Deloitte closes the acquisition of Etain in Northern Ireland

Big Four firm Deloitte has completed the acquisition of Etain, seeing 70 technology experts join its ranks in Belfast.

Over the last decade, Belfast has established itself as a dynamic hub for innovation, with a growing reputation for business, technology and new software development, in particular. As a result, it is now is among the fastest growing technology capitals in Europe – something which has attracted a host of consultancies in recent years, setting up office in the city to tap into this growing market.

Across the island of Ireland, Deloitte employs approximately 3,000 people. One-third of these are in Belfast alone – with the firm’s headcount in Northern Ireland having spiked with the acquisition of Etain in February.

Founded in 1999, Belfast based Etain works to deliver data and digital applications for clients in the public and private sector, as well as bespoke software solutions. Etain has around 70 employees, including data engineers, cloud developers and technical solution architects, and has so far completed over 400 digital transformation projects for a wide range of organisations.

Danny McConnell, lead Consulting partner for Deloitte in Northern Ireland, stated, “Welcoming Etain, one of the UK and Ireland’s leading data and digital transformation specialists, through the doors of our Belfast office is an amazing day for our Northern Ireland practice. The technology industry has rejuvenated the city, with organisations around the world now turning to Belfast and Deloitte for world-class digital expertise.”

With the news that Etain’s 70 employees have joined Deloitte – bringing a wide range of expertise including in data engineering, cloud development and technical solution architecture – the Big Four firm’s Consulting practice in Belfast has also grown to around 800.

Among these employees, there is now a particularly strong emphasis on digital transformation, with McConnell now describing Deloitte as the “largest artificial intelligence and data player” in Northern Ireland.

Speaking on the news, Martin Goss, now a Director with Deloitte Consulting, added, “Since first launching Etain in 1999, we’ve watched Belfast’s reputation for creating world-class business software soar and have benefitted considerably by growing our team with the incredible technology talent drawn to the city.”

“Joining Deloitte and working alongside some of the country’s leading technology experts will ensure that our footprint in the UK’s digital sector continues to grow and that the solutions we are creating continue to set the gold-standard for software innovation.”