Accenture, the Ireland-incorporated professional services company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has acquired Sagacity, a London-headquartered data and customer intelligence firm. The acquisition matters to the sector because it adds more than 140 specialists to Accenture Song’s UK and Ireland operations to connect customer data, AI and operations.

Sagacity was founded in 2005 by Anita Dougall, Malka Townshend and Harry Dougall and brings proprietary data assets, AI-enabled technology and customer intelligence expertise. Accenture plans to combine those capabilities with its industry, technology and customer operations resources, from strategy and design through implementation and operations.

The acquired entity, Sagacity Solutions Limited, was bought from Sagacity Group Limited and Queen’s Park Equity.

Accenture says the deal reflects its strategy of using acquisitions to scale in high-growth areas, targeting clients in utilities, retail, banking and telecommunications with large customer bases and complex customer journeys. In the UK, Accenture Song has worked with Vodafone and Virgin Media O2.

Accenture employs approximately 814,000 people and serves approximately 9,000 clients, and Accenture Song combines growth, experience design, technology platforms and marketing capabilities.

Accenture says the combined capability will help organisations turn customer insight into more personalised, proactive experiences at scale, moving clients from insight to intelligent action faster than either organisation could achieve independently.

Sohel Aziz, senior managing director, Accenture Song, UK and Ireland, said: “Our clients are increasingly looking to connect data, AI and operations to drive growth and reinvent customer experiences.”

Anita Dougall, CEO and co-founder of Sagacity, said: “By combining our expertise, data and know-how with Accenture’s scale and innovation capabilities, we can help more organizations deliver meaningful business results.”

The structural driver is client demand to connect data, AI and operations into unified programmes with measurable outcomes, which makes proprietary data assets and operational expertise attractive acquisition targets.

For the sector, the deal shows global consultancies acquiring specialist customer intelligence firms to add data assets and delivery capacity in a single move.

Source: newsroom.accenture.com / marketscreener.com / mediapost.com