Accenture (ACN) has announced plans to buy Phase One, an Arlington, Virginia-based government IT consulting firm. Once the acquisition is complete, Phase One will be integrated into Accenture Federal Services (AFS), which also has offices in Arlington and has served 30 of the largest federal organizations.
The purchase will further boost Accenture’s Salesforce capabilities, cloud offerings and management consulting for U.S. government customers. Phase One is a Salesforce Platinum Consulting Partner that’s services include IT modernization, cloud transformation and cybersecurity.
Phase One’s federal clients include cabinet departments and sectors such as national infrastructure, finance and regulatory services, human services, healthcare and homeland security.
“New cloud and Software-as-a-Service platforms are transforming both the federal technology landscape and the way agencies serve their customers and achieve their missions,” AFS CEO David Moskovitz said in a statement. “Through investments like our acquisition of Phase One, we are expanding our capabilities, technology and skills to help lead our federal clients on their journey to be more agile, responsive and secure in a digital world.”
Focus on Salesforce
The Phase One purchase is the seventh Salesforce-related acquisition Accenture has made since 2014. The others include Media Hive, New Energy Group, CRMWaypoint, Cloud Sherpas, tquila and ClientHouse.
Accenture was one of the first global companies to establish a strategic alliance with Salesforce, and it continues to focus on growing its position as a Salesforce partner with the help of more than 11,000 Salesforce-trained employees.
In May, Salesforce named Accenture Interactive the 2017 Salesforce Commerce Cloud Global Innovation Partner of the Year, recognizing its business growth, technology innovation, and the success of joint customers.
Phase One's work has captured the direct attention of Salesforce, too. In September 2016, Salesforce's venture capital subsidiary, Salesforce Ventures, made an investment in the company.
The Race for Phase One
The $80 billion federal IT market is highly sought-after, which is evident by the number of suitors Phase One heard from before agreeing to the Accenture deal.
Phase One CEO Jerad Speigel told the Washington Business Journal in September that his company was entertaining potential acquirers "several times a week" from government IT companies that realized they needed to "buy their way into this space."
“We are proud to be combining our skills and innovative approach with Accenture’s scale,” Speigel said in a statement announcing the Accenture deal. “At Phase One, we embrace change and innovation."
The transaction is subject to regulatory reviews and other customary closing conditions, and the financial details are not being disclosed.
