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Accenture: Intelligent City Network Promotes Smart Grid Strategies By Jul 29, 2009 - 11:48:03 AM
Accenture is a global leader in providing management and technology consulting services and solutions through its offices in 52 countries.
Among its clients are 94 out of 100 of the Fortune Global 100, and more than two-thirds of the Fortune Global 500. The company’s strong competitive profile comes from its broad geographical diversity and wide range in its scope of services.
Accenture’s commitment to a smarter energy future is best summed up in the company’s own words: “Three decades of experience from Accenture’s global T&D and IT practitioners translates into a team that brings extensive industry knowledge to the world’s Smart Grid transformation challenges, along with a broad skill base ranging from executive strategic consulting, to specialized engineering, to in-depth systems integration.”
Strengths
Accenture’s Intelligent City Network was developed to assist utilities and cities in deploying Smart Grid solutions. The network provides connections to leaders in both utilities and city environments with practical experience in planning and design. It helps create blueprints for the deployment of Smart Grids, including their integration with broader investments in intelligent infrastructures, such as smart buildings and transportation, as well as new technologies and emerging standards. Current members include Xcel Energy, which is working with Accenture on its SmartGridCity project in
Accenture provides network members with technology solutions and strategic advice for the planning, testing and implementation of Smart Grid technologies. Members also have access to technology solutions being developed at Accenture Technology Labs, the company’s R&D arm.
Accenture has invested in new emerging technology and holds a leading position in Smart Grid technology, digitization, and webification. It is a leader in infrastructure outsourcing and remote-managed services.
A “cash cow” with nearly $3 billion in its coffers, Accenture has very little debt to undermine its financial strength. The company is repurchasing its own shares, approximately $2.3 billion in 2008, and plans for another $2.5 billion. No question about management’s optimism for the future.
Challenges
Demand has decreased by 9% for consulting services during the last year. Partially offsetting that weakness, there has been a 3% pickup in the outsourcing business. However, some elements of its outsourced business are undergoing consolidation, like that of the financial services sector.
More than half Accenture’s revenues come from outside the
Our View
A huge part of Accenture’s future business in likely to be in helping its large-scale, complex clients to move to their own private clouds. The nature of the process of converting to private clouds for businesses is complex, expensive and multi-year. The company is joining Cisco in unified communications in next-generation data center systems.
In addressing this business opportunity, Accenture plans to leverage and encapsulate its underlying assets in software services and intellectual property – the ideas, knowledge and know-how to design solutions – into cloud-based solutions for clients. Roadmaps, plans and business cases will become resident in Accenture’s cloud solutions.
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