PwC Hungary acquires data analytics boutique Data Solutions

The Hungarian arm of PwC has acquired Data Solutions, a Budapest-based firm that specialises in predictive analysis and data mining. A team of around 15 employees will join PwC’s Technology practice in its Consulting division.

The acquisition does not come as a major surprise – PwC and Data Solutions have been working together closely as part of a strategic partnership they signed in 2016. Antal Kerekes, a partner in PwC Hungary's Technology wing, said he is delighted with the addition, highlighting how the accounting and consulting firm can now extend its service offering. “In joint projects, PwC Hungary was responsible for digital strategy and technology advisory, while Data Solutions provided support for matters such as customer segmentation, assessing the potential for new digital services and process optimisation.”

“By offering a more complete in-house data analytics capability, we can contribute even more efficiently to the growth of businesses, to simplifying decision-making, and we can help our clients strengthen their own market positions,” he explained.

The acquisition comes at a time when investments into analytics are breaking records. Last year, the world’s largest corporations spent $43 billion on analytics consulting alone, which comes on top of the investments they are making to build their own in-house data analytics teams or invest in software & tooling. By leveraging data science – a multi-dimensional and evolving field that harnesses statistics, artificial intelligence and technology to identify meaningful patterns in large data-sets, organisations seek to improve how they build their strategies and make their execution more effective.

A similar upwards trend is visible in Hungary, said Kerekes, who remarked; “In the past few years, we are seeing growing demand for the implementation of IT systems, and this is resulting in an incredible amount of data being generated.” Tamás Lőcsei, CEO of PwC Hungary since the 1st of July, added; “We are increasingly helping our clients with embracing the power of digital innovation, through leveraging robotisation and data science-driven tools.”

By acquiring the capability to “efficiently analyse, process and eventually extract business-relevant results from data”, said Kerekes, PwC is better positioned to help its clients with making improved decisions in their primary and secondary functions. In Hungary, the firm advises both private and public sector institutions on some of their most pressing business challenges.

Besides advancing technology consulting client propositions, Lőcsei pointed out that Data Solutions’ expertise will also be tapped to improve PwC’s offerings in other areas of the business, including auditing, business valuations, VAT risk assessments and purchasing.

According to a recent analysis by Consultancy.eu, Hungary’s consulting industry is worth over €400 million, with Technology by a distance representing the country’s largest service area.