Cognizant Acquires ServiceNow Partner Linium -

Cognizant has acquired ServiceNow partner Linium from Ness Digital Engineering, which is backed by The Rohatyn Group. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal continues an M&A feeding frenzy involving ServiceNow partners. Moreover, this is M&A deal number 24 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2021. See all technology M&A deals for 2021 and 2020 listed here.

The Cognizant-Linium deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021. At that time, roughly 150 Linium employees will join Cognizant's global ServiceNow practice.

Cognizant Acquires Linium: ServiceNow IT Service Management (ITSM) Expertise

Linium, based in Albany, New York, also has operations in Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. Linium is well known within the ServiceNow partner ecosystem. Key honors include: 2019 ServiceNow Americas IT Workflow Partner of the Year and the No. 1 ranking in HFS Research's Voice of the Customer in Top 10 ServiceNow Services Report 2019.

Cognizant's ServiceNow practice also is deeply established in the market. In fact, the global ServiceNow practice was ranked No. 2 in the HFS report and also named among the leaders profiled in the Everest Group ServiceNow Services PEAK Matrix Assessment 2021 published in October 2020, Cognizant notes.

Linium holds more than 300 ServiceNow certifications, and more than one-third of Linium's clients are Fortune 100 companies. The company did not disclose how much of its revenue comes from one-time project work vs. recurring revenue managed services.

Cognizant Acquires Linium: Executive Perspectives

Malcolm Frank, President, Digital Business, Cognizant — Malcolm Frank, president, digital business and technology, Cognizant

In a prepared statement about the deal, Malcolm Frank, president, digital business and technology, Cognizant, said:

"Linium's specialized ServiceNow focus broadens Cognizant's enterprise service management capabilities while complementing our own longstanding ServiceNow alliance. Creating more agile workflows in the cloud is a priority for our clients, and together with Linium, we can now provide world-class, enterprise-wide ServiceNow expertise to customize workflows for customers and employees. We look forward to Linium's team joining Cognizant."

Added Joe Burke, co-founder, Linium:

"We are excited to join forces with Cognizant. ServiceNow continues to gain market relevance, and by combining Linium's skills and knowledge with Cognizant's scale and rich expertise in cloud, digital engineering, automation, and other pivotal technologies, we will be well-positioned to capitalize on the market opportunities ahead."

Linium represents Cognizant's seventh cloud-related acquisition since January 2020. Many of the deals have focused on cloud, data and artificial intelligence, digital engineering, and Internet of Things. Overall, Cognizant has announced approximately $1.4 billion in acquisitions over the past 12 months in those areas, the company says.