Accenture launches new security hub in Edinburgh
Global consultancy Accenture has become the latest in a succession of firms to unveil a new presence in Scotland, as the country works to position itself as a post-Brexit technology hub. Accenture’s new cybersecurity hub will see it offer an experimental development lab to clients in and around Edinburgh, as companies look to fortify their defences against the growing threat of industrial hackers.
As the UK and Scottish governments look to incentivise technology-based start-ups to innovate and disrupt the economy, something which is seen as a possible growth-driver after the culmination of Brexit – consulting firms have been moving north of Hadrian’s wall, in an attempt to tap into the growing tech sector there. In the last 12 months alone this has seen the likes of Mazars, BJSS, Leyton and Deloitte grow their operations in key Scottish population centres such as Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Now, Accenture has become the latest consultancy to take steps into Scotland, with the unveiling of a new security hub in Edinburgh, aimed at protecting clients against application vulnerabilities and cyber threats. In partnership with a number of businesses including Deep Secure, Thales and Micro Focus as well as enterprise software providers such as SAP and Oracle, the new hub will be used to develop technology that addresses “the challenges being faced by clients globally.”
According to reports in newspaper The Scotsman, Accenture said that its facility has been designed to be an “industry-leading application security co-innovation, experimental and development lab.”
Marshal Luusa, Accenture’s Application Security lead, said of the new facility, “The launch of the application security hub is a significant step in the fight against application threats and cyber-crime. A UK first, the hub will see Edinburgh at the forefront of threat modelling, working alongside leading businesses in the field of security to identify, communicate, and understand threats and mitigations whilst developing cost effective solutions. The hub will also benefit from alliances with Scotland’s outstanding academic sector. The Scottish team will work alongside the academic sector to foster and support the next generation of security experts.”
Accenture is the sixth largest cybersecurity consultancy in the world. After a 2017 of rapid spending toward a $1.8 billion global target, the aggressive expansion of Accenture helped see security consulting revenues at the firm rise by 6.2% to hit $601 million.