Cognizant wins £74 million deal from UK govt

Information technology services company Cognizant has been selected for a £74 million (approx $92 million) contract by the UK’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to support its supply chain model and digital delivery service portfolio. 

Under Defra’s Application Development and Maintenance Support (ADMS) services program, Cognizant will implement new online services and digital platform capability which can be used in the core Defra group, along with partner organisations like the environment agency, animal plant health agency, and rural payment agency. The tenure of the deal is two years.

“The contract covers application development services and will provide crucial capacity and capability to support Defra in delivering its digital delivery portfolio in a cost-effective and sustainable way. We look forward to working with the Cognizant team to deliver essential digital services to help Defra and its arms lengths bodies to achieve its strategic objectives,” said Colin Banno-Thornton, director of digital delivery, Defra.

Defra is responsible for safeguarding the natural environment, supporting the farming industry, maintaining the rural economy, and providing security against hazards. The department works with 32 executive agencies and non-executive departmental public bodies.

“This project will support the delivery of an outstanding knowledge capability for our natural environment which will help Defra enhance the UK’s landscapes, improve biodiversity and encourage innovation,” said Rohit Gupta, managing director, UK&I, Cognizant.

Cognizant reported a 9.6% drop in net profit to $521 million in the fourth quarter that ended on December 31, 2022. This was against the company’s net profit of $576 million in the same quarter last year. In January this year, the company announced that it has replaced Brian Humphries as the chief executive officer with Ravi Kumar S. Kumar is the former president of Infosys.