, CEO of Cognizant.

"Telstra is a global leader in the way they are using innovation to transform their products and customer experiences, and we are proud to support them on this journey as one of their strategic IT partners."

The partnership also aims to support employee experience by building a superior engineering experience at Telstra.

“In today's rapidly advancing technology environment, strategic partnerships are fundamental to achieve our shared ambitions, in this case, digital leadership and great customer experiences,” said Kim Krogh Andersen, group executive of product and technology at Telstra.

"We're on a journey of consolidation and simplification across Telstra, streamlining our operations to ensure sustainable growth, and selecting Cognizant as a strategic partner for our software engineering and IT function is a key part of that."

Jane Livesey, head of Asia Pacific and Japan at Cognizant, said the "partnership signals a new era in professional services.

"From the outset this arrangement was constructed with a focus on customer centricity and saw us depart from conventional contracting and delivery models that the industry has used for decades."

"We have worked closely with Telstra to build a strategic partnership framework that allows us to share in Telstra’s innovation goals, its risks and rewards. Through our shared accountability for outcomes and transformation, we are driven to improve operations, build efficient engineering teams, and reinvent the way we work by using the best of modern technology.

"Cognizant has invested heavily in AI and cloud, so we are excited to start this transformation journey with Telstra. By combining our deep technology skills, software engineering abilities, and digitization know-how, our goal is to rewire Telstra to unlock new opportunities and deliver unparalleled value for its customers."