Deloitte expands Data Analytics through Merger
Date: 29-10-2007
Source: ComputerWorld Australia
Professional services firm Deloitte today announced an expansion of its data analytics group through a merger with local boutique firm Analytic Insight. The team of eight, comprising senior analytic consultants in Sydney and Melbourne, will join an existing national practice of 70 staff at Deloitte.
Deloitte CEO, Giam Swiegers, said data analytics was considered by today's leading organisations as the 'last frontier' in managing information overload and achieving strategic growth. "The use of data analytics or predictive analytics allows organisations to efficiently extract, clean and standardise data from multiple operational and legacy systems, as well as data in the public domain, to deliver real insights to business stakeholders," he said.
"The majority of organisations in Australia have the data available, to answer some of their most difficult and long held challenges, yet there are a number of impediments that are preventing them from realising these rewards."
Swiegers said the merger announced today increases Deloitte's capacities to assist organisations navigate data identification and acquisition, through to implementation of operational and market facing solutions.
"The Analytic Insight team will complement Deloitte's existing practice with their specialist knowledge in marketing, credit risk and information systems, and extensive experience in the telecommunications, finance, banking and retail industries," he said. "Deloitte intends to continue to seek further niche opportunities to enhance our existing service offering strengths through strategic alliances."
Partner Anthony Viel, head of Deloitte's data analytics group, said today organisations are collecting petabytes of data which is driving the demand for efficient data management, modelling and insight solutions. "Our increasingly sophisticated methodologies can be applied across all industries and issues, whether that be financial crime detection, customer behaviour or supply chain logistics," Viel said.
Analytic Insight founder and managing director, Dale de Luca, said the two-year-old boutique firm joined forces with Deloitte to have access to global resources and to extend their client service offering. "The Deloitte data analytics team is one of its fasting growing groups in the Australian practice and this merger will provide a solid platform, as one of the largest data analytic groups in the Asia Pacific," De Luca said. Financial details were not disclosed.