Why Adelaide is the place to be

We just opened the doors to our Cognizant Delivery Centre in Adelaide this month. We first announced the centre in November last year and have been hiring and training our first teams since then for this moment when they can all be together in the same space.

While we’re at just over 50 employees in Adelaide currently, that number is set to grow rapidly. We expect to be at 250 in our first year, and up to 1,600 people in 2026.

I still get asked “why Adelaide?”, so I thought I’d share why we’re proud to be calling Adelaide home to our new delivery centre.

Over the past few years, Adelaide as a city has been building its reputation rapidly as an innovative and modern place to live and work. Recently, the federal government agreed to base the Australian Space Agency in the city, and a wealth of other technology and advanced manufacturing companies have decided to base themselves here as well. It can seem like this popularity has sprung out of nowhere, but it is for a few good reasons.

It all starts with being a smart city, which for Adelaide first began in 2005 when it was the first Australian city to offer free public WiFi. Things have snowballed since then, and now the city boasts a 10 Gigabit Adelaide fibre optic network, widespread spatial technology of the built environment, as well as smart everything from bins to parking, lighting and lighting poles. The city uses IoT connected devices and data feeds from across councils with the hope of becoming a leading living lab.

In addition to a thriving space and defence industry, the city is growing its technology, innovation and advanced manufacturing hubs at various districts around the city.

South Australia was always Australia’s place for Space

South Australia has a long history of space-related activities, starting with the development of the Woomera Rocket Range in 1947 which tested more than 4,000 short range missiles by 1980. This led to ongoing opportunities for international cooperation with other space agencies and commercial businesses, particularly around satellites and testing of space vehicles.

While not the first Australian in orbit, South Australian Dr Andy Thomas was the first professional Australian astronaut and flew to space on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1996. He spent a total of 178 days in space throughout his career.

Shortly after setting up a State Space Office in 2016, the South Australian Government created the South Australian Space Industry Centre (SASIC) to drive space industry innovation, research and entrepreneurial development. The federal government announced in 2018 that it would base the Australian Space Agency in Adelaide due to the strong defence and space industries in the region.

South Australia is now home to more than 100 space-related organisations and is the undisputed space capital of Australia.

Technology for real-world and out-of-this-world applications

The space and defence industries bring with them high-technology capabilities and skills that have many applications here on Earth too. So, it makes sense that technology, data analytics, AI and machine learning, cyber security, space and defence companies are all coming together at South Australia’s innovation hub at Lot Fourteen.

Lot Fourteen is shaping up as an innovation district like no other. The site of the former Royal Adelaide Hospital will soon be home to the Entrepreneur and Innovation Centre (EIC). Many companies including Cognizant partners Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Google already have space at Lot Fourteen. Cognizant will be among them, as the site develops further.

Part of the appeal of Lot Fourteen is its strong partnerships with world-leading research and innovation organisations. The Australian Institute for Machine Learning was ranked top 3 in the world for research on computer vision making it a valuable and strategic partner. Meanwhile the MITbigdata Living Lab brings together the public, private and research sectors to analyse big data to effectively grow the local economy and drive sustainable population growth.

Being able to bring minds together and interact with experts from across these companies in the same space is invaluable. Already there are global deals that are happening from chance meetings at cafes and through social interaction onsite. The mood is one of innovation and collaboration, and it provides opportunities for great minds to come together, solve problems and rise to the challenge. (That’s what our Cognizant teams love to do best!)

Finally, it’s the size and convenience of Adelaide for a great quality of life for our employees. With a population of just over 1.3 million, Adelaide doesn’t suffer from the congestion that can plague other capital cities. It’s easy to get into and around the central business district. It’s a great place to live as well, especially for young families with well-developed infrastructure for support.

To sum it all up, Adelaide combines a great quality of life in an accessible smart city, supported by a future-focused state government, and a high-tech business community with a shared passion for solving challenges through leading technology and innovation.

If you love technology and you’re thinking of a move to Adelaide, don’t forget we have about 1,550 more roles to fill over the next few years. Please reach out to  Allégra Moore  or  Grace Cultura  if you’re interested in joining the team. Alternatively, you can check out our Careers section for more information.

#hiring #technology #digital #people