IT major Cognizant announced on Monday operational expansion of its Phoenix delivery center and that it has added BPO services to an existing portfolio of application development, application maintenance, testing, and related services.

Cognizant's Phoenix BPO center will initially provide claim processing services for one of the largest healthcare plans in the US, it said in a statement.

The company also said it expects to hire over 100 full-time professionals in the next 12 months, drawing talent from the local market and academic community.

As a result, Cognizant's overall presence at Phoenix will grow to about 400 full-time employees, it added.

"With this expansion, we are able to offer clients US-based delivery capability across all our major service offerings," Cognizant president and chief executive officer Francisco D'Souza said.

Phoenix is one of Cognizant's six delivery centers in the US. Besides Phoenix, the company delivers BPO services from local, regional and global centers in the US, Eastern Europe, India, and China.

Image: Cognizant office in Salt Lake, Kolkata