Accenture, a professional technology services company, has recently announced the acquisition of an advisory and fulfillment services provider, umlaut, to boost its engineering and services play.

Sources familiar with the matter have reportedly cited that the recent agreement will scale the capabilities of Accenture in the engineering services space. Additionally, the move is likely to impact the top IT services firms in India in winning large deals.

Under the agreement, umlaut’s employees, including consultants and engineers, will be integrated with the Industry X services of Accenture, which focus on Industry 4.0 such as smart manufacturing and IoT across utilities, energy, telecom, automotive, aerospace, and other industries.

As per the statement made by Accenture’s Chief Executive Officer, Julie Sweet, the company is focusing on the rapid digitalization of its business, including the engineering, design, and manufacturing of products. Over the past years, it has been developing unique capabilities & ecosystem partnerships to apply digital technology in traditional engineering services.

Mrs. Sweet further added that several companies are placing high emphasis on transforming their core operations due to the escalating COVID-19 business disruptions. The latest deal is expected to prove beneficial for Accenture as it will leverage the specialized engineering services of umlaut to innovate and subsequently meet the demand from clients.

Engineering and R&D service is among the rapidly expanding sectors as compared to BPO and IT services. The sector had witnessed double-digit growth prior to the onset of the pandemic and is poised to regain momentum, owing to the upsurge in digital transformation amid the outbreak. Several other global companies are also intending to expand in this sector through multiple initiatives. For instance, Capgemini acquired an engineering and R&D services provider, Altran.

The latest acquisition of umlaut may result in intense competition for the top Indian IT firms due to the entry of Accenture in the engineering services space.

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https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/accenture-to-acquire-german-firm-umlaut-to-bolster-engineering-services-play-7036641.html