Cognizant has expanded its presence in the Microsoft ecosystem by acquiring 3Cloud, a U.S.-based consultancy specializing in Microsoft Azure and Azure-powered AI solutions. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but both companies see it as a way to meet the growing demand for cloud-native AI transformation on Azure.
3Cloud is one of the largest independent Azure-focused service providers, offering a range of services in data and AI, application innovation, modern cloud platforms, and managed services. Its clients include large enterprises in banking, financial services, healthcare, technology, and consumer industries, which are investing heavily in cloud and AI infrastructure.
For Cognizant, the acquisition is a strategic move to become a leading partner for enterprise AI readiness and modernization on hyperscale platforms. The company already has tens of thousands of Azure-certified professionals worldwide, and the addition of 3Cloud brings over 1,000 Azure specialists, more than 1,500 Microsoft certifications, and nearly 1,200 employees, including around 700 in the U.S. Once integrated, Cognizant will have nearly 20,000 Azure-certified associates globally.
Ravi Kumar S, CEO of Cognizant, stated that the acquisition aligns with client demand for AI-led transformation on Microsoft’s cloud. Organizations are seeking partners to migrate workloads to Azure and assist in building, deploying, and scaling AI solutions in production environments. By incorporating 3Cloud’s Azure-centric engineering capabilities, Cognizant aims to provide a comprehensive range of services from strategy and readiness assessments to data platform modernization, AI model development, cloud-native application engineering, and ongoing operations.
The transaction highlights the growth of Azure, with Microsoft reporting strong double-digit growth in Azure and related cloud services, driven by generative AI, large language models, and increased demand for GPU-accelerated infrastructure. 3Cloud has grown organically at a 20% compound annual growth rate since 2020 and expects to maintain growth above 20% in 2025, supported by enterprise projects that combine cloud migration, analytics, and AI enablement on Azure.
Founded by former Microsoft executives, 3Cloud specializes in Azure-only engagements, emphasizing deep technical skills and close alignment with Microsoft’s product and partner teams. The company has received multiple Microsoft Partner of the Year awards in categories such as Data & AI, Health & Life Sciences, Migration to Azure, Solution Assessments, and Modernizing Applications. It was named Microsoft’s 2025 U.S. Channel Partner of the Year and 2024 Americas Partner of the Year for Data and AI. Beyond Microsoft, 3Cloud is an Elite Databricks partner, reflecting its expertise in data engineering, lakehouse architectures, and AI workloads on Azure Databricks.
Cognizant is a long-standing strategic partner to Microsoft and has received recent partner awards for intelligent automation and systems integration, as well as GitHub-based AI services. The acquisition of 3Cloud is expected to enhance Cognizant’s influence over Azure Consumption Revenue, positioning the combined entity as a major global partner in Microsoft’s channel in terms of cloud usage driven or supported.
Microsoft has endorsed the transaction, with Judson Althoff, CEO of Microsoft’s Commercial Business, describing Azure as a preferred platform for AI transformation. The integration of Cognizant and 3Cloud is expected to create a highly capable and credentialed partner combination in the Azure ecosystem. Microsoft sees a growing need for partners that can help customers operationalize AI on Azure, rather than treating AI pilots and proofs of concept as standalone efforts.
From an enterprise buyer’s perspective, the deal highlights several trends. AI and cloud are increasingly being procured together, with organizations consolidating around a limited set of hyperscale platforms and expecting partners to provide reference architectures, accelerators, and domain-specific patterns that shorten time-to-value. The bar for “cloud transformation” has shifted from basic lift-and-shift to more engineering-intensive programs that include data modernization, event-driven architectures, API ecosystems, and integration of AI into line-of-business applications. Skills scarcity in cloud and AI remains a constraint, and acquisitions like this one help large integrators aggregate certified talent and niche expertise at scale.
3Cloud’s delivery model focuses on an Azure-certified global team specializing in modern data platforms, cloud-native AI application development, advanced analytics, and managed services. Its emphasis on engineering-heavy projects is expected to complement Cognizant’s broader consulting and industry solutions portfolio. The combined entity will support customers through strategy and advisory work, platform build-out, migration, AI model development, MLOps, and long-term operations on Azure.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Until then, both companies will likely continue operating independently while planning the integration of their go-to-market approaches, delivery models, and partner engagement with Microsoft and Databricks.
For Microsoft, the emergence of larger, more specialized Azure partners aligns with its strategy to integrate AI
