New University of Montana Study Finds Cognizant ATG Contributes $122M to Montana Economy, Supports 814 Jobs
The Missoula ATG team, photo courtesy of ATG, a Cognizant Company. The quickly growing business and IT consulting firm in Missoula has tripled its number of jobs and has grown its economic output fivefold between 2017 and the end of 2021, according to a recent survey conducted by the University of Montana's Bureau of Business and Economic Research.
October 28, 2022
Cognizant ATG contributed more than $122 million to the Montana economy and supported 814 local jobs in 2021, according to a new study conducted by the University of Montana’s Bureau of Economic Research (BBER). In addition to Cognizant ATG’s Montana workforce of approximately 300, the company’s presence supported additional jobs in construction, retail trade, health care and a host of other industries.
Released October 24, 2022, the study found Cognizant ATG more than tripled the number of Montana-based employment opportunities and grew fivefold in terms of economic output from 2017 through year-end 2021. Cognizant ATG specializes in customer and revenue management consulting and implementation services focused on the Salesforce Platform. Cognizant (Nasdaq:CTSH) – a technology services firm ranked 194 on the 2022 Fortune 500 list - acquired ATG, including the Missoula location, in 2018.
"Today we are more than 300 employees strong in Montana and close to expanding into our new state-of-the art facility in the Old Sawmill District,” said Tom Stergios, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development and General Manager of the Missoula Solution Center at Cognizant ATG. “It’s incredibly satisfying to see the positive local impacts we’re making – the tech careers we’re fostering, the personal connections being forged, and the way our contributions overall are helping to keep the community vibrant.”
ATG Cognizant in Missoula, Montana. The company is expanding its facilities by building a new campus in the Old Sawmill District. Photo courtesy of Cognizant ATG.
In 2019, Cognizant ATG launched the Aim Higher Program, a training partnership with the University of Montana that has received national acclaim. Focused on reskilling and upskilling individuals for tech careers, the program has hosted seven cohorts of learners, leading to 224 individuals being hired into tech jobs across Montana. Cognizant fully funds the training for students, who are paid for their time.
“Our relationship with the University of Montana has never been stronger, we have a consistent emphasis to ensure DE&I is at the core of our decisions, and our Aim Higher Program continues to prove itself, ensuring folks with non-tech backgrounds have the opportunity to transition into the field and have a fast-growing career,” said Kym Corwin, Executive Director of Application Support Services at Cognizant ATG.
The Aim Higher program transitioned to a virtual delivery model in 2021, allowing participants from across the state to take advantage of the paid training opportunity. In addition to Missoula, Cognizant ATG has employees working remotely from locations like Bozeman, Helena, Kalispell, Butte, Lewistown, Anaconda, Stevensville, and St. Ignatius.
A native Missoulian, Tom Stergios was a remote worker consulting with the Kansas City-based ATG from his basement office when he opened ATG’s Missoula Solutions Center with a few employees in 2011. Stergios and his early leaders saw that creating a pipeline of bright graduates from the Montana University System into technology jobs would benefit both the company and the state of Montana.
“When I joined ATG eleven years ago, we had big aspirations to create hundreds of jobs in Missoula,” said Holly Colbert, VP of Operations. “Looking around that small office of ten people, it was exciting to envision what we see now. With a lot of hard work, good bets on technology, and a great partnership with UM, today we reflect on and celebrate the cumulative impact of Cognizant ATG’s operations in Montana and the many people who helped make this a reality.”
Public-private partnerships have been key to Cognizant ATG’s growth. In June of 2022, the company received a job creation grant through the Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund with support from the Missoula Economic Partnership. The grant will help Cognizant ATG create more than 200 high-paying tech jobs across Montana over the next two years.
“This is a story about the power of partnerships,” said Kate Pace, director of strategy operations at Cognizant ATG. “Putting people first and investing in an ecosystem that fosters learning and growth has had a measurable impact on our ability to perform for our clients, and advance opportunities for all our stakeholders.”
Check out MHTBA’s additional features covering Cognizant ATG below:
About the Publisher: Launched in 2014, the Montana High Tech Business Alliance is a nonpartisan nonprofit association of more than 200 high tech and manufacturing companies and affiliates creating high-paying jobs in Montana. For more information, visit MTHighTech.org or subscribe to our biweekly newsletter.
