Accenture Acquires Umlaut to Expand its Footprint in the IoT Sector

On 14 June 2021, leading technology giant Accenture PLC announced that it is in the process of acquiring umlaut SE as an expansion move. Umlaut SE is an engineering and technology business, particularly active in the automotive sector. Accenture PLC is looking towards expanding its IoT application research and development sector by acquiring the much smaller umlaut SE.

Although the financial details of the entire acquisition deal are not available, the deal has been finalized between the two parties. Umlaut is a Germany-based technology development company. Moreover, the company has more than 4,000 employees in its ranks. On the other hand, umlaut SE has an annual revenue turnover of 340 million euros or USD 412 million in valuation.

Accenture PLC, on the other hand, is one of the world’s largest technology development firms. Accenture PLC has nearly half a million employees that work worldwide in remote offices. Accenture provides innovative technology services to its industrial clients and manages industrial infrastructure. The company also manages crucial cloud projects on behalf of its clients. Additionally, the tech giant also extends a plethora of non-technical and semi-technical services to its clients.

With so many services to offer, Accenture continues to broaden its application horizon, and the latest in this expansion is the Internet of things segment. Internet of Things is the future of technology applications. Accenture has constantly been investing in IoT application research and development under its Industry X division. Industrial clients need new Internet of Things applications for better revenue. Industrial clients need IoT applications to boost their operational efficiency. The opportunity to develop new IoT applications for industrial use is a massive revenue tap for Accenture.

To cater to this new demand, Accenture has been acquiring smaller businesses with an existing workforce that can exclusively work on IoT. The acquisition of umlaut is a part of this plan. This acquisition spree of Accenture PLC has been going on since 2017. Since 2017, the tech giant has acquired more than 20 small firms to expand its Industry X division. Umlaut SE is one of its largest acquisitions so far. The new acquisition will give more traction to the cause of IoT research and development at Accenture PLC.

Umlaut has more than 20 subsidiaries that operate in different locations. Umlaut specializes in many areas and also tests new smart connected devices which can form the base for great IoT technology. Accenture PLC has the aim of developing this segment of umlaut SE and incorporates it into its own Industry X division. Umlaut SE deals with both hardware design and software development. Accenture’s acquisition of umlaut will lead to the development and higher integration of the sectors.

Accenture is focusing on developing its IoT application segment because many of its close competitors are also doing so. Accenture’s chief competitors, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft expanded their IoT services recently. Accenture is developing its own IoT segment aggressively before the entry of new competitors in the segment. The trends of the market and leading players suggest that IoT possesses great potential for the future.

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