Acquisition to expand Accenture’s mobile software engineering
capabilities
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has entered into an agreement to acquire the
professional services unit of Nokia (NOK) responsible for Symbian
customer engineering and customer support. The Symbian operating system
is the world’s most widely used platform for smartphones. Terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.
The Nokia unit provides engineering consulting and product development
services to mobile phone manufacturers, chip manufacturers and mobile
operators globally. Its services include advanced technical support;
innovative device-tuning techniques for enhancing the performance,
memory and power of mobile devices; advanced error diagnosis and repair;
and turnkey software development services that can be used in a range of
technical environments.
Approximately 165 Nokia professional services engineers and consultants
in the United Kingdom, Finland, Japan, Korea and Australia are expected
to transfer to Accenture as a result of the agreement.
“The acquisition of the Symbian professional services unit will enhance
Accenture’s existing embedded software, product-development and testing
skills to help players in the mobile solutions ecosystem address
ever-more-demanding time-to-market and quality requirements,” said Jean
Laurent Poitou, managing director of Accenture’s Electronics & High Tech
industry group. “The capabilities we are acquiring from Nokia will help
support the tremendous growth our clients can expect from the explosive
adoption of converged mobile multimedia services and will expand
Accenture’s role as a key supplier of new tools, products and solutions
to clients in this industry.”
Peter Ropke, senior vice president of Devices at Nokia, said, “This
agreement allows the Symbian professional services team to realize its
full potential in the supply of independent services to the open-source
ecosystem. In combination with Accenture’s strong brand, global sales
organization and broad technology skills, the unit’s software
engineering capabilities will be a significant benefit to customers
throughout the industry. The transaction underscores Nokia’s commitment
to the open-source community and the Symbian ecosystem.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is
expected to close within 60 - 90 days.
For more about Accenture Product Software Solutions, visit www.accenture.com/PSS.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company.
