Refugees From Major Consulting Firms Set Up New IT Consultancy Called Acuera Consulting

A team of partners and directors from top firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Origin, Andersen Consulting and IBM, have joined forces to launch an IT professional services company, Acuera Consulting Limited. Acuera is a completely independent professional services firm aimed at

By None

A team of partners and directors from top firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Origin, Andersen Consulting and IBM, have joined forces to launch an IT professional services company, Acuera Consulting Limited.

Acuera is a completely independent professional services firm aimed at helping its clients reduce IT costs and improve service. The Manchester-based company will provide a range of solutions focused on IT service sourcing and service management. It supports clients at every stage of the lifecycle, from strategy through to planning, implementation and ongoing delivery.

The company’s Managing Director, David Muir, was the founder of PwC’s European application outsourcing business, with a hub in Manchester that services over 25 clients globally. He then went on to develop and execute the integration strategy for PwC’s application outsourcing business with IBM’s Business Process Outsourcing unit across Europe, after the company acquired the PwC business in 2002.

Acuera has already attracted large blue chip clients that are interested in increasing their IT service levels and reducing costs. Among them is a major UK automotive organisation that has selected the company to fulfil a lead management role on a programme to review operations across the group.

It has also been working with a leading UK retailer, tasked with preparing a detailed assessment of sourcing options, which will support a range of infrastructure delivery programmes. In addition, Acuera will consolidate its overall recommendations into a group-wide sourcing strategy.

David Muir says ‘We are totally independent and delivery-driven. The Acuera team have personal experience of delivering business-critical IT services and understand the commercial objectives from both the buyer and supplier side, and how to structure deals that deliver lasting value for all involved.

‘We believe that buyers and suppliers of IT services share a common desire to provide those services to their users in the most cost-effective and efficient manner. Over time, we’ve seen the approach taken to the procurement and management of services increasingly work in direct conflict with that goal. Too often, this leads to extended procurement timescales, increased cost of sale, and an undermining of the trust essential to any successful long-term business relationship.

‘We’ve created Acuera because we believe that by bridging the gap between service users and service providers we can reduce costs and improve service for the community as a whole.’

«