Accenture has acquired True North Solutions, a provider of industrial engineering solutions headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, in a deal that provides it further exposure to the oil and gas and mining industries.
True North Solutions expands Accenture’s expertise in operational technology (OT) in these sectors. OT is the hardware and software systems with which companies run and control physical equipment and facilities, such as pipelines, refineries, plants and mines.
Accenture will help clients better connect their OT to their enterprise IT systems, for example, to optimise the output and safety of existing equipment and facilities through real-time data analytics, it says. Accenture says it will also work with the True North Solutions team to engineer and commission new field operations and facilities where OT and IT are seamlessly integrated and processes are digitized from the start.
“True North Solutions brings boots-on-the-ground understanding of how to design, build and commission our clients’ critical assets and infrastructure,” Adam Foster, Accenture Canada’s Energy Portfolio leader, said. “We are combining True North Solutions’ unique expertise with our advanced digital capabilities, such as digital thread, predictive maintenance and intelligent asset management, to improve the performance and safety of our clients’ field operations.”
David Morgenstern, President of Accenture in Canada, said: “In welcoming True North Solutions to our Industry X and Resources team at Accenture, we will help our clients benefit from transformative technologies such as generative and predictive AI through digitally enabled field operations. Smart operations means greater productivity and predictability, helping clients operate with increased efficiency and safety, and we’re pleased to be advancing these capabilities in the industry and in Canada.”
Blair Hanel, CEO of True North Solutions, added: “By joining Accenture, we’re giving our clients in North America access to Accenture’s digital leadership in areas such as cloud, data and AI, and global scale, which will help them advance their businesses. Our teams will benefit from the opportunity to grow and deepen their careers in one of the world’s most innovative, inclusive and global organisations.”
True North Solutions’ services encompass engineering and commissioning, industrial automation solutions, enterprise asset management, OT cybersecurity and digital infrastructure for industrial telecommunications. It brings a team of 95 experts in automation, instrumentation and electrical engineering to Accenture, who will join the company’s digital engineering and manufacturing service, Industry X.