Accenture to Expand Industry X.0 Capabilities with Acquisition of Zielpuls to Create Smart Products and Services for Carmakers

KRONBERG & MUNICH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has entered into an agreement to acquire Zielpuls,
a technology consultancy headquartered in Germany. The acquisition will
bolster the capabilities of Accenture
Industry X.0 in the design of smart products and services for
automotive companies and will be expanded to support clients in the
medical technology, industrial equipment and high-tech industries.

Zielpuls provides architecture, development, engineering and management
services for complex digital products and services. Work examples
include an automated car parking system and development of the
architecture for driver assistance systems. The firm helped medical
technology companies automate production and align it to Good
Manufacturing Practices standards. It also defined the entire IT
architecture to operate high-speed trains for a leading transportation
company.

Founded in 2008, Zielpuls will bring a team of 190 highly skilled
professionals with a background in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics. Zielpuls is headquartered in Munich and has offices in
Wolfsburg and Hanover, Germany, Shanghai and Beijing, China.

Frank Riemensperger, senior country managing director for Accenture in
Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Russia (ASGR), said, “Zielpuls excels
at designing architectures and operating systems for smart, connected
products and services. It will add to the deep expertise we have been
building in this area and complement previous acquisitions, including
award-winning strategic design consultancy designaffairs.”

Axel Schmidt, managing director and global lead of Accenture’s
automotive industry practice, said, “The team of engineers and
technologists of Zielpuls will strengthen our ability to develop
connected, intelligent architectures for automotive clients, both in
Germany and globally. Like designaffairs, Zielpuls has established
business in Germany and China, which is strategic for us.”

Upon close, Zielpuls will become part of Accenture Industry X.0, which
helps clients master the digital reinvention of industry by using
advanced digital technologies to transform core operations, worker and
customer experiences, and business models.

Andrew Smith, managing director and Accenture Industry X.0 lead in ASGR,
said, “Zielpuls has started to branch out into other areas, such as
medical technology, where software and data-driven services will
transform the core products. Its engineering know-how and ability to
orchestrate operating systems for smart products will help us build an
organization that can co-create and reimagine smart connected products
and services with clients from ideation through production.”

Following completion of the acquisition, the Zielpuls co-CEOs Markus
Frey and Dr. Marc Poppner will join Accenture as managing directors.
They will continue to lead the Zielpuls team along with their existing
management team and support the firm’s transition to Accenture Industry
X.0.

Markus Frey, co-CEO of Zielpuls, said, “We are excited to become part of
Accenture Industry X.0 which will allow us to scale our services for
clients, get access to the best brands in the world and capitalize on
the huge market opportunity in the area of smart connected products and
services.”

Zielpuls will be the latest of several acquisitions Accenture has
recently made to expand Accenture Industry X.0. These include strategic
design consultancy designaffairs (Germany), Pillar
Technology (US) with its strong focus on embedded software
development for the automotive industry, hardware engineering firm Mindtribe
(US), and Enterprise
System Partners (Ireland), a consulting and manufacturing services
provider for the life sciences industry.

Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing
conditions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a
broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital,
technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and
specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business
functions — underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network —
Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help
clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their
stakeholders. With more than 477,000 people serving clients in more than
120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world
works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

Accenture Industry X.0 helps businesses master the digital reinvention
of industry when they use advanced digital technologies to transform
core operations and unlock new revenue streams and business models. We
support every aspect of our clients’ multi-phase transformation
including workforce, customer experience, R&D, engineering,
manufacturing, business support and ecosystems. Visit https://www.accenture.com/industry-x0.

Forward-Looking Statements

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Contacts

Jens R. Derksen
Accenture
+49 175 57 61393
jens.derksen@accenture.com

Youssef Zauaghi
Accenture
+49 175 57 66458
youssef.zauaghi@accenture.com

Thomas Wittek
Accenture
+49 175 57 63105
thomas.wittek@accenture.com