Accenture is a global services company that provides strategy and consulting, technology, interactive and operations support across multiple industries. Its stated partnership proposition is “360° value” and preparing its clients for “the New Work,” marked by the increasingly mobile human and operational infrastructure that business must design for.
Accenture, founded in 1989, is a leading channel partner with more than 20 offerings ranging from Business Strategy and Marketing to Customer Experience to IT strengths in Technology Innovation, Automation and AI. This profile focuses on Accenture’s Infrastructure channel, associated target markets, user opinion, industry recognition and financial position.
Specialties
Accenture’s Infrastructure channel strength helps companies design, implement and improve cloud solutions. Modernized application and data strategies are the foundation, with a growing number of businesses opting for cloud approaches that are hybrid and distributed.
Infrastructure Services
Accenture delivers six primary infrastructure channel capabilities: network; infrastructure as code; hybrid cloud; managed edge and Internet of Things (IoT) devices; service management; and digital workplace and collaboration. Standardized solutions and more agile approaches to each are available, supported by automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and organizational support.
Network
To support client network needs, Accenture has a dual focus on increasing current capacities while supporting needed build out. Cloud capabilities, advanced wireless and IoT for edge computing, strategy and optimization are a part of its network approach.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Accenture markets infrastructure as core to business strategy – aided by the right software, automation and deployment capabilities. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is rooted in a template approach to build cloud infrastructure. These CloudFormation Templates (CFTs) can be used to build multi-tier web applications and scale VPN access, which are critical to the massive workforce shift from office to home caused by COVID-19. Accenture offers Cloud Security Diagnostic Review to protect clients from the significant risks linked to unconfirmed CFT configuration and encryption.
Hybrid Cloud
Accenture helps companies balance their public-private cloud investment and workload-data placement, while making the best platform and application choices. The tech giant’s website touts 34,000+ cloud projects across multiple industries.
Managed Edge and IoT Devices
Accenture’s cloud services include edge computing to extend network capabilities and place speed and intelligence near workload sites. Through edge computing, the company works with clients to establish local edge servers and devices – the smart, wired equipment that forms today’s IoT universe. Diverse configurations are available, such as edge networks that simulate the capabilities of traditional, centralized systems.
Because these edge networks are increasingly tied to mobile devices that could be anywhere at any time, Accenture’s Infrastructure consulting services reflect Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC), driven by new 5G capabilities and supporting multiple industries from transportation to e-health.
Service Management
Accenture promotes its “boundaryless” model to link solutions for business applications, infrastructure, development, security and operations. The company responds to common client pain points: acceleration demands that exceed response capabilities. Accenture’s service portfolio includes strategy, management tooling, operating models, integration and support to meet business-critical needs.
Digital Workspace and Collaboration
Workplace experience (WX) is the Accenture model for bolstering client employee engagement. WX components span technology, operations and employee culture. Specific solutions target workforce devices (standardization, automation, remote support, lifecycle) as well as integrated workplace management infrastructure.
Target Markets
Accenture’s customer base includes roughly 6,000 customers in more than 120 countries, including nearly every corporation on Fortune’s “Global 100” and a large portion of its “Global 500.” Its clients are fairly evenly divided across five groups: Comms, Media and Tech; Financial Services; Health and Public Services; Products; and Resources – and these key industries:
— Aerospace and defense
— Automotive
— Banking, capital markets and insurance
— Chemicals, life sciences and health
— Communications and media
— Consumer goods and services
— High tech, software and platforms
— Industrial equipment
— Energy, utilities and natural resources
— Public service
— Travel and retail
For each client, Accenture links diverse functions – workforce, finance, supply chain/operations, tech and marketing/sales – with the objective to streamline, expand and innovate infrastructure.
User Opinion
Gartner’s Peer Insights gives Accenture 4.3 out of 5 stars based on 400+ responses. The aggregate is based on verified reviews in 26 categories, including several infrastructure channel services: Data Center Outsourcing and Hybrid Infrastructure Managed Services; Industrial IoT Platforms; and Managed Services for IoT Connectivity, Security, Workplace, and Professional Public Cloud Infrastructure.
Accenture garnered similar ratings from TrustRadius based on small-to-medium business and enterprise reviews. Positives included expertise, personnel, thoroughness and support. Reviewers recommended increased agility, flexibility and more dynamic and non-traditional approaches from the company.
Industry Recognition and Partnerships
Fortune has named Accenture one of its “World’s Most Admired Companies” for 18 consecutive years. In 2020, Fortune named CEO Julie Sweet “the most powerful woman in business.” Accenture partners with the tech industry’s most powerful players, including SAP, Oracle and Microsoft.
Financial Position
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) reported $44.3 billion in revenue for 2020. Its Q4 2020 earnings data show higher-than-estimated earnings per share ($2.17 versus $2.05) and revenue ($11.76 billion over $11.36 billion). Year-over-year quarterly revenue increased 3.5%.
Institutional investors make up 71% of Accenture’s stockholders. Institutional buying and selling has shifted dramatically since 2018, with outflows now slightly exceeding inflows during the last half of 2020. Brokerage analysis varies with a tip toward “buy.”