Q1 2020

EU BUSINESS NEWS / Q1 2020 27 Cognizant intends to acquire EI-Technologies, a leading European salesforce platform specialist. The acquisition would accelerate growth of Cognizant's Salesforce business. Cognizant has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire the French operations of EI-Technologies, a Paris-based, privately-held digital technology consulting firm and leading independent Salesforce specialist in France. The proposed acquisition would complement Cognizant's global Salesforce practice, expanding client resources in Europe. The planned acquisition requires advance consultation with the relevant works councils and would be subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the proposed transaction are not being disclosed. "We're determined to help our clients become fully digital, data-enabled, customer-centric businesses. Cloud has changed the way IT is delivered across infrastructure, applications and platforms, and is one of our strategic focus areas," said Brian Humphries, Cognizant CEO. "EI-Technologies, based in France, would not only support our effort to further scale our international business but also add Salesforce expertise and capabilities to our cloud management portfolio." Expanding Resources In Europe Through this acquisition, Cognizant would add approximately 345 employees in France. "We're excited at the prospect of bringing our expertise and deep relationships within the Salesforce ecosystem together with Cognizant's rich knowledge and extensive capabilities in digital transformation as a whole," said Béchara Raad, founder and CEO of EI-Technologies. "Joining Cognizant would enable us to address a wider range of client needs -- including automation, artificial intelligence, customer experience design and more -- that are emerging in the digital economy, and to pursue projects on a larger scale." EI-Technologies is a Salesforce Platinum Partner, and its EI-Institut is among the largest Salesforce Authorized Training Delivery Partner centers in Europe. EI-Technologies' clients include leading companies listed on the French stock market's CAC 40 index in the manufacturing, energy and utilities, financial services and luxury industries. In addition to Salesforce expertise, the company also specializes in Microsoft collaboration platform solutions and CIO advisory services. Founded in 2008, EI-Technologies has been recognized in France by Salesforce for its client solutions, receiving the Salesforce Award for specialist partner in 2016 and 2017, as well as the Salesforce Award for most innovative project and partner in 2018. The company also won the 2019 Salesforce Award in the Innovation – Most Innovative Partner category, for creating AppInnovation, the first European Salesforce app development event. Cognizant's Salesforce Certified Consultants are spread across more than 35 countries. The company has received numerous accolades from Salesforce, including, most recently, two Partner Innovation Awards in 2019. Cognizant was also recognized as a market Leader in the Salesforce Ecosystem Quadrant Report for 2019 by Information Services Group (ISG), a leading independent global technology and research advisory firm. Learn more about Cognizant's Salesforce Practice here.