Accenture Grows AI, Cloud Capabilities With Core Compete Buy

‘We’re seeing the world move to be cloud-native. Core Compete has strong SaaS skills, and experience with both supply chains and finance and risk. But in the last four to five years, it has been an early adopter of native cloud analytics, with a large number of people certified on analytics on Google and [Amazon Web Services],’ says Sanjeev Vohra, global lead for Accenture Applied Intelligence.

Global solution provider Accenture Wednesday unveiled the acquisition of Core Compete, a developer of cloud analytics and cloud-native artificial intelligence technologies.

With the acquisition, Accenture is expanding its own cloud analytics and AI capabilities, as well as getting a seasoned team steeped in experience with those advanced technologies, said Sanjeev Vohra, global lead for Accenture Applied Intelligence.

Instead of bringing in new capabilities Accenture did not have prior to the acquisition, Durham, N.C.-based Core Compete enhances Accenture’s current reach into the cloud analytics market, Vohra told CRN. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

[Related: Accenture Cloud First Initiative: Annette Rippert On Making Cloud The Center Of Business]

“Core Compete has completely embraced cloud analytics,” he said. “Cloud collaboration and adoption has increased strongly in the last 18 months. When clients move to the cloud, they look at what to do next. First is the applications. Second is the data. Then they bring AI on the cloud. You can do this with traditional AI or native AI services, ‘native’ meaning created by Google, AWS, Azure, or companies like Snowflake.”

Founded in 2012 and now with 260 employees, Core Compete helps clients as they move applications to the cloud and bring in cloud-native services, Vohra said.

“We’re seeing the world move to be cloud-native,” he said. “Core Compete has strong SaaS [cloud analytics] skills, and experience with both supply chains and finance and risk. But in the last four to five years, it has been an early adopter of native cloud analytics, with a large number of people certified on analytics on Google and [Amazon Web Services].”

Accenture acquired Core Compete primarily for its approach to cloud analytics and AI, and in part because Vohra knew Core Compete’s CEO for some time and wanted him to be part of Vohra’s team.

“We’re expanding our team, and are learning from Core Compete’s techniques for migration to the cloud and reskilling and education programs,” he said. “Talent is scarce in this space. But it’s not just talent. It’s also the leaders who can help us accelerate our own capabilities faster.”

The acquisition of Core Compete is the latest in a string of over 65 acquisitions Accenture has made in the last couple years, Vohra said.

“Our acquisitions are based on what skills we need and on complementary markets,” he said. “Some acquisitions are market-specific, and some are global in nature.”