Accenture adds GIS expert Realworld OO Systems to Utilities arm

Accenture has acquired geographic information systems provider Realworld OO Systems. All employees of the Dutch firm, around 50, join the Utilities practice of Accenture in the Netherlands.

Founded in 1994 and headquartered in the Netherlands, Realworld OO Systems specialises in helping utilities digitise and optimise their electricity, water and natural gas networks. The firm provides a range of geographic information system (GIS) and smart grid services solutions – two areas which are playing a fundamental role in the utilities sector. 

GIS, a technology that stands at the heart of spatial asset management, is fundamental in automation, sensors and the integration of information technology and operational technology. It enables the exchange of data between GIS, operations and enterprise resource planning systems. The use of smart grids is key for a range of reasons, from enabling distributed energy networks and providing customers with the means to drive energy efficiency to allowing utilities companies to better monitor and manage their assets.

With the acquisition, Accenture adds significant technology expertise and solutions to its Utilities arm in the Benelux. “Realworld OO Systems brings new skills and capabilities to Accenture’s smart grid services portfolio with talented professionals who have invested years in mastering geographic information system solutions for utilities,” says Stephanie Jamison, Global Managing Director of Accenture Smart Grid Services. The move, according to Jamison, provides the firm the added capacities to serve as an end-to-end adviser to utilities on hardware matters: “Our Utilities practice boasts an end-to-end portfolio of smart grid services and we are now even better positioned to help clients to optimise and manage digital assets and intelligent grid operations.” 

Frank van Ham, Chief Technology Officer of Realworld OO Systems, adds, “The joining of forces will support our clients’ digital transformation with the latest technologies and services. Our people have an outstanding role to play by combining the deep GIS knowledge of Realworld OO Systems with Accenture’s smart grid services.”

For Realworld OO Systems, the integration into the global consulting firm (384,000 employees in 120+ countries) will also bolster its financial muscle to realise its international growth ambitions. “Accenture’s robust international presence at most large utilities companies, provides Realworld OO Systems an opportunity to quickly ramp up our long-held goal of growing our business in Europe.”

The operations of Realworld OO Systems outside the Netherlands, including offices in the US, Germany, South Africa and the UK, have been left outside the deal. The UK operation launched in August this year with an office in Cambridge, where it has a team of just under ten experts, led by Gillian Kendrick.