Accenture buys Malaysian data & analytics specialist BIIT Consulting

Accenture has expanded its data management and analytics capabilities in Southeast Asia with the acquisition of BIIT Consulting, a Malaysia-based consultancy with around 55 professionals. 

Founded in 2013 by two former Accenture employees, Veleswaran Nallaiah and Samuel Lee, BIIT Consulting helps organisations of all sizes with professionalising their data management and extracting strategic insights form their data. The Kuala Lumpur based consultancy works for clients across sectors, including the financial services, retail, telecommunications, and manufacturing verticals.  

Commenting on the acquisition, Lee Joon Seong, managing director and Head of Applied Intelligence for Southeast Asia at Accenture, said: “The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation and firms are realising that data analytics and artificial intelligence are the way forward, but they continue to struggle to capitalise on their data fully.”

“The addition of BIIT Consulting’s talent will help bolster our capabilities as we address the growing demand for data and analytics services within the region, and help our clients unlock greater value from their data. We look forward to welcoming them to our Applied Intelligence family.” 

The bolt-on comes shortly after a comprehensive research from Accenture found that companies that lead in technology maturity – among others in the use of advanced data analytics – reap the dividends, enjoying higher productivity and faster decision-making processes compared to their peers. 

To become leaders in the field, companies need to “leverage the power of data and artificial intelligence, tap into the power of the cloud, and have in place capabilities for data science practitioners to experiment, develop and deploy applications at scale,” added Seong. “BIIT Consulting will help us better cater to this rapidly growing market demand.” 

For BIIT Consulting, the joining of forces with the global consulting and technology giant will provide “new growth opportunities for our people and enable expanded capabilities to a larger client base.” 

The deal is Accenture’s fourth transaction this year, following the previous purchases of DI Square’s engineering solutions business in Japan, 200-strong creative and digital agency Entropia in Malyasia, and Businet System in Japan.