India's growing worry over workplace telemetry in IT firms like Cognizant

The Move: Cognizant’s ProHance-powered telemetry

Look, Cognizant is taking a hard look at how work happens on screen. About 350,000 employees, mainly in India, are being tracked with the ProHance system. The data points include logged hours, idle time, productive time, time away from the system, time per task, and time spent on breaks and meetings. The system even logs employees out after inactivity. Cognizant says this isn’t meant for direct performance grading, but a slide hints at measuring actual production hours vs. expected hours to tighten client billing and raise productivity. This is not simply monitoring; it’s a shift toward telemetry-driven operations.

Why it’s happening now: three big drivers

So why is this happening at Cognizant—and across the IT services landscape in India? Here are the three core pressures driving the move:

• Client demand in hybrid delivery. With teams split between on-site, nearshore, and offshore, clients want clear evidence of productivity and tighter controls to ensure service levels.
• AI and “process debt.” As AI tools expand, leaders want a baseline—private, measured data on how work actually flows—before automating processes that still have bottlenecks.
• Margin protection and wage inflation. With costs rising, telemetry helps reduce rework, improve schedule adherence, and defend SLAs, keeping profitability in check.

This aligns with what several peers are trying in India’s IT hub: telemetry tools to standardize work, accelerate delivery, and justify pricing. Industry voices note these systems are becoming more common, even as privacy concerns grow.

What it means for workers and culture

Here’s the thing: productivity dashboards can change how people feel about their day. When every break, pause, or idle minute is visible, workers may fear micromanagement and eroding trust. In environments like this, clear policies matter—what data is collected, who sees it, how it’s used, and how employees can appeal or discuss discrepancies. For India’s tech talent, that matters because job satisfaction and growth opportunities ride alongside pay and workload.

On the upside, telemetry can help with training and skill matching. If data shows certain tasks take longer, teams can upskill quickly, fix process gaps, and reduce wasted time. In a market where talent mobility is high, transparency about expectations and fair use of data will decide whether this move boosts loyalty or fuels burnout.

What to watch next

• The broader industry is leaning into telemetry. Projects from Wipro and LTIMindtree show similar pushes to improve productivity and skill development. Experts note privacy debates will shape how far these tools can go.
• For India, data privacy and worker rights will increasingly intersect with practical needs to meet client SLAs and growth targets. Clear governance, consent, and audits will be key.