KPMG’s Performance and Technology (P&T) Advisory division has acquired Analitica, a Business Intelligence (BI) and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) consultancy. The company will be absorbed into P&T’s BI practice with immediate effect. The acquisition significantly enhances KPMG’s rapidly expanding advisory arm, while accelerating the company’s goal to become a major player in Hyperion Planning implementation, Analitica’s particular strength.
KPMG’s Performance and Technology (P&T) Advisory division has acquired Analitica, a Business Intelligence (BI) and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) consultancy. The company will be absorbed into P&T’s BI practice with immediate effect. The acquisition significantly enhances KPMG’s rapidly expanding advisory arm, while accelerating the company’s goal to become a major player in Hyperion Planning implementation, Analitica’s particular strength.
The move follows a similar acquisition by PwC which recently acquired Paragon Consulting, a niche player in enterprise performance management applications. Gartner, the IT research group, identified BI and EPM as the fastest growing business software sectors in 2009, growing at 4.2 percent from 2008. This growth stemmed from a continued drive by organisations to increase transparency, reduce costs and improve productivity.
However, not all users will be pleased to see independent consultancies snapped up by big consulting operations. Corporations investing in BI and EPM have seen large investment by the software vendors in their products but this needs to be matched by good design, and implementation knowledge to maximise the business benefit. Whether the large consutlancies are able to retain the focus and know-how remains to be seen. Consulting pressures and the drive for utilisation often mean that dedicated application specialist are diverted to other areas. Whilst the recent acquisitions mean that the ‘Big Boys’ have a capability, focused independents like AMOSCA, (which focuses on the Oracle/Hyperion product set) may prove a worthy alternative.
