KPMG launches technology incubator Ignition Centre
In a bid to incubate further tech ideas, KPMG is opening the first of its ‘Ignition Centres’ in Denver, Colorado. These centres are designed to facilitate the development of cross-functional teaming for client directed solutions to problems involving among others, data & analytics, digital solutions, technology business management.
With high tech innovation continuing to be in demand, the challenge to be the first to find and exploit the potential offered by technology is increasing apace. While capital investment is often needed to scale-up ideas that make sense from a business perspective, the process of developing new ideas and client directed solution centred on tech too can be helped along by something akin to incubation.
In a move to help entrepreneurs in the technology segment develop their ideas, KPMG recently announced it will be setting up ‘Ignition Centres.’ These centres are designed as high-tech work environments that facilitate “cross-functional teaming critical to the successful design and delivery of emerging solutions to its clients.” These centres will be set up as incubators for solutions and the delivery of capabilities in data & analytics, digital solutions, technology business management, tax transformation & technology, elevating business in the cloud, and HR transformation.
The first of the new Ignition Centres will be in Denver, Colorado. It is set to create around 125 new positions in high value areas such as data science, enterprise architecture, application programming, solution development and IT integration. Initial deployment in Denver was chosen because of the booming information technology workforce, and Millennial positive career environment. The Millennial friendly environment includes casual dress codes and open-spaced ‘office-less’ work areas. KPMG plans to open additional Ignition Centres later this year, with the U.S. the key focus area.
“While we have offered these types of solutions for some time, we are now focused on centralising the design and prototyping of these solutions in collaborative workspaces – enabled by the technology necessary to spark innovation,” says Stephen Chase, KPMG’s U.S. Advisory Management Consulting leader. “Companies today need to think leaner, faster and more efficiently if they want to compete with emerging startups. These new centres will allow us to immerse our clients in an environment that replicates this start-up experience while also facilitating collaboration, creativity and teamwork.”
“Innovation is the lynchpin of the global economy,” says Chase. “These new centers are designed to help our clients drive business transformation and innovation by reimagining how teams collaborate to solve complex business challenges. Additionally, our partnerships with companies like Oracle, Workday and ServiceNow help to round out our technology-enablement service offerings, all in a single location.”
