Cognizant, a leading global provider of information technology, consulting, and business process services, will greatly expand its operations, adding more than 400 new jobs and investing approximately $5.7 million over the next four years in Tampa, Florida.

“Tampa and surrounding Hillsborough County are home to several Fortune 500 and other innovative companies, many of which are current and potential Cognizant clients. We are pleased to be expanding in the region,” said Steven Schwartz, Executive Vice President/Chief Legal /Corporate Affairs Officer at Cognizant.

“Thanks in part to the work of Governor Scott, Florida and the Tampa area are an attractive place to do business, given the robust infrastructure that has been created for technology companies, and the rich talent pool fed by the state’s 13 universities and concentration of highly skilled military veterans and their spouses. We have been privileged to employ a growing number of veterans as they transition from serving our country into the private sector. We’ve found the discipline, rigor and team spirit they bring help drive excellent service to our clients,” he added.

Cognizant currently has more than 900 employees throughout Florida with half of them based in Tampa. The newly created positions will be for highly skilled technology and business professionals who will provide business process services as well as application development and maintenance for U.S. corporations across the financial services, insurance and healthcare industries.

Florida ranks second in the nation for tech job growth and third for high tech establishments. The Florida High Tech Corridor, anchored by the Tampa Bay region, has also been named one of the top tech job hotspots in the U.S. The Tampa metro area is home to approximately 20 percent of Florida’s IT positions, according to Governor Rick Scott’s Offoice. In the past five years, local IT jobs have grown at nearly twice the rate of overall average job growth, and are expected to increase by 10 percent over the next five year period.

“Cognizant explored multiple options for this expansion but chose Hillsborough County over all of them,” said Dr. Ronald Vaughn, Chairman of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation and President of the University of Tampa. “Thanks to the support of our state and local partners, Hillsborough County’s reputation continues to grow as a community that is pro-business and that attracts world-class technology companies with top IT talent.”

“The expansion of Cognizant in Tampa will add value to Florida’s extensive IT industry,” said Secretary of Commerce and President and CEO of Enterprise Florida, Gray Swoope. “Because of the state’s top workforce, infrastructure and quality of life, companies like Cognizant are choosing Florida for their business growth. This expansion is a great fit for Tampa’s growing IT cluster and I look forward to Cognizant’s continued success.”

The project was made possible through strong partnerships between Enterprise Florida, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Hillsborough County, and the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation.

Governor Rick Scott said, “Our mission is clear – to be the number one destination for jobs in the world, and Cognizant’s expansion is another step toward accomplishing our goal. As a veteran myself, I applaud companies like Cognizant that are hiring our military heroes.”