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Oracle Hires Global Specialists To Explore Feasibility of Buying Accenture

Paul Kunert writes in an exclusive report via The Register: Oracle has hired global specialists to explore the feasibility of buying multi-billion dollar consultancy Accenture, sources have told us. The database giant has engaged a team of consultants to conduct due diligence to "explore the synergies that could be created if they [Oracle] bought Accenture lock stock and barrel," one source claimed. On top of the financial considerations, the consultants are evaluating the pros and cons including the potential impact on Oracle's wider channel. "While these things have a habit of fizzling out there are some fairly serious players around the table," a contact added. Another claimed the process was at an early stage. "If buying Accenture was a 100 meter race, Oracle is at the 10 to 15 meter stage now." [T]his buy would be an immensely bold, complicated and pricey move: NYSE-listed Accenture has a market cap of $77.5 billion, and shareholders will expect a premium offer. A deal would dwarf Oracle's $10 billion buy of PeopleSoft, its $7.4 billion deal for Sun Microsystems, and more recently, the $9.3 billion splashed on Netsuite. In buying Accenture, Oracle would be taking a leaf out of the mid-noughties handbook - when HP fatefully bought EDS and IBM acquired PWC to carve out a brighter future.

63 comments

  1. That won't end well by RotateLeftByte · · Score: 1

    for all parties.

    --
    I'd rather be riding my '63 Triumph T120.
    1. Re:That won't end well by jonsmirl · · Score: 4, Funny

      I can't begin to imagine the bills from a group of consultants evaluating a group of consultants. Is that billing squared?

    2. Re:That won't end well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Accenture has the best power-points in the business.
      They have a track record of micromanaged breakdown costing using mostly Indian labor - which used to be IBM's secret (with proven locals).
      All players only bid on a cost plus model, and score big on the extras that are bound to come along.
      Tracking actual delivery and client experience - they are no better than the old lot, and delivery is always short and over budget.
      However they track clients 'changes' and 'out of scope extras' professionally, so upset clients cannot say anything bad - other than admit they had no clue on what outsourcing meant. Their ineffectual employees always look busy and mostly blend in, with all the key sign offs they need when things sour.

      Some predict they will earn the same rap as IBM or HPE. The next untapped market is moving to proprietary clouds, where Oracle and SAP cloudvendor and MS then fang and trap the client. This means the pie is shrinking - not expanding.

      In short a future disaster - They are at a peak (and so is outsourcing) - so they should grab the money and run. Oracle were a slick machine, but not even Accenture can sell the Oracle stack( with falling marketshare). Oracle: save your cash. Just poach the well connected PowerPoint people.

    3. Re:That won't end well by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 1

      Just for once the only change in end user experience from an Oracle buyout will be the size of the bill. Normally they have to downgrade features to match their own shitty offerings, however, Accenture is already there.

      --

      Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

    4. Re:That won't end well by gweihir · · Score: 1

      I agree. Since a world without Oracle and Accenture would be a decidedly better world, I hope they do it though.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  2. huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    just imagine the synergy of two companies peddling the same bullsh*t.

    1. Re:huh by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      just imagine the synergy of two companies peddling the same bullsh*t.

      The merge will be detected by LIGO.

  3. 3D printed AI synergies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    in privately funded asteroid mined Mars colonies!!!

    It's DA FEWTCHA!!!!!

  4. "Explore the synergies" will be worth it by raymorris · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You know a consultant is worth every dime when they're going to "explore the synergies". That phrase makes me wonder - did they hire *actual* consultants or parodies?

    1. Re:"Explore the synergies" will be worth it by BenJeremy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In the world of business executives, they've formalized "synergy" as having a real meaning - how can we use the excuse of merging facilities and people in such a way that we can justify cutting costs far deeper than what will support our current contracts or future business, in order to shore up stock prices int he short term (and collect out golden parachutes when it collapses... and after we've cashed out our own stock, of course).

      See: HPE spinning off former EDSers and the remainder of their enterprise folks to CSC in the form of "DXC Technology" - a company already stripped to the bone, driven by "synergies" and after the "spin-merge" is completed on April 1 (great day for it), they'll commence even more reductions in their workforce and more replacement of skilled, experienced labor in favor of recent college graduates (who will probably only stay for a year or two anyway). Oddly enough, these massive cuts to the rank-and-file workers is never accompanied by a similar slaughter of the upper-level management (which only becomes even more lop-sided)

      Basically, the moment two companies talk about a merger and "synergies", it is the start of the downward spiral for both (or at least formal acknowledgment).

    2. Re:"Explore the synergies" will be worth it by Kjella · · Score: 1

      You know a consultant is worth every dime when they're going to "explore the synergies". That phrase makes me wonder - did they hire *actual* consultants or parodies?

      Wait until he discovers Dilbert is not a parody but a documentary...

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    3. Re:"Explore the synergies" will be worth it by jenningsthecat · · Score: 1

      Basically, the moment two companies talk about a merger and "synergies", it is the start of the downward spiral for both...

      I don't know anything about Accenture. As for Oracle, I'd be happy to see them circling the drain. Too bad Ellison would never go down with the ship though.

      --
      'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
    4. Re:"Explore the synergies" will be worth it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In the world of business executives, they've formalized "synergy" as having a real meaning ...

      I can only imagine the level setting and laser focus that was required to formalize this.

    5. Re:"Explore the synergies" will be worth it by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 3, Funny

      Accenture is basically a giant body shop of consultants and no skill cheap contractors. Their consultants will blow smoke up your ass harder than a fully loaded 2 stroke marine diesel and their contractors suck harder than a black hole with daddy issues. I have twice dealt with Accenture at customer sites and I have never met one who wasn't just wasting my valuable oxygen.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    6. Re:"Explore the synergies" will be worth it by packrat0x · · Score: 1

      Accenture was the consulting arm of Arthur Andersen (which is an accounting firm). Consulting in accounting usually means how to structure contracts to minimize tax consequences.

      --
      227-3517
    7. Re:"Explore the synergies" will be worth it by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Accenture is basically a giant body shop of consultants and no skill cheap contractors. Their consultants will blow smoke up your ass harder than a fully loaded 2 stroke marine diesel and their contractors suck harder than a black hole with daddy issues. I have twice dealt with Accenture at customer sites and I have never met one who wasn't just wasting my valuable oxygen.

      Yes, but if anyone can find a way to make Accenture suck even worse, it's Oracle.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  5. Dumb idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    H1b reform will put Accenture out of business.

    1. Re:Dumb idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Spot on.

      Not even Larry Ellison can stump the Trump.

    2. Re:Dumb idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      H1B will take 6+ years to thin out and even then won't affect outsourcing. Too little too late.

    3. Re:Dumb idea by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      How cute. You actually think it's going to happen.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    4. Re:Dumb idea by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      Twenty-odd Freedom Caucus members was all it took to send Trump packing over health care. Maybe he was a great businessman (a debatable point), but as a political negotiator, he may be the worst the US has had since James Buchanan.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    5. Re:Dumb idea by gtall · · Score: 1

      The 20 odd is putting it a bit too quickly. To satisfy them they'd have to throw overboard the more moderate Republicans and the bill would still have gone down.

      And Trump isn't a businessman in the yuge sense of the word. He was not the CEO of a corporation, he was CEO (still is) of a Ma and Pa Kettle operation beholden to no one except the rubes who loaned him money, which appears to include some shady Russian characters who are the muscle behind Putin.

    6. Re:Dumb idea by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      To satisfy them they'd have to throw overboard the more moderate Republicans and the bill would still have gone down.

      The moderate Republicans already left in the last eight years. Only the extremists remain. A so called moderate today is just someone who is a shade less extremist than the next guy.

    7. Re:Dumb idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It costs more than half a million dollar to have a baby and make them graduate even to the level of average H1B. USA gets this full grown man raised by some other country for free. It should be happy. 85,000 H1B is worth 43 Billion dollars. Either start having your own baby and educate them well or import already grown ones.

  6. they will form by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    they will form the gayest and most evil company in the world.

    1. Re:they will form by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      they will form the gayest and most evil company in the world.

      Way to go Oracle, beating Microsoft and Apple respectively

    2. Re: they will form by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually Oracle already beat MS and Apple hands down on the evil scale long ago.

      Larry Ellison is so good at squeezing every ounce of profit and life out of the stuff they acquire it's not even funny.

      They are just not as flashy (even if they try... really HARD) so they didn't get the spotlight (even if they really really want to be cool).

    3. Re: they will form by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mmmm.... in that sense....I can only say it's Accenture's Karma if Oracle bought them :)

      It will be such a nice show to watch.

  7. How do I get this job? by bigdady92 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Oracle: We want to hire you to tell us if buying this company is a good deal
    Me: Sounds like you want me to be a consultant...

    O: No no no Consultant is such a 90's term "Global Acquisition Specialist" is better.
    Me: ...and you want me to tell you if spending money on something is a good idea...

    O: Oh no, this has to be a SMART expenditure of capital! We can't be wasting Larry's cash that's reserved for a small Bohemian island on a Dud!
    Me:...even though purchasing something that is well known to be a horrible investment is a bad idea...

    O: You have to look at it TODAY not how it was THEN! Things change you know this!
    Me: ...and this purchase price will still be in the billions...

    O: That's only a few Oracle Database Enterprise licenses. Pocket change
    Me:..and you want to wrap this up in the next Quarter.

    O: Sooner the better, due diligence and all that.
    Me: I'll submit my invoices straight away starting with this conversation.

    O: CAPITAL! I knew we hired the right team!
    Me: <looks around at the empty chairs only person in the room>

    --
    Wheel of Time: Book by Book and Sumview (summary review) Bigdady92 style: http://bigdady92.blogspot.com/
  8. noughties? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What the hell is that?

    1. Re:noughties? by geekmux · · Score: 1

      What the hell is that?

      Millennial hipster-speak for identifying the decade that follows the 90s.

    2. Re:noughties? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      The decade that came after the Y2K bug fizzled out and the Rapture didn't happen. As a video game tester, Y2K was a total non-event. As a Christian, the church founder got kicked out because the Rapture didn't happen and no one wanted to put up with him for another 30 years (the message changed from "being faithful to the end" to "being faithful to the end of your lifetime"). Fun times.

    3. Re:noughties? by gtall · · Score: 1

      The Y2K bug didn't fizzle in the sense you think it did. It was put to rest because a lot of companies spent a lot of money fixing their systems. Fear and the bottom line more or less guaranteed the worst would not happen.

    4. Re:noughties? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      The Y2K bug didn't fizzle in the sense you think it did. It was put to rest because a lot of companies spent a lot of money fixing their systems. Fear and the bottom line more or less guaranteed the worst would not happen.

      Windows ME (Millennium Edition) was a bigger end of the world event for video game testers, lacking hardware support for most video games. Many video game companies boycotted ME. Microsoft came out with Windows 98 SE (Second Edition).

  9. The wonderful thing about IT consulting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The wonderful thing about IT consulting is that you can speak total horseshit. Folks will assume that they are just ignorant of something and are too afraid of looking stupid and being the subject of out of earshot gossip - you know, being THAT guy* - and keep their mouths shut and don't ask questions or call them on anything.

    So, everyone nods their heads like they understand, act like they know what it all means because THEY aren't stupid and the consultant takes home a nice big fat paycheck.

    *-"That guy" is the guy that everyone slams behind his back as being "worthless" or "sucking" or whatever. But it's funny that when you try to pin down the gossipy little cunts as to exactly WHY the person is worthless, they can't do it or they make of shit. My hobby is grilling gossipy little bitches because they do nothing but bring the team down.

    I had one once claim that "THAT" guy sucked because he had a "lot of bugs in his code". It was horribly fun when I pointed out that the little bitch had MORE defects than the guy who "sucked".

    So, when folks in our profession stop acting like Mean Girls (Awesome Movie!!), we won't have to deal with this horseshit.

    1. Re:The wonderful thing about IT consulting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh fuck off. You sound like the kind of useless eater that infests the enterprise. I'm not one of your "folks" btw.

      Do stuff well, stop talking shit, and techies will get on board with you are doing. You once took down some random moron, but probably steer well clear of the real SMEs, right?

    2. Re: The wonderful thing about IT consulting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah the mod points this deserves that I would bestow upon you if only they were mine to give. No one abides gossipy little cunts.

  10. In a related news... by LordHighExecutioner · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...well known consulting firm Accenture announced that they signed an important agreement with an unspecified Silicon Valley company specialized in databases. Accenture will provide consultancy services for market research, and advices in the field of acquisition & merging. The amount of the agreement has not been disclosed.

  11. HP bought EDS during their greatest failure by jfdavis668 · · Score: 2

    EDS was building the Navy-Marine Corps Internet, and woefully underestimated the scale of the project. They low bid thinking they would do so well they would earn all the contract incentive awards later to make up for it. Well, they didn't. It almost killed the company. Made them ripe picking for HP. Only thing was, now HP had to deal with EDS's problem. It didn't turn out as well as they thought. As long as Oracle understands Accenture's issues and problems right now, they should end up with a better deal than HP did.

  12. SAP ? by ardmhacha · · Score: 1

    Accenture is a big SAP implementer, and other rival software (Microsoft, salesforce.com).

    1. Re:SAP ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not for long if the sale goes through. This looks to me like the end result will be Oracle/Accenture versus IBM in a race to bankruptcy (or at least to irrelevance)

    2. Re:SAP ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      also SAP uses and OWNS SYBASE, so oracle could kill it easily

    3. Re:SAP ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      SAP already killed SYBASE long ago..... It is now promoting HANA. It has said that it won't support Oracle after 2025. Many of SAP customers are not happy with it. 8 years is not enough to move away from SAP and they don't believe HANA will work as good as Oracle DB.

  13. In related news .... by motorsabbath · · Score: 1

    ... the 50,000 Accenture employees that are actually paying attention just shat their pants...

    --
    The heat from below can burn your eyes out
    1. Re: In related news .... by DeBaas · · Score: 1

      ... the 50,000 Accenture employees that are actually paying attention just shat their pants...

      No problem, 90% of them still wear diapers

      --
      ---
  14. Popcorn futures by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    Popcorn futures up 5% on the news.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  15. I approve by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The merger of Accenture(tm) and Orance(R) will create a manageable and scaleable enterprise computing solution which will leverage Java-based hypervisorsors to enable dynamic platform management strategies to improve total costs of ownership in the management of information technology sectors.

    Oh, and Synergies.

  16. ASS-enter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A certain IT news/scandal site that sprung out of the dotcom bust used to instruct its readership on how to pronounce Accenture's name, whenever it was in the news.

  17. Oracle + Accenture by myNameIsNotImportant · · Score: 2

    This merger should make for a really fascinating corporation.

    While at it, why not merge with Monsanto, Halliburton, and Blackwater --- not as if their reputation/image can get any worse...

    (Oracle's reputation is well-known in these here parts. Accenture grew out of Andersen Consulting, a sister company to Arthur Andersen, accountants that didn't detect anything wrong w/Enron back in 00s).

    1. Re:Oracle + Accenture by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      MCI Woldcom was of double the size of Enron and went to bankruptcy for exactly the same reasons but no one cared. Guess who was the auditor? The same as Enron's. It happened right after Enron debacle.

  18. Again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The first time I heard Oracle was considering buying Accenture was back in 2009, when I was still working at Accenture. Our partners were all quivering with anticipation for an offer for their shares and were getting ready to jump ship before everything went down the drain after an eventual acquisition

    1. Re:Again? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Oracle doesn't have the same cachet as it used to have in the dot com run up. I had a roommate who was so proud that he owned a share of Oracle at $475 (IIRC). Never understood why that floated his boat. For that much money, I could buy a cheaper stock that paid out dividends.

  19. Newer than new. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    WTF?
    "New isn't on it's way. We're applying it right now."

  20. Interesting... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Not every day that I read on Slashdot to find out that Oracle is planning to buy the parent company I work for indirectly via subcontractor. This should be fun. :/

  21. Lashing ships together so they sink better by netsavior · · Score: 1

    When you scuttle a fleet of ships, typically you lash them all together, so that there are less likely to be floaters: Deadweight pulls other deadweight down. It is nice to see the ships lashing themselves together here, so they can all sink faster.

  22. Impressive. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

    Doubling down on the failure is a bold move. ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  23. Bit Time Consulting by StikyPad · · Score: 1

    The old comics are as relevant as ever. It's actually pretty funny to see how little has changed in the software consulting business.

    http://exposingevilempire.com/...

    RIP James Sanchez

    1. Re:Bit Time Consulting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      James Sanchez is dead? I worked for the firm for about 5 years back in the early noughties and loved the Bc strip. So sad to hear that he;'s no longer with us.

  24. Guaranteed jobs for new grads by ErichTheRed · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Maybe when the FTC gets hold of this merger, it'll be approved solely on the merits of "job creation." Let me explain...

    I've had the full experience of working for companies that hired Accenture and the other large management consulting firms over my career. Over the course of working with people, you get to talking. Almost every single client facing employee they have on-shore is a recent college graduate. These firms are structured very much like other professional services firms -- you need to be in them from the beginning of your career (unless they're hiring you for a limited skill set they can't offshore or teach to a new grad.) The consultancies want to get new hires before they've had a chance to learn any other company's "bad habits." As a result, they need a constant pipeline of fresh new college graduates, which could be touted as "job creation."

    My experience has been that Accenture and the like has a crack team of partners who bring in their A-Team senior consultants to sell the dream to executives. Once the contract is signed, the partners and the A-Team are replaced with a C-Team full of Joe/Jane Average clones. One of the other reasons they hire recent grads is the fact that all of them fly to client sites, then fly home on weekends, for most of the year. The on-site people are solely responsible for project managing, presenting PowerPoints, and collecting requirements. Any actual work that needs to be done is sent to India or other cheap "delivery centers." So, it makes sense -- you have a guaranteed employment sink for new grads with business degrees, and can point to it as "saving domestic jobs."

    One thing that would be strange is how Oracle would manage them. A funny thing I've heard from multiple Accenture employees is that there's an actual indoctrination session before they send you in front of clients. Because they're just getting raw graduates, absolutely everything is taught, such as how to dress, what language to use in front of customers, and a mini-MBA school. (I think this is why you see so many young-ish people in identical dark suits hanging out in airport lounges loudly discussing synergies on conference calls.) This would be an interesting clash with Oracle's sales culture, but it makes sense. They would have a ready resource to sell right along with their ERP software -- and there would be zero incentive whatsoever for Oracle to make the software implementable by end users. (This is SAP's MO by the way, Oracle is just stealing it.)

    1. Re:Guaranteed jobs for new grads by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Because they're just getting raw graduates, absolutely everything is taught, such as how to dress, what language to use in front of customers, and a mini-MBA school.

      It would be interesting to find leaked video of the courses. The snow-job lessons could be quite entertaining; a kind of Dilbert-based Cult.

  25. Joint Venture More Likely by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's more likely they'll do a joint venture similar to Avanade, which is owned by Microsoft and Accenture. This has more or less worked. And, it's way less risky.

  26. A good candidate to ruin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oracle ruined Solaris, Sparc, and Java. I gladly welcome them to ruin Accenture. Accenture thoroughly exploits the developing world, with US based management who deserve third world income.

  27. What ever works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anything that kills that giant lamprey is a net positive. Oracle certainly has demonstrated the ability so we can only hope that there is one less blood sucking parasite in the business world.