Accenture Acquires Product Design and Innovation Firm Altitude

Global professional services company Accenture is teaming up with product design firm Altitude to bring the IoT to their customers. The acquisition, announced on January 9, is aimed at helping both companies harness the IoT to create new business models. According to Accenture, only 27 percent of businesses have a strategy for IoT, and most lack the capabilities needed for digital transformation and 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. “The addition of Altitude strengthens Accenture’s position as a partner for companies looking to seize the opportunities in the new connected world. Together we will provide the vision and end-to-end capabilities to help clients become disruptors and innovate at the speed of a start-up, but with less risk.”

The acquisition, said Accenture, will combine Altitudes’ innovation, design and engineering expertise with Accenture’s artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and IoT consulting, technology and digital capabilities. The combined companies plan to create an integrated suite of connected-product services and help companies develop personalized IoT business models to capture new revenue streams.

The Altitude team will join Accenture’s Connected Product Lifecycle Services and Accenture will establish a Connected Products Studio in Boston. It will join 24 already-established studios around the globe, the company stated in their announcement.

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