What Cognizant gets wrong in Government
Cognizant's government practice applies its offshore managed services model into an environment where it is structurally incompatible. Government technology requires cleared engineers, onshore delivery, and the specific compliance architecture of FedRAMP, FISMA, and NIST 800-53. Cognizant's offshore staffing model cannot satisfy the data residency and access control requirements of classified and CUI environments without a carved-out onshore team that costs more than the offshore model was supposed to save.
The managed services contract model in government IT creates a dependency cycle that is politically durable but technically stagnant. Agencies locked into Cognizant managed services engagements find their internal technical capability has eroded, system documentation lives in Cognizant's knowledge management systems, and switching vendors requires a discovery effort that costs more than staying. The dependency is by design.
FedRAMP authorization for systems managed by offshore teams requires specific configuration that Cognizant's standard delivery model does not satisfy. The result is either unmanaged compliance risk or a compliance carve-out that adds cost and complexity without adding capability.
What we deploy instead
We deploy government technology teams that are onshore, qualified for the applicable security framework, and accountable for the system. FedRAMP, FISMA, NIST 800-53, and StateRAMP compliance is engineered into the system architecture from the first sprint — not documented in a parallel compliance workstream.
Our government engagements run on fixed-price terms with defined technical deliverables. The senior engineer who scopes the engagement delivers it — not a sales team that hands off to an offshore delivery organization.
FEDRAMP and STATERAMP built into the architecture from day one — enforced automatically by ALICE at every commit.
Fixed-price engagements. Production system in 8-20 weeks. No discovery phase. No change orders.
Domain-qualified engineers with government experience. The senior engineer who scopes the engagement is the senior engineer who delivers it.
Full source code and documentation transferred at close. No licensing. No managed services dependency.
The compliance difference
FedRAMP High and Moderate, FISMA, NIST 800-53, StateRAMP, CMMC for defense-adjacent work. Government compliance requires onshore delivery and compliance architecture that satisfies auditors — not compliance documentation that describes a theoretically compliant process.
What switching from Cognizant looks like
Government technology engagement: 12-20 weeks for a defined production milestone. Team: 8-14 engineers, onshore, domain-qualified for government compliance frameworks. Fixed price. Full IP transfer at close.
Architecture review and scope definition. We review existing deliverables and identify gaps.
Scope locked, team assembled, first sprint underway. Working code from week two.
First production milestone — a working integration or system component, not a document.
Full IP transfer. Source code, documentation, operational runbooks. Your team runs the system.
Failed Vendor Recovery Playbook
Step-by-step framework for recovering from a failed Cognizant engagement — from emergency stabilisation through full re-platforming. 4-phase playbook covering stabilise, assess, transition, and normalise.