(Bloomberg) -- The European economy can’t seem to get back to growth with unemployment at record highs and bank lending on the decline. So, why is Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. running headlong into the region? Cognizant, one of the largest providers of outsourcing services, is investing “aggressively� in Europe, President Gordon Coburn said in an interview Wednesday. The Teaneck, New Jersey-based company has made acquisitions in Germany and France in the last few years and hired more people in Europe, even with the European Commission projecting only a 1.1 percent rise this year in gross domestic product in the countries sharing the euro. Cognizant, which helps customers such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Pfizer Inc. create and run their technology more efficiently, is trying to expand its European sales beyond about 18 percent of revenue. The tightening of corporate spending can actually be good for the tech company’s business, Coburn said. “Economic pressure serves as a catalyst for figuring out how they can run their businesses better,� Coburn said in an interview at the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York. “We can improve service levels by reducing costs, which frees up dollars for investment.� Cognizant relies on a global workforce of more than 210,000 employees, including workers in lower-cost countries such as India, to provide outsourcing help and other services. The company has said it will need a strong local presence to lure customers in continental Europe. The company got a jumpstart by adding about 660 employees when it acquired a group of companies from Germany’s C1 Group and Paris firm Equinox Consulting in 2013. Financial terms for the deals weren’t disclosed. Stability Key Revenue from Europe has more than doubled since 2010 to $1.9 billion last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from company filings. Cognizant posted total 2014 sales of $10.3 billion on Wednesday. While Europe is still struggling to put the debt crisis in the past -- facing unemployment levels higher than 11 percent, according to the European Commission -- companies still rely on technology to run their businesses and reach customers. Even with the strong U.S. dollar putting a drag on earnings for American businesses, it’s not a deterrent for Cognizant, the company said. “Clearly the economic environment is not as strong right now as the U.S., but it is stable,� Coburn said. “When you have stability, customers can make decisions.� To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Barinka in New York at abarinka2@bloomberg.net

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