Accenture adds Structure to Resources operating group
Professional services firm Accenture has acquired Structure, a US-based consultancy and systems integrator that specialises in the energy and utility industries. Roughly 190 employees of Structure, based in Texas, will be integrated into Accenture’s Resources operating group. Terms and conditions of the deal have not been disclosed.
Founded in 1998, Structure is a consulting firm focused exclusively on the energy and utility industry, serving clients across a broad range of management, operational and IT topics, from competitive markets and managing risk to reliability and operational changes. Since its inception, the firm has grown steadily to its current team of 190 employees, and its expertise in its field has been recognised with more than a dozen industry awards for growth, advisory services and solutions*.
Seventeen years after its launch, Structure has now been picked up by Accenture, with net revenues of $28.6 billion in the last fiscal year one of the giants in the consulting and outsourcing landscape. For Accenture, the acquisition provides a boost to its smart grid solutions, especially grid operations, as well as energy commodity trading and risk management (CTRM). “Bringing together two very similar cultures with deep skills in the utilities and energy industries reinforces our ability to help our clients solve some of the most complex and critical challenges that lie at the heart of the digital transformation,” says Omar Abbosh, Senior Managing Director at Accenture’s Resources operating group. “Structure’s capabilities in grid operations and power systems engineering, combined with Accenture’s global strengths in information technology (IT), will provide our clients with comprehensive end-to-end solutions and services to support the integration of operational technologies with IT systems, forging a path toward a smarter, more digital grid.”
“Joining forces with Accenture will provide our clients and our employees with a unique opportunity to extend our capabilities to offer critical business solutions on a global scale,” comments Lelon Winstead, Managing Partner of Structure. “We believe Structure’s end-to-end expertise in smart grid, commodities trading and market operations aligns well with Accenture’s grid operations and energy commodities trading businesses.”
Acquisitions
The purchase of Structure is the second for Accenture in the energy industry within a few months – in August last year it picked up Hytracc Consulting, an oil & gas specialist with 80 employees across six countries, including the U.S. More recently, Accenture bought Reactive Media, an Australia-based digital agency, a move that expanded the firm’s global capabilities in digital, marketing, and execution.
The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, and the acquisition is subject to regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.
* For example, Structure was named ‘ETRM Software Advisory House of the Year‘ by Energy Risk magazine for two consecutive years, and last year the firm was voted to the list of ‘14 Smart Grid Companies to Watch’ by the readers of Smart Grid News for the third consecutive year.
