Accenture Increases Cloud First Capabilities In Australia And NZ With Acquisition Of Zag

Accenture Increases Cloud First Capabilities in Australia and New Zealand With Acquisition of SAP Specialist Provider Zag

Clients to benefit as Accenture positions itself to meet growing demand for SAP and cloud migration services across ANZ

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has acquired New Zealand-based SAP and cloud solutions technology firm Zag. The acquisition will bolster Accenture’s New Zealand and Australian digital transformation capabilities to meet increased demand from organisations migrating to the cloud and SAP’s next generation products.

Zag has offices in Auckland, Wellington, Sydney and Melbourne with a team of over 200 professionals. The company is a leading SAP specialist provider that offers services including consulting, development, support, testing and cloud migration. Clients include the New Zealand farmer owned cooperative Ballance and Australian energy provider Hydro Tasmania.

“By pairing Accenture’s global expertise with Zag’s local talent and insight, this acquisition will strengthen our ability to help clients accelerate their business transformation using SAP and Cloud technologies delivering more value from the new platforms. This move demonstrates our ongoing commitment to bringing new thinking, talent and innovation to clients across the region,” said Ben Morgan, Accenture’s New Zealand Managing Director.

“Zag has grown from an idea to a thriving business that has helped over 100 organisations to become stronger, safer and more prosperous through the best possible use of technology, tailored to their specifications,” said Nick Mulcahy, CEO of Zag. “Since 1996, Zag has led the SAP market in New Zealand through our drive to think creatively, the close relationships we build with our customers and our firm belief that our people are our strength. The combination of Accenture and Zag is a great opportunity for our clients and teams, and we look forward to offering an unrivalled SAP offering.”

Scott Hahn, Accenture’s Technology Lead for Australia and New Zealand, said, “Zag’s experience in delivering cloud and SAP solutions for a wide range of complex businesses will be pivotal to the expansion of Accenture’s local technology offerings. Their extensive expertise and knowledge further deepen our networks and capabilities to meet the anticipated growth in demand for SAP and cloud services and we are delighted to welcome them to the team.”

Accenture recently announced the formation of Accenture Cloud First with a $USD3 billion investment over three years to help clients across all industries rapidly become “cloud first” businesses and accelerate their digital transformation to realise greater value at speed and scale.

Accenture’s acquisition of Zag follows other investments across Australia and New Zealand in the past 18 months, including data analytics and supply chain management company Icon Integration in February 2020; business strategy and econometrics firm AlphaBeta in February 2020; specialist government consultancy, Apis Group in December 2019; big data and analytics company Analytics8 in August 2019; and cybersecurity and technology company BCT Solutions in June 2019.

Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialised skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions — underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network — Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With 506,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

About Zag

Zag (previouslySoltius) is trusted by more than90organisationsacross Australasia to provide SAP, Cloud and Spatial solutions,supportand consulting. Zag was formed in 1996 as a specialist SAP implementation partner with the aim to build a business known for quality implementation advice and guidance at an affordable price. Since then, Zag has becomeAsia Pacific’s firstcertifiedSAP Partner Centre of Expertise,hasdelivered more SAP S/4HANA(ERP)projects in Australasia than anyone elseand has partneredwith AWS, Microsoft and Google for thedeployment of SAP on their IaaSplatforms. Zag has offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Sydney, and Wellington in addition to partners sellingitsproducts globally.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. For a discussion of risks and actions taken in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, see “Our results of operations have been significantly adversely affected and could in the future be materially adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic” under Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in Accenture plc’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended May 31, 2020. Many of the following risks, uncertainties and other factors identified below are, and will be, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accenture’s results of operations have been significantly adversely affected and could in the future be materially adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; Accenture’s results of operations could be adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company’s clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture’s business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company’s services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the company’s results of operations; if Accenture is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company’s business, the utilisation rate of the company’s professionals and the company’s results of operations may be materially adversely affected; Accenture could face legal, reputational and financial risks if the company fails to protect client and/or company data from security breaches or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; changes in Accenture’s level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company’s effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture’s profitability could materially suffer if the company is unable to obtain favorable pricing for its services and solutions, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies; Accenture’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; as a result of Accenture’s geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue to expand in its key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; Accenture’s business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; if Accenture is unable to manage the organisational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; Accenture’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with key alliance partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company’s results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accenture’s services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilise the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture’s results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; many of Accenture’s contracts include fees subject to the attainment of targets or specific service levels, which could increase the variability of the company’s revenues and impact its margins; Accenture might be unable to access additional capital on favourable terms or at all and if the company raises equity capital, it may dilute its shareholders’ ownership interest in the company; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.

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