Cognizant Technology Solutions to modernise DAMAC Group’s IT backbone under three-year deal

Cognizant to modernise DAMAC’s technology backbone

Cognizant Technology Solutions is entering a three-year strategic agreement to manage and enhance DAMAC Group’s IT infrastructure and application services, the companies announce. The engagement covers DAMAC’s diversified portfolio — property development, data centres, retail and fashion, hospitality, capital markets and logistics — and aims to streamline operations while improving digital experiences for customers and employees across the group.

The pact tasks Cognizant with a broad remit: modernising legacy systems, integrating cloud and on-premise environments where needed, and enhancing CRM, e-commerce and core enterprise platforms. Cognizant plans to deploy dedicated teams and industry best-practice frameworks to introduce automation, strengthen cyber resilience and governance, and roll out AI and analytics capabilities designed to unlock insights from DAMAC’s data and accelerate decision-making.

The agreement emphasises measurable business impact, with both parties committing to track progress against service-level metrics, user satisfaction scores and operational KPIs to ensure demonstrable returns and ongoing alignment with DAMAC’s strategy. Ali Sajwani, managing director of DAMAC Group, says the alliance “represents a significant step in our journey to advance digital maturity and streamline how we deliver value through technology to our customers and stakeholders.” Cognizant positions the engagement as a way to boost DAMAC’s agility and scalability while embedding continuous improvement over the three-year term.

Middle East digital push and sector pressures

The deal arrives amid growing pressures on Middle Eastern real estate and infrastructure firms to adopt digital-first models and modernise systems to meet rising customer expectations. Cognizant leverages a combination of global capabilities and regional expertise to meet demand for system modernisation, resilience and automation-driven efficiency gains across property and hospitality sectors.

Operational and governance focus

Operationally, the contract highlights a focus on delivering measurable improvements through automation, enhanced user experiences and data-led decision-making. Cognizant’s responsibilities include strengthening cybersecurity posture and governance as part of integration work, reflecting industry-wide emphasis on resilience as enterprises migrate workloads to hybrid cloud and deploy AI-driven platforms.