News round-up: January 12

A handful of top consultancies make the round-up today, but there's little of real significance to report.

Accenture kicks off today's rundown with a real mouthful, having completed its acquisition of obviously-German software consultants CAS Computer Anwendungs- und Systemberatung AG, better known as CAS. 234 former CAS employees from Australia, Germany, the UK and the US are now officially a part of the Accenture fold. CAS specializes in CRM software and support, and most of its major clients hail from the consumer products industry. A press release suggested that CAS's expertise would help Accenture break into the realm of digital merchandising.

Yesterday, Logica announced a strategic alliance with Microsoft which will see the former grow its cloud computing capabilities. Firm representatives said that they expect to see a 10 percent increase in revenue from cloud computing as a result of the engagement.

On a slightly personal note, Cognizant announced this week that it had bagged ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) as its latest client. The tech consultancy will provide "a range of remote IT infrastructure management (RIM) services" to the group, which is seeking to cut down on costs. Yeah, I bet ASCAP's IT costs are high—these guys spam my Gmail inbox day in, day out with enough worthless garbage to bring a young man to tears. Cognizant, do your worse.

Lastly, Alvarez & Marsal is bringing its corporate finance practice to Canada. The new division will be led by Dean Mullett, a recent PwC steal with a mildly amusing last name. A&M are, according to Mullett, "just what Canadian companies need to tackle the increasingly complex and challenging global capital markets."

That is all.

For more information:
Accenture Completes Acquisition of CAS Computer Anwendungs- und Systemberatung AG
Logica joins forces with Microsoft
ASCAP Selects Cognizant's Infrastructure Management Services
Alvarez & Marsal Launches Corporate Finance Practice in Canada