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Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon has agreed an alliance with Unit4, combining their strengths to offer Irish educational institutions, which are under considerable cost pressures, with a cost effective ERP solution. Unit4 will provide institutions with its Business World ERP software aimed at boosting agility, while the Irish based accounting and business advisory will provide services around implementation.
Unit4 was founded in 1980, and has since expanded across the globe. Today more than 4,000 people are employed by the firm, generating revenues of more than €500 million. The organisation delivers ERP and other IT services to clients across professional services, public services, not-for-profit, real estate, wholesale, financial services and education.
The announced deal between Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon* and Unit4 will see the firm’s entering into a strategic partnership. The companies will combine their strengths to provide higher education institutions with a means of reducing costs as they compete for student and research revenue. Unit4’s Business World ERP software, tailored for the education sector – which operates at more than 1,000 colleges and universities globally – will be implemented through Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon services, providing educational institutions according to the newlywed partners with cost effective tools to embrace the constant change they face, quickly and simply.
“Higher Education institutions are under pressure to recruit students and deliver world-class research,” says Tracey Dunlop, Head of Alliances in the UK and Ireland for Unit4. ”Our combined expertise in education will help Irish institutions reduce the time they spend on non-strategic activities like administration so that they can focus on delivering superb research and teaching services.”
Terry McAdam, Performance Improvement Consulting Partner at Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon, says he is delighted with the collaboration, adding that he expects it to deliver real value to clients within the education sector. “We recognise the need for simpler, more agile systems that can be implemented quickly without risk. Our education sector clients are looking at every aspect of how they interact with their students, staff, policy-makers and other stakeholders as they chart the way forward, together with Unit4 we look forward to helping them progress along their chosen path.” The consulting unit of Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon also aims at capitalising on the growing demand for technology consulting (+7.7% growth expected this year), as well as leveraging the positive outlook for the software package.
Alliances
For Unit4 the deal represents the fourth partnership with a professional services firm in recent months. Earlier this year the company entered into an alliance with BearingPoint in the UK and Ireland, while in North America CGI partnered with the IT consultancy to provide joint ERP solutions to clients. And in April this year Unit4 struck a partnership with ConQuaestor, a financial advisory firm based in the Netherlands, similarly to Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon with a focus on higher education institutions
* Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon is the Irish independent member of Baker Tilly International, established in 1987. Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon has since grown to become one of Ireland’s top ten firms of accountants, tax and business advisors.
