Sydney/San Francisco, Jan 11 (IANS): Information technology company Cognizant on Monday announced to acquire Linium, a cloud transformation consultancy group -- its second acquisition in a single day after acquiring Servian, an Australia-based, enterprise transformation consultancy firm specialising in data analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital services and Cloud.

Including the two fresh acquisitions, Cognizant has announced 11 acquisitions in the past 12 months -- an aggregate investment of approximately $1.4 billion -- in its strategic digital focus areas of cloud, data and artificial intelligence, digital engineering and Internet of Things.

Completing the Linium transaction will further accelerate Cognizant's cloud strategy, marking the company's seventh cloud-related acquisition since January 2020.

"Creating more agile workflows in the cloud is a priority for our clients, and together with Linium, we can now provide world-class, enterprise-wide ServiceNow expertise to customize workflows for customers and employees. We look forward to Linium's team joining Cognizant," said Malcolm Frank, President, Digital Business and Technology, Cognizant.

Linium operates as the ServiceNow business unit of Ness Digital Engineering, a privately-held portfolio company of The Rohatyn Group.

"ServiceNow continues to gain market relevance, and by combining Linium's skills and knowledge with Cognizant's scale and rich expertise in cloud, digital engineering, automation, and other pivotal technologies, we will be well-positioned to capitalize on the market opportunities ahead," said Joe Burke, Co-Founder, Linium.

Earlier in the day, Cognizant announced to acquire Sydney-based Servian.

"Cognizant's extensive digital expertise combined with Servian's strengths as the premier technology partner in the region will open up the full power of digital transformation for our Australasian clients," said Jane Livesey, CEO, Cognizant Australia and New Zealand.

Cognizant's more than 1,200 professionals in Australia are serving more than 110 clients, including top Australian banks, insurers, retailers, and communications companies.

"With Cognizant's deep industry expertise and global scale, we will be able to apply our strengths in strategic advisory, engineering delivery, and managed services across an even broader spectrum of challenges and opportunities presented by the digital economy," said Tony Nicol, Founder and CEO, Servian.

Both Linium and Servian transactions are expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.