Hi there,

Accenture has been on the acquisition trail across A/NZ in recent times and now it’s added Kiwi SAP and cloud consultancy Zag to its stable.

The move will position Accenture, which has been building its cloud credentials, to take advantage of the growing demand for S/4HANA upgrades. IDC figures last year showed 73 percent of SAP customers were planning on deploying the next-gen suite. Given SAP’s announcement since then that it is setting a 2027 deadline on support ending for legacy products, that number will only be increasing.

The deal comes at a time when ERP should be riding high, with drivers such as work from home playing into its hands, but ERP implementations and upgrades are a big deal, making for a conflicting time for businesses skittish in the wake of Covid.

Either way, the deal will double Accenture’s NZ team and gives it the SAP kudos to capitalise as the market stabilises.

In other news this week:

Speaking of Accenture's cloud credentials...they say it's both a cheaper and greener alternative over traditional computing
The frustrating search for a national digital identity
Google: How does a billion bucks for news sound?...first and final offer
Microsoft’s underwater data centre ‘feasible, practical’ – this is no gimmick

And following on with the SAP theme, we take a look at Hydro Tasmania’s S/4HANA upgrade project – from SAP ECC to S/4HANA boosted with a bit of Fiori 3 – and delivered in the midst of Covid lockdowns.

Enjoy the read,

Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.co.nz

ACQUISITION

Accenture snaps up SAP specialist Zag

Zag zigs into big four consulting firm’s stable…

Professional services behemoth Accenture has bought Kiwi SAP and cloud solutions technology firm Zag for an undisclosed sum, bolstering Accenture’s SAP practice and cloud-first capabilities across A/NZ.

“By acquiring Zag, Accenture is now perfectly positioned to assist these organisations with their systems overhaul.”

[Read more]

GREEN CLOUD

Cloud: Saving money, saving the planet

The business forecast is for more cloud with a chance of significant savings…

It’s long been hailed as a cost saver for business, but now a new report from Accenture serves up figures not only for how much companies can save by moving to cloud (spoiler alert: It’s up to 40 percent TCO) but also how much greener cloud can make us.

“This magnitude of reduction can go a long way in meeting climate change commitments.”

[Read more]

ROAD TO RECOVERY

DIGITAL ID

Why is launching a digital ID program so hard?

Australia’s digital ID project gets a AU$250m cash injection…

The details of Australia’s federal budget have been revealed, as the country looks to bolster its infrastructure and sharpen its digital chops for the post-pandemic future.

“This kind of confusing user experience teaches even normally vigilant users to ignore things that might otherwise seem odd.”

[Read more]

GOOGLE VS ACCC

Google's billion-dollar plan to solve its news woes

But not Downunder…

It started in May with a shot across Google’s bow courtesy of the ACCC, Australia’s competition regulator.

“This approach is distinct from our other news products because it leans on the choices individual publishers make about which stories to show readers.”

[Read more]

DATA CENTRES

Underwater data centre resurfaces

Microsoft’s Project Natick results show promise for underwater facilities…

Microsoft’s underwater data centre has resurfaced two years after dropping to the bottom of the ocean, and the results suggest taking a deep dive might be a pretty good idea.

Underwater data centres are not only feasible but logistically, environmentally and economically practical.

[Read more]

CLIENT INSIGHT

Hydro Tasmania converts to the power of S/4HANA

Remote project delivery mid-pandemic proves a success…

Hydro Tasmania has teamed up with SAP specialist partner Zag to convert to SAP’s next-generation ERP, S/4HANA, along with Fiori 3.

"It’s now low effort for us to start bringing data that lives in different parts of SAP together on the same dashboard, making people’s lives a lot easier.”

[Read more]

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