The acquisition will help Accenture scale its deep engineering capabilities and help companies use digital technologies such as cloud, AI and 5G

Accenture_Norge,_Rolfsbuktveien_2,_Fornebu

Accenture to acquire umlaut to boost engineering capabilities. (Credit: Ssu/Wikimedia Commons)

IT major Accenture has agreed to acquire umlaut, a German engineering consulting and services firm, for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition will help Accenture scale its deep engineering capabilities and help companies use digital technologies such as cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G.

It will also expand the IT firm’s capabilities across several industries, including automotive, aerospace & defence, energy and utilities and telecommunications.

As part of the transaction, Accenture will add umlaut’s more than 4,200 engineers and consultants across 17 countries to its Industry X services.

Industry X integrates Accenture’s data and digital capabilities with deep engineering expertise to offer customers a wide range of services for digitising their engineering functions, factory floors and plant operations.

Also, the services will be used to enhance productivity, drive the transformation of hardware into software-enabled products, and enable faster and more flexible product development.

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said: “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.”

Umlaut is a provider of traditional and digital engineering services; testing and validation of smart connected products; strategy, process and organisational consulting; and hardware product development and software development.

The German firm will be next in a series of 22 acquisitions Accenture has made since 2017 to develop its Industry X capabilities.

Umlaut chief technology officer Marc Peter Althoff said: “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 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.”

The closing of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.