Accenture to Acquire umlaut to Meet Data and Digital Demands
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Who is umlaut and Why is Accenture Planning to Acquire the Company?
By acquiring Umlaut - an engineering consulting and services firm - Accenture hopes to significantly scale its deep engineering capabilities.
In doing so Accenture will further its ability to help organisations to use digital technologies such as cloud, artificial intelligence, and 5G to transform how they design, engineer and manufacture their products, and embed sustainability.
Following the completion of the acquisition, Accenture’s Industry X services will gain over 4,200 industry-leading engineers and consultants in 17 countries, as well as expand its capabilities in the automotive, aerospace and defence, telecommunications, energy, and utility sectors.
“We predicted that digital would ultimately be applied at scale to the core of a company’s business – the design, engineering and manufacturing of their products. And, for nearly a decade Accenture has been building the unique capabilities and ecosystem partnerships to combine the power of digital with traditional engineering services. COVID-19 has accelerated the need for companies to transform these core operations, and umlaut’s leading and highly-specialised engineering services will enhance our ability to meet the accelerating demand and also continue innovating for our clients,” said Julie Sweet, chief executive officer, Accenture.
Accenture’s Industry X Services
Combining Accenture’s data and digital capabilities, with deep engineering expertise, the company offers clients a broad suite of services to digitalise their engineering functions, factory floors and plant operations.
As a result, its clients benefit from improved productivity, quicker transformation of hardware into software-enabled products, and faster and more flexible product development.
Recent research from Accenture found that “only 38% of companies have deployed at least one project to digitise their engineering and manufacturing,” Accenture, as a result, continues to expand its Industry X services at a time when “software increasingly determines the market success of platforms, products, and services across industries that require intelligence to be embedded.”
“Bringing world-class digital engineering and manufacturing expertise to our clients helps them rapidly scale, accelerate growth, improve productivity and safety, and embed sustainability across their operations. From consumers to R&D to the supply chain and factory floor, and back again, companies that use the power of data and digital to build value will become — and remain — relevant, resilient and responsible,” said Nigel Stacey, global lead of Accenture Industry X.
COVID-19 Emphasises the Importance of Resilience
In light of COVID-19, the pandemic has certainly emphasised the importance of company operations and supply chains being more resilient and flexible to respond to crises. By harnessing digital technologies, organisations can mitigate disruptions, fast switch to remote working, or provide near real-time insights into changing market demands.
Alongside these fluctuations, companies are also increasingly expected to operate more responsibly and contribute to a circular economy and sustainability.
“Business leaders across many industries who face the convergence of the digital and the product world are looking for a trusted partner that understands their language and can really help navigate each step of the journey to bring tangible outcomes in engineering and manufacturing. We are excited to bring our unique engineering and consulting culture, deep industry know-how and subject matter expertise to Accenture Industry X and jointly create the capabilities and scale to help clients successfully transform,” said Marc Peter Althoff, chief technology officer, umlaut.
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