Accenture to Acquire Openminded

Accenture has entered into an agreement to acquire 12-year-old French cybersecurity services company Openminded. 

The Irish multinational consulting and processing services company said that the acquisition would strengthen its security presence and capabilities in France and stimulate Accenture’s growth in Europe.

Openminded is a provider of advisory, cyber-defense, cloud & infrastructure security, and managed security services. The company was founded in 2008 and now has over 100 internal staff working in four business units. 

In 2020, Openminded’s turnover was €19m. According to its website, the company has 120 active customers in the public and private sectors and 40 editor partners.

Customers of Openminded include Chanel, BNP Paribas, Sarnoff, Etam, La Banque Postal, Banque De France, Thales, AXA, and Accor Hotels. 

Kelly Bissell, global leader of Accenture Security’s worldwide workforce of nearly 7,000 professionals, said that the resilience of today’s organizations was dependent on their approach to cybersecurity.

“With cyberattacks becoming more complex, constant and costly every day, companies must fully embed cybersecurity into the different layers of their organizations to ensure resilience,” said Bissell.

He added that the planned purchase of Openminded would help to protect the digital estates of Accenture’s clients going forward. 

“The acquisition of Openminded supports our commitment to leveraging technology and human ingenuity to help clients be confident and secure in the face of constant change,” said Bissell.

“We look forward to welcoming Openminded’s team to Accenture and helping clients defend against cyber threats more effectively across their entire ecosystem—now and in the future.”

Hervé Rousseau, Openminded’s founder and CEO, said his company aimed to build a synergy with Accenture that would support the delivery of services worldwide. 

“Joining forces with Accenture is a great opportunity for our teams and our clients,” said Rousseau. “The alliance of our talent and capabilities perfectly leverages our expertise and would allow us to deliver on a global scale. 

“Today, the fight against cyberattacks requires the implementation of the most advanced technologies, as well as the human resources to make them efficient. This is the synergy we are going to build and put at the service of our clients.”

Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.