NEW YORK, March 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cognizant , a leading provider of IT and business process outsourcing services, today announced a multi-year IT contract with New York-based publishing giant, Simon & Schuster, Inc (S&S). Under the agreement, Cognizant will provide Simon & Schuster with end-to-end information technology infrastructure management services including, helpdesk, network management, server management, application infrastructure support, and desktop support.

"Our relationship with Cognizant will allow Simon & Schuster to reach new levels of benefits in our IT development and management," said Anne Lloyd Davies, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Simon & Schuster. "Cognizant easily had the most comprehensive solution, as well as the strongest track record and experience with successfully migrating and maintaining customers in a Microsoft environment."

"Cognizant is honored to be selected as a trusted partner with such a respected brand in the world of publishing," said Francisco D'Souza, Cognizant president and CEO. "We have already proven our willingness to adapt and develop an offering that meets Simon & Schuster's needs by successfully migrating - with minimal down-time - all of the company's hardware and software. We will continue to meet Simon & Schuster's future needs by delivering superior network and applications performance, while effectively transferring our know-how to the company's personnel."

Cognizant will provide delivery of services to Simon & Schuster from three U.S. locations; New York, New York; Parsippany, New Jersey and Riverside, New Jersey, as well as from Bangalore, India. The agreement for end-to-end infrastructure management and data center operations services will include the management of 200 servers, 1,400 desktops, as well as the management of Simon & Schuster's mission critical applications.

About Cognizant's IT Infrastructure Services and Information, Media & Entertainment Practices

Cognizant's IT Infrastructure Services Practice provides end-to-end solutions covering architecture, design, implementation, management and on- going support across the entire enterprise technology infrastructure. The comprehensive portfolio includes consulting, systems integration and predictive remote monitoring and management for the application, server, storage, security, network and end-user computing environments. These services are delivered around a transparent set of service levels and quality metrics providing clients clear visibility on the health of their systems. Cognizant's industry leading onshore/offshore-deployed "On Target" platform delivers consistently high levels of systems availability, improved operational efficiency and minimizes the business impact of infrastructure failures.

Cognizant's Information, Media & Entertainment Practice provides comprehensive IT solutions to the largest and most admired media businesses around the world by delivering a broad range of services in key areas such as rich media distribution, digital assets, rights management, single-source publishing, online advertising, campaign management and royalty management. Clients engage Cognizant to address their IT issues and transformational needs and to help them drive immense benefits from continued industry consolidation and digital transformation. The scope of solutions includes strategy, business process reengineering, portfolio assessment, infrastructure assessment, system architecting, development, maintenance, and business process outsourcing for mission-critical IT systems.

About Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster, a part of the CBS Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit our website at http://www.simonsays.com/.

About Cognizant

Cognizant is a leading provider of IT and business process outsourcing services. Focused on delivering strategic information technology solutions that address the complex business needs of its clients, Cognizant uses its own on-site/offshore outsourcing model to provide applications management, development, integration, and reengineering; infrastructure management; business process outsourcing; and numerous related services, such as enterprise consulting, technology architecture, program management, and change management.

Cognizant has over 40,000 employees who are committed to partnerships that sustain long-term, proven value for customers by delivering high-quality, cost-effective solutions through its development centers in India and on-site client teams. Cognizant maintains P-CMM, SW-CMM and CMMI Maturity Level 5 assessments from an independent third-party assessor and ranked among the top information technology companies in Business Week's Hot Growth Companies. Cognizant is a member of the NASDAQ-100 Index and the S&P 500 Index. Find additional information about Cognizant at http://www.cognizant.com/.

This press release includes statements which may constitute forward- looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include general economic conditions and the factors discussed in our most recent Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cognizant undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

CONTACT: Malcolm Frank, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Strategy of
Cognizant, +1-617-273-9282, Malcolm.Frank@cognizant.com, or Investors, Gordon
McCoun, Media, Brian Maddox or Scot Hoffman, scot.hoffman@fd.com, all of
Financial Dynamics, +1-212-850-5617, for Cognizant

Web site: http://www.cognizant.com/
http://www.simonsays.com/