Accenture Asia

ABOUT THIS COMPANY:

An accented future

Initially called Andersen Consulting, Accenture was established in 1989 when a group of partners from the consulting divisions of various Arthur Andersen firms around the world decided to start their own consultancy. Their newly formed organization focused on consulting and technology services related to managing large-scale systems integration and enhancing business processes. In August 2000, after a lengthy negotiation process and a US$1.2 billion payment to its parent company, Andersen Consulting went out on its own—and was in need of a new name. Its leaders chose Accenture, derived from the phrase "accent on the future." The firm officially changed its name and began doing business as Accenture in January 2001.

The neologized name earned some chuckles when it was first announced, but these days Accenture is having the last laugh. The firm had more than US$23 billion in annual revenue in the fiscal year ending August 2008, and boasts operations in more than 200 cities in 52 countries worldwide. In 2009, Accenture was ranked No. 2 in infotech services on Fortune's Most Admired Companies list (losing out to IBM after three years at the top of the list) as well as being named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by the magazine. In the same year, publication DiversityInc included Accenture on its prestigious top 50 companies list for the third year in a row. Meanwhile, BusinessWeek ranked the firm the 47th most valuable brand in the world in 2008.

Accenture's business is built around five industry operating groups: communications and high tech, financial services, products (including automotive, consumer goods and services, health & life sciences,  retail, transportation and travel services and industrial equipment), resources (including chemicals, energy, natural resources and utilities) and public service. Experts in three growth platforms—management consulting, systems integration and technology, and outsourcing—work closely with professionals in the industry-focused operating groups. Accenture's practice also fields business processing outsourcing (BPO) teams, which provide function- or industry-specific services to clients on an outsourced basis.

Target: India

Accenture now has more than 40,000 employees in India, making that country home to one of the company's largest workforces. The firm has been in India since 1987, and today its offices there serve more than 500 global clients, including a number of Fortune 1000 companies.

With 13 delivery centers in six cities—Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune—India is an integral part of the Accenture Global Delivery Network, a network of more than 50 integrated delivery centers around the world. Meanwhile, Accenture Technology Labs (in Bangalore) handles systems integration and software engineering R&D, with a focus on reducing the cost and improving the quality of technology solution delivery.

Racking it up in the Philippines

The Philippines, meanwhile, was one of the first countries that Accenture (then Andersen Consulting) identified as a place for potential expansion in the 1980s. The firm's operations in the country began as a single offshore application development center, but in the past 20 years it has become one of the largest nodes in Accenture's global delivery network and is now focused on technology and BPO.

Today, the firm has more than 15,000 staff in the Philippines with operations in Manila and Cebu, providing systems integration, application and infrastructure outsourcing, and voice and non-voice BPO to clients in Europe, North America and Asia. The firm continues to boost its presence in the Philippines by expanding its global delivery network. In August 2007, a new IT training center was established in Cebu. The center works jointly with MIT to establish a training curriculum for outsourcing professionals.

For the second straight year, Accenture's Philippines business was awarded the Outstanding Exporter Award by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) for being one of the 25 outstanding companies in the Philippines. Accenture Philippines was also named the BPO Employer of the Year in 2008 and the BPO Company of the Year in 2007 by the International ICT Awards.

Across Greater China

Accenture's Greater China operations have expanded over the past few years as well. The firm now employs almost 4,000 professionals in Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Taipei. The firm has been working with governments and corporations in China for over two decades, which began with a presence in Hong Kong and Taipei. Offices in Shanghai and Beijing opened in 1993 and 1994, respectively, and delivery centers in Dalian and Shanghai sprung up in 2002. The first Guangzhou office opened in 2004, expanding the firm's reach to mainland China's southern provinces.

In addition to helping multinational organizations develop China-focused strategy, Accenture keeps an exceptionally strong foothold in the domestic Chinese market—80 percent of its clients are Chinese organizations. Accenture has been involved in upgrading systems for state-owned businesses and has assisted with IT projects for the country's four major telecom carriers. Over the past few years, Accenture has helped build a new core banking system for China Minsheng Banking Corporation, and has worked with the Shenzhen State Tax Bureau to help implement a more efficient IT system. Alongside the Deutsche Börse, the firm also implemented a new-generation trading platform for the Shanghai Stock Exchange beginning in 2004. Other major clients for Accenture in the region have included China Everbright Bank, Shanghai Municipal Power, Sinopec and China Mengniu Dairy.