Accenture to ‘significantly scale’ network engineering capabilities with umlaut acquisition
Accenture will be acquiring German network engineering, testing and analytics company umlaut for an undisclosed sum, saying that the purchase will “significantly scale Accenture’s deep engineering capabilities to help companies use digital technologies like cloud, artificial intelligence, and 5G to transform how they design, engineer and manufacture their products as well as embed sustainability.”
Umlaut, formerly P3 Group, will join Accenture’s Industry X organization, which is focused on applying digitalization and related technologies in manufacturing and operations. Accenture has made nearly two dozen acquisitions since 2017 to grow its Industry X business, and umlaut is the latest.
“COVID-19 has accelerated the need for companies to transform these core operations, and umlaut’s leading and highly-specialized engineering services will enhance our ability to meet the accelerating demand and also continue innovating for our clients,” said Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture, in a statement.
The acquisition of umlaut will add around 4,200 engineers and consults in 17 countries to Industry X. Accenture said that the purchase will expand its capabilities across industries including automotive, telecom, energy and aerospace and defense.
“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,” said Marc Peter Althoff, CTO of umlaut. “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.”
In announcing the umlaut acquisition, Accenture said that the global pandemic “has shown that most companies’ operations and supply chains are far from resilient or flexible enough to respond to crises” and that companies are also increasingly expected to operate more responsibly and sustainably, and that digital transformation projects using real-time data and analytics can help.
“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,” said Nigel Stacey, global lead of Accenture Industry X.
In an email to customers, umlaut’s telecommunications CEO Hakan Ekmen said that the combination of Industry X and umlaut “offers the capabilities and the scale to help [companies] master the next big digital transformation frontier in product development, engineering, manufacturing and along the entire value chain.
“With this step, we will accelerate and use the full power of digital and data to change the world for the better,” Ekmen said, telling customers that “Together we will help you to reimagine the products you make and how you make them, incorporating the shift to more software enabled products. It will allow you to achieve faster time-to-market, to realize greater efficiencies and to drive growth while accomplishing your sustainability commitments.”
The acquisition is expected to close in mid-September.
