Accenture acquires Altitude, to tap connected products & services market
Global professional services company, Accenture, has acquired a product design and innovation firm, Altitude for an undisclosed amount. Altitude claims to use consumer insight, design and product engineering to help companies innovate and develop new products and services.
Post acquisition, Accenture will combine its capabilities in AI, IoT and cybersecurity with Altitude’s innovation, design and engineering expertise for creating an integrated set of connected-product services, that will better position Accenture to help companies rapidly develop IoT business models and capture new revenue streams in the high-growth, connected products and services market.
According to Accenture the Altitude team will enhance its Connected Product Lifecycle Services practice in North America. Accenture will also use the acquisition to establish a Connected Products Studio in Boston, which it claims is an emerging hub for IoT innovation.
“Disruption introduced by connected products and the IoT is re-writing the old rules of a product-based business model, forcing manufacturers to transform to deliver value-added services and deliver meaningful outcomes for consumers,” said Brian Doyle, Accenture’s managing director for Connected Product Innovation in North America.
“Designing and building connected products requires entirely new competencies to redefine the business or product strategy, customer experience and ecosystem, along with the underlying technologies that Accenture has built, such as cybersecurity or machine learning. This acquisition will enhance our ability to help clients drive more successful innovation and create growth platforms that harness the Internet of Things.”According to a research by Accenture, 27% of businesses have a strategy for IoT and many lack the capabilities needed to pivot their business models at speed and scale to harness IoT innovation. The acquisition will strengthen Accenture’s ability to help clients design and create physical products. Brian Matt, Founder and Chairman, Altitude said, “Altitude has helped companies invent and change the way they deliver goods and services for the future, such as integrating robots into homes, redefining mobility for aging populations, personalizing consumer experiences, and turning an industrial equipment company into a service provider. Together with Accenture, we can amplify our impact and help clients realize a new future, one they wouldn’t get to on their own.”