Accenture announced it has agreed to acquire Soben, a global provider of construction consultancy services, headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland. And Soben’s expertise in data center development and the pharmaceutical and energy industries will boost Accenture’s capital projects capabilities in advisory as well as project, cost, and commercial management for clients.
Soben works for leading global hyperscalers and co-location providers on major data center construction and its services include project management consultancy, scheduling, project controls, cost and commercial management, consultancy and advisory, carbon cost management, etc. And with a team of 250, the company serves clients in Western Europe (UK, Germany, Scandinavia, Netherlands), the US, Mexico, Brazil, India, and Australia. They will join Accenture’s infrastructure and capital projects practice within Industry X.
Organizations that are developing capital projects face a long list of challenges (new research from Accenture shows), ranging from increased scrutiny from stakeholders to supply chain issues to staffing shortages to cybersecurity risks. So only 6% of the 700 organizations surveyed deliver projects on or ahead of schedule. Two-thirds miss their targets, adding an average of 29% in labor costs and penalty fees to the bill.
These challenges are especially impacting companies looking to expand existing or build new data centers. And the market is experiencing hypergrowth, especially in the US, Europe, and the Middle East, where Accenture estimates an annual spend of over $200 billion for the next 3-5 years. Plus, Soben will strengthen Accenture’s capabilities for clients to address challenges when planning and executing data center development and modernization projects.
With Soben, Accenture continues growing its infrastructure and capital projects capabilities globally and in Europe. And the company started scaling this business in 2023 with the acquisition of advisory and management company Anser Advisory in the U.S., and consulting and program management company Comtech in Canada.
Last year, it added BOSLAN, a management services provider focused on net-zero infrastructure in Spain, and IQT Group, a provider of engineering-managed services for large infrastructure projects, based in Rovigo, Italy.
KEY QUOTES:
“The market for capital projects and especially data centers is growing rapidly, driven by ever-higher demand for cloud computing and AI and exponential data growth. Hyperscalers and co-location companies are under tremendous pressure to deliver on this demand. They need a provider that brings data center expertise plus proven capital projects experience, which is what the combination of Soben and Accenture will stand for.”
– Steve Roberts, senior managing director, Accenture Industry X
“Soben will enhance our infrastructure and capital projects capabilities across Europe, particularly boosting our practice in the UK. With complex capital projects on the horizon, and increasing adoption of AI, the UK is positioning itself for growth – and the construction sector must ensure it has the innovative thinking, technology, and skills to lead the way. Together, Accenture and Soben bring leading minds in capital projects expertise and emerging technology together.”
– Maddie Walker, Accenture’s Industry X lead in the UK, Ireland & Africa
“When we started Soben in 2011, our vision was to disrupt the construction consultancy marketplace, and we have now established Soben as one of the key players for capital projects in Europe and North America. By joining Accenture, we can realize that vision and offer fantastic opportunities for our people to grow their careers. We’re looking forward to bringing Accenture’s global reach and digital capabilities to our clients to help them scale their business fast and deliver exceptional outcomes for their capital projects.”
– Scott Smyth, CEO at Soben
