Accenture still a little peckish as it snaps up digi biz Chaotic Moon

Outsourcing giant Accenture has snapped up digital biz Chaotic Moon for an undisclosed pile of cash.

The Austin-based, 200-strong team apparently has digital design, prototyping, and development nous.

The move is just the latest of a series of acquisitions designed to move the outsourcer out of the traditional managed services market.

This month it also acquired PacificLink Group, an independent group of five full service digital agencies in Hong Kong, employing 240 people. In June it snapped up Swedish e-commerce services provider Brightstep with 60 people, and in February swallowed Australian firm Reactive Media with 130 people.

It also opened an Interactive Innovation centre in France to assess the impact of new technologies such as social media, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things on customer service, marketing campaigns and the entire customer experience.

John O'Brien, analyst at TechMarketView, said: "It is very early days to determine how these new digital services offerings will play out. But the opportunities for taking companies on a long-term digital journey from design, through development, integration, operation and run, seem very attractive."

Brian Whipple, senior managing director, Accenture Interactive, said: "Together, we will work to fulfill our ambition at Accenture Interactive to be a market leader in experience design, marketing, content and commerce for the world’s biggest brands.”

The traditional outsourcing market appears to be in decline. The number of mega outsourcing deals shrank by 25 per cent in Europe for the first quarter of 2015, with just 128 contracts, valued at €1.9bn (£1.4 billion), according to outsourcing analysts Information Services Group (ISG).

Accenture currently has a team of 336,000 consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with tentacles stretching across 120 countries. ®