Cognizant Buys 170-Person Behavioral Research And Design Firm

Cognizant has purchased Toronto-based design firm Idea Couture to further connect the dots between human sciences and information technology development.

With the acquisition, Cognizant is gaining more than 170 social scientists, strategists, anthropologists, user-experience experts, designers, and product developers. The company said the move will help it connect social sciences research with building of real-life solutions focused on solving real-world problems.

"This acquisition is going to take [human sciences] research and bridge the gap between human insight and technology solutions," Gajen Kandiah, executive vice president of Cognizant's Digital Works business, told CRN.

[Related: Cognizant Buys Stake In 70-Person Behavioral Consulting Firm]

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Kandiah said Idea Couture will be folded into the company's Digital Works business. Cognizant created the business unit a little less than two years ago to identify new capabilities around artificial intelligence, mobility, business analytics, cloud services, and the Internet of Things by better understanding how those technologies can be used in people's lives.

With the acquisition of Idea Couture, Kandiah said Cognizant is gaining a company that can take social sciences research and use it to identify human needs and create solution prototypes, making Cognizant's clients more competitive.

While it's evident that technology will be a critical part of the future, Kandiah said it is important to understand the context of how that technology will be used.

"Technology is going to be fundamental, but you have to create a context for it," Kandiah said. "You need to understand the human need and then use that understanding to create a smooth experience."

Cognizant's acquisition of Idea Couture is in line with the company's purchase of a minority stake in Copenhagen-based human sciences consultancy ReD Associates in April.

ReD, in which Cognizant acquired a 49-percent stake in and now has an exclusive partnership with, focuses on the research behind socially-driven technology, with a team of 70 anthropologists, sociologists and ethnographers making recommendations about how human beings interact with cutting-edge technology such as self-driving cars.

Kandiah said ReD, however, does not prototype or build the technology it recommends.

That, Kandiah said, is where Idea Couture comes in.

"This acquisition will help us take that insight into practical solutions, and build solutions that are ready to scale," Kandiah said. "Adding Idea Couture into the Digital Works business will be the bridge from the research ReD does to our technology segment."