(Solar prominence recorded on Aug. 31, 2012. Source: NASA.)
Accenture (Dublin) has acquired full ownership of Solium, a Madrid-based technology company focused on cloud capabilities. Accenture characterizes the acquisition of Solium from BBVA—in partnership with whom Accenture founded Solum as a joint venture in 2001—as a means of strengthening its hybrid cloud and mobility capabilities in Europe.
Accenture has now acquired BBVA’s ownership stake of 66.7 percent of the company and is now the sole owner of Solium. As part of the transaction, the terms of which were not disclosed, Solium will continue to provide hybrid cloud services to BBVA for the next five years.
(Related: Accenture Launches Cloud-based Agent Effectiveness Solution Developed on Salesforce)
Accenture reports that Solium provides specific technical skills that enable a consumption-based, as-a-service cloud model, including expertise in private and hybrid cloud, Cloud for SAP HANA, and Mobility Infrastructure Management. Solium’s primary client base is in the financial services industry in Europe, and particularly Spain, but it also serves companies in other industries including natural resources, consumer products, communications and technology.
Manuel López Ordoñez, Managing Director, Infrastructure Services, Accenture Spain.
The addition of Solium’s capabilities will enable Accenture to accelerate its clients’ journeys to becoming digital businesses, the vendor asserts. This includes integration into Accenture’s multi-cloud management tool, the Accenture Cloud Platform, for what the vendor terms as faster, simpler consumption, delivery and integration of services into the broader cloud ecosystem.
“Our clients recognize that cloud is a means to an end, one that will enable them to innovate faster and create entirely new business capabilities,” comments Mark Beaton, senior managing director of Infrastructure Services for Accenture in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Latin America. “This acquisition is consistent with our Intelligent Business Cloud vision, which provides a framework for helping clients accelerate their journey to an ‘everything-as-a-service’ model.”
Infrastructure Optimization
The acquisition will also enhance Accenture’s capabilities in infrastructure optimization and operations including the implementation and management of cloud architectures, database as a service technologies, middleware, and converged infrastructure models, the vendor reports. As a result of the acquisition, Solium’s 65 professionals are expected to transition to Accenture and will continue to be located in Madrid.
“With the increased level of regulation in many industries – including banking, insurance and utilities – companies require secure, compliant infrastructure and cloud models that provide the foundation to build an ‘as a Service’ digital business,” comments Manuel López Ordoñez, managing director of Infrastructure Services, Accenture Spain. “Bringing Solium fully into Accenture reinforces our capabilities to deliver proven hybrid cloud solutions to these highly regulated enterprise clients.”