BrazilAccenture buys companies in France, Spain and Sweden
Consulting and technology services giant Accenture has continued its acquisition spree in Europe, picking up professional services firm's in France, Spain and Sweden over the past four months.
Silveo
In France, Accenture last week purchased Silveo, adding 50 employees to its French organisation. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Neuilly sur Seine, Silveo is an IT consulting firm specialised in manufacturing and supply chain processes.
“Silveo’s expertise enable us to better help clients benefit from digital technologies in industrial production,” said Flavien Parrel, a managing director at Accenture. Olivier Girard, country managing director of Accenture in France and Benelux, added that the acquisition also allows the company to cater to the rapidly evolving needs of customers in the engineering and manufacturing landscape.
As part of the purchase, Silveo will be integrated into Accenture’s Industry X.0 practice – the company’s unit that uses digital technologies to improve how companies engineer and manufacture products and services and operate industrial facilities. Silveo founders Marc-Antoine Peuch, Romain Durando, Laurent Autebert and Karim Ait El Mouden have all joined the professional services giant.
The move comes months after Accenture’s French arm acquired Cirruseo. Previous acquisitions in France include that of Arismore and Altima in 2017 and OCTO Technology in 2016.
Pragsis Bidoop
In Spain, Accenture bought Pragsis Bidoop in September, adding some 200 professionals to its Applied Intelligence business. Pragsis Bidoop specialises in big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced analytics, and serves its clients from offices in Madrid, Barcelona and London.
“With the addition of Pragsis Bidoop, we will multiply our specialised talent in big data, data engineering and artificial intelligence skills. This further enhances our position as a market leader,” said Pedro Moreno, country managing director for Spain, Portugal and Israel at Accenture. Athina Kanioura, global lead for Applied Intelligence at Accenture, added; “As we continue to grow the business, the Pragsis Bidoop team will play a critical role in the European market and beyond.”
Following the transaction, Accenture Applied Intelligence now employs more than 20,000 professionals worldwide, including 6,000 data scientists and data engineers.
Northstream
Meanwhile, in the Nordics, in August Accenture picked up Stockholm-based consultancy Northstream. Founded in 1998, Northstream works at the intersection of business and mobile technologies, helping communications service providers (CSPs) and networking services vendors with a range of management and digital consulting services.
Key services include strategy development, technology and product assessment, industry research insights and the delivery of transformations. Northstream also has specialist expertise in 5G, Internet of Things connectivity and cloud deployments.
The deal saw approximately 30 professionals join Accenture’s Communications, Media & Technology (CMT) operating group in Sweden. Mattias Lewrén, country managing director for Sweden; “We’re in an even stronger position to provide our communications clients with the innovation led services they need to address the challenges they’re facing – including digital-driven disruption, changing customer expectations, and competition from new digital natives.”
Northstream co-founder Bengt Nordström added; “With our common cultures of collaboration and client-centricity, Accenture is a great fit. We’re excited to be able to bring the combined deep industry experience and scale of our two organisations to help clients succeed in today’s increasingly competitive market.”
