Cognizant Expands SAP Expertise into Energy/Utilities Industries with Utegration Deal

⇨ Global IT solution provider Cognizant recently announced the acquisition of Utegration.

⇨ Utegration is well-established in the energy /utilities industry, and specialized in providing advanced billing, monitoring, and customer experience through SAP.

⇨ The deal positions Cognizant to offer customers digital transformation solutions utilizing advanced billing, monitoring, and customer experience software from SAP.

Global IT solution provider Cognizant announced the acquisition of Utegration, a solution provider specializing in SAP services and products, with a focus on energy and utilities companies. This move is expected to expand Cognizant’s reach into the fast-growing utilities industry market for SAP.   

Getting to know Utegration 

Utegration provides solutions for over 50 energy and utilities clients in North America. Their four areas of expertise include Customer Experience; Billing & Advanced Metering Infrastructure; Finance and Asset Performance Management; and Managed Services, Data Science & Analytics. The company’s portfolio of industry-specific custom solutions includes: Utility4U™, MeterData4U™, Finance4U™, and LoadPlanning4U™. 

Utegration is well-established in the utilities industry and specializes in providing advanced billing, monitoring, and customer experience through SAP. This acquisition gives Cognizant access to valuable expertise in terms of FERC regulations and accounting protocols. Cognization is positioned to offer customers cutting-edge digital transformation solutions utilizing advanced billing, monitoring, and customer experience software from SAP. 

“Utegration has been a strategic partner for SAP in the utilities space for over a decade. They’ve been instrumental in delivering successful implementations and solutions for key SAP customers in the vertical,” said Lloyd Adams, President of SAP North America. Adams adds: “This announcement will allow Cognizant to expand on Utegration’s commitment to solution excellence, and continue the tradition of partnership, innovation, and digital modernization, jointly with SAP.” 

Why this Deal Matters for SAPinsiders? 

For SAPinsider finance and accounting (F&A) community members working in the energy and utilities sector, the transaction will be viewed positively. Recent SAPinsider Finance research offers some insights: 

• 69% of energy/utilities industry respondents from SAPinsder’s SAP S/4HANA Finance and Central Finance benchmark report state that more flexible billing and revenue management processes are an important requirement for SAP S/4HANA-driven finance transformation. 
• 59% of energy/utilities industry respondents from SAPinsder’s Cash Management and Cash Visibility benchmark report want to implement efficient end-to-end cash management processes with a goal of Increasing operational performance through the whole financial value chain.  
• 44% of energy/utilities industry respondents from SAPinsider’s SAP S/4HANA Finance and Central Finance benchmark report stated that they do not have the human capital (skillsets or resources) to execute an SAP S/4HANA-driven finance transformation.  

Cognizant is planning to increase the size of its workforce with the acquisition, bringing 350 new employees from Utegration aboard in North America and India. This will provide Cognizant with valuable expertise in SAP solutions, especially in the utilities space. Additionally, Cognizant will have access to Utegration’s existing customers as well as their staff of highly trained professionals which should help them better serve their customers. 

This acquisition signals that Cognizant recognizes the lucrative opportunities available within the utilities industry market for SAP services. The impending deal has a targeted completion date for year-end 2022, assuming closing conditions are satisfactorily met. Financial details are currently undisclosed.