Cognizant: How AI is supporting the future of companies

Cognizant Technology Solution employs over 344,000 people worldwide. The IT service provider has been helping its customers to modernize technologies, design efficient processes and increase productivity for 30 years. The Swiss subsidiary celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and has offices in Zurich, Geneva, Baar and Zug.

thebroker talks to Thomas Gassenbauer, Country Manager at Cognizant Switzerland and member of the Board of Directors. He heads up the Swiss business.

Thomas Gassenbauer, your offices are located on the 18th floor of the impressive Prime Tower, Zurich’s tallest building at 126 meters. You previously spent 23 years at IBM. Why did you change jobs?

The role of Country Manager is my dream role. The decisive factor for me to switch was the opportunity to combine my previous experience in this role and to be responsible for the Swiss country business across all vertical sectors. The wonderful team and the fantastic office, which our employees and clients also really appreciate, is of course a big bonus. Looking down from the 18th floor is an experience that I can only recommend to anyone.

You are also a Steering Committee member of digitalswitzerland, a Switzerland-wide initiative that aims to strengthen and consolidate Switzerland as a leading international location for digital innovation. A Swiss Silicon Valley?

The digitalswitzerland initiative aims to develop Switzerland into an internationally recognized and leading digital nation. The network is committed to this with more than 170 members in over 25 projects. The aim is to strengthen and consolidate Switzerland as an innovation pioneer. The focus is on all aspects of digitalization with a focus on education, skilled workers, diversity, and digital health.

Cognizant Switzerland celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. This year, the parent company will be 30 years old. Will you be celebrating in the USA?

We are celebrating the anniversary worldwide – not only the 30th anniversary, but also 30 years of service for our clients. This is a big milestone for us. We are particularly proud to have been part of this success story for 20 years and to have helped our local customers to increase their productivity and efficiency. Switzerland is an important market for Cognizant and one of the main growth regions. At the same time, we are pleased to be recognized as a top employer in the region for several years.

In 2015, Cognizant Switzerland founded the DigitalLab@OST together with the University of Applied Sciences OST and the University of St. Gallen. What does this lab do?

The DigitalLab@OST combines advances in applied sciences with the in-depth industry and business knowledge required to integrate and scale solutions in the business environment. The aim is to enable rapid digital implementation for the manufacturing industry along the entire value chain. This endeavor is also supported by numerous events and conferences where our customers can engage with thought leaders, industry experts and peers to stay at the forefront of digital trends. We can already look back on more than 117 successfully implemented projects – more are planned or initiated.

One of Cognizant’s most important projects is the further expansion of its position as Employer of Choice. You attach great importance to this.

That is right, our employees are our most important asset. We are therefore proud to have been recognized as an Employer of Choice several times and that highly qualified talents choose us as an employer. With initiatives such as a graduate program, mentoring and internal training opportunities, we are constantly working to increase our attractiveness and consolidate our strong team.

According to a study conducted by Cognizant last year, generative AI could generate annual growth of up to USD 1 trillion by 2032. At the same time, it is expected that AI destroys 90% of existing jobs. That sounds more than alarming, so how can one understand this?

Destroy is certainly the wrong word here. It is more about the fact that a substantial proportion of jobs will change significantly – especially in the direction of higher productivity. If companies take the right measures now, train their employees accordingly and ensure trust between employers and employees as well as trust in the technology itself, then we are heading towards an era of unprecedented efficiency. In the end, we will all benefit from this.

Among many other industries, Cognizant also helps the insurance industry to update outdated technologies and processes. What do your services in this segment include?

Since the industry relied on IT resources very early on, they are already several decades old, and it is high time for modernization. In addition to the classic requirements for cloud migration and process automation, platform solutions and, of course, AI-supported solutions are becoming increasingly important. We support our customers across the entire spectrum – from selecting the right digital solutions to implementation and operation, from front to back office and from faster time-to-market to more efficient use of data.

You use the latest AI and generative AI technologies to give insurers a competitive edge. Where exactly does artificial intelligence come into play?

Competitive advantages are primarily achieved through the customer experience. In particular, we see great potential if generative AI can support agents in preparing advice. Customer consultations are becoming increasingly complex. A great deal of data and a lack of analyses make it even more difficult to gain an overview. The use of AI, including generative AI, helps the agent to prepare the necessary information for the customer quickly and easily in a targeted manner and to advise the customer in a targeted and timely manner.

According to Cognizant, the slow and costly manual underwriting processes still need to be revolutionized. You mention bionic underwriting as a solution. What do you mean by that?

The underwriting process involves a lot of manual effort, especially in the mid-market and large customer business. Starting with the screening of incoming inquiries, through risk analysis and pricing, to the issuing of policies, almost everything is done manually. Bionic underwriting automates almost all administrative process steps such as reviewing documents, preparing data for risk analysis, indicative rating/pricing, etc., so that only the „classic“ underwriting tasks still have to be carried out by the underwriter themselves.

What impact would bionic underwriting have on the insurance market?

As a first step, bionic underwriting speeds up the underwriting process itself. This makes the underwriting process more efficient and effective. An underwriter can make better decisions faster regarding risk, pricing, pricing, go/no-go. In addition, the customer experience inproves as response times are significantly reduced, leading to a higher closing rate. This reduces acquisition costs and time-to-market. The underwriting process includes numerous process steps that can be found in many other processes in the insurance industry. This means that if you have an end-to-end solution for the underwriting process, you have a solution for many almost any other insurance processes. In the long term, more attractive rates can be sought, commissioning models improved, and sales models reconsidered.

Customer satisfaction is one of the most critical issues for insurers. Whether it is the processing of claims or the renewal of policies. How does Cognizant help to improve customer service using AI?

For example, we support our customers in developing applications for efficient customer interactions. Chatbots play a key role here – the use of AI takes this to a new level. It not only enables higher operational efficiency and lower costs, but also a better customer experience: with AI technologies such as generative and conversational AI, speech and text analytics, dynamic personalization, cognitive engagement and natural language processing, insurers can make their customer interactions more seamless and personalized.

Thomas Gassenbauer is the Managing Director for Switzerland at Cognizant, where he leads all aspects of the company’s operations in Switzerland. He is also a member of Cognizant’s Central Europe leadership team and is based in Zürich.

With over 30 years of experience in advising clients across a broad range of technology and services sales, BPO/ITO program management, and service delivery, Thomas is a highly respected industry leader. Prior to joining Cognizant, Thomas served as IBM’s Global Client Director for Financial Services, where he was responsible for one of IBM’s largest global clients. Before IBM, he spent 11 years in various IT engineering and services roles at Novartis and in the healthcare industry.

Thomas holds an MA in Business and Economics from the University of Basel, Switzerland, and is an alumnus of London Business School and Swiss Finance Institute. He is known for his comprehensive leadership skills and is highly regarded for his ability to create and execute successful business strategies. When he’s not working, Thomas enjoys pursuing his interests in science and technology, photography, skiing, biking, and cooking. He resides in Basel with his wife Brigitte.

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