Tampa, Fla. - Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that Cognizant, a Fortune 500 leading global provider of information technology, consulting, and business process services, will expand its operations in Tampa, adding more than 400 new jobs and investing approximately $5.7 million over the next four years.

Governor Scott said, “Our mission is clear – to be the number one destination for jobs in the world, and Cognizant’s expansion is another step toward accomplishing our goal. As a veteran myself, I applaud companies like Cognizant that are hiring our military heroes. Since December 2010, 679,000 private-sector jobs have been created and our unemployment rate is down to 6.0 percent, the lowest since 2008. Today’s announcement means 400 more Floridians will be able to get a great job and provide for their families, which is a big win for Florida.”

Cognizant has more than 75 delivery and operations centers worldwide, and more than 31,000 full-time employees spread across all 50 states in the United States. Ranked among the top performing and fastest-growing companies in the world, Cognizant currently has more than 900 employees throughout Florida with half of them based in Tampa. The newly created positions will be for highly skilled technology and business professionals who will provide business process services as well as application development and maintenance for U.S. corporations across the financial services, insurance and healthcare industries.

“Tampa and surrounding Hillsborough County are home to several Fortune 500 and other innovative companies, many of which are current and potential Cognizant clients. We are pleased to be expanding in the region,” said Steven Schwartz, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer at Cognizant. “Thanks in part to the work of Governor Scott, Florida and the Tampa area are an attractive place to do business, given the robust infrastructure that has been created for technology companies, and the rich talent pool fed by the state’s 13 universities and concentration of highly skilled military veterans and their spouses. We have been privileged to employ a growing number of veterans as they transition from serving our country into the private sector. We’ve found the discipline, rigor and team spirit they bring help drive excellent service to our clients.”

Florida ranks second in the nation for tech job growth and third for high tech establishments. The Florida High Tech Corridor, anchored by the Tampa Bay region, has also been named one of the top tech job hotspots in the U.S. The Tampa metro area is home to approximately 20 percent of Florida’s IT positions. In the past five years, local IT jobs have grown at nearly twice the rate of overall average job growth, and are expected to increase by 10 percent over the next five year period.

“The expansion of Cognizant in Tampa will add value to Florida’s extensive IT industry,” said Secretary of Commerce and President & CEO of Enterprise Florida, Gray Swoope. “Because of the state’s top workforce, infrastructure and quality of life, companies like Cognizant are choosing Florida for their business growth. This expansion is a great fit for Tampa’s growing IT cluster and I look forward to Cognizant’s continued success.”

The project was made possible through strong partnerships between Enterprise Florida, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Hillsborough County, and the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation.

”We are excited that Cognizant will be expanding its Tampa locations,” said Jesse Panuccio, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. “The addition of more than 400 new, private-sector jobs over the next four years is representative of Florida’s growing opportunity economy.  We continue to see growth in the STEM field in Florida’s High Tech Corridor as Florida further solidifies its high ranking as a hub for tech job growth.”

“Hillsborough County has become a premier destination for information technology consulting businesses ranging from startups to Fortune 500 ranked global organizations,” said the Hon. Sandy Murman, Chair of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. “We’re committed to help fuel the expansion of this industry sector in Hillsborough County, and supporting companies like Cognizant who are helping to do that.”

“Cognizant explored multiple options for this expansion but chose Hillsborough County over all of them,” said Dr. Ronald Vaughn, Chair of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation and President of the University of Tampa. “Thanks to the support of our state and local partners, Hillsborough County’s reputation continues to grow as a community that is pro-business and that attracts world-class technology companies with  top IT talent.”

****

Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, dedicated to helping the world's leading companies build stronger businesses. Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant combines a passion for client satisfaction, technology innovation, deep industry and business process expertise, and a global, collaborative workforce that embodies the future of work. With over 75 development and delivery centers worldwide and approximately 199,700 employees as of September 30, 2014, Cognizant is a member of the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing and fastest growing companies in the world. Visit us online at www.cognizant.com or follow us on Twitter: Cognizant.  
 

###