Software and automation specialists VMware and Accenture have announced the signing of an extended partnership that will see the pair launch a dedicated business group that will help organisations adopt a ‘cloud first’ strategy.

The new business unit will help enterprises and businesses accelerate their digital transformation efforts by streamlining their migration to the cloud, building modern apps more rapidly, and using the cloud as a fulcrum for innovation and new business models.

The new business group will form part of Accenture Cloud First, which Accenture launched in 2020 with a $3 billion investment to help businesses move and operate their businesses in the cloud.

Cloud is the single most powerful tool for mastering change,” said Julie Sweet, chief executive officer, Accenture.

“As organisations accelerate their move to the cloud and edge over the next few years, the Accenture VMware Business Group will help deliver the speed, scale and security they need to fundamentally reinvent their businesses and create more value.”

The Accenture VMware Business Group represents a new multi-year, multi-million-dollar investment from the two companies, and builds on over 20 years of collaboration between the two firms. The new business unit will be supported by approximately 2,000 Accenture cloud professionals trained in VMware products and services.

The two firms will develop a range of pre-engineered vertical industry solutions, including a platform to help telcos accelerate the rollout of 5G and edge computing services.

“To meet the demands of today’s unprecedented business environment, organisations must employ a multi-cloud strategy – more rapidly than ever before,” said Pat Gelsinger, chief executive officer, VMware.

“Increasingly, customers are running their applications on one or more clouds, datacenters and the edge and the Accenture VMware Business Group will bring together the world-class teams and expertise required, with the speed, agility, and resilience that organisations demand, today and tomorrow.”

The new business group will also launch a specialised VMware Cloud Migration Factory, which will allow customers to migrate their computing workloads to the cloud rapidly, more securely and confidently, using highly automated processes.

The VMware Cloud Migration Factory will give clients access to a controlled environment and dedicated resources to plan, test, migrate and modernise applications at scale to their preferred public, private and/or hybrid cloud.

“The pandemic brought about a new ‘next normal’ for organisations, one where they need to accelerate their use of cloud to modernise the business and serve as a foundation for innovation,” said Rick Villars, group vice president of worldwide research, IDC. “They recognise that public, private and hybrid cloud all play a critical role in this transition and they require technology cloud partners and service providers who are able to execute the strategies and provide the skills needed to drive this transformation faster than ever before.”

The Cynergy Bank human and digital model will transform banking for those customers who value a seamless blend of a face-to-face relationship that is enabled by the latest digital technology. This includes market segments such as neglected sections of the market like scaleup SMEs (ambitious small and medium businesses that have the capability and capacity to grow); professionals and mass affluent individuals.

Digital banks have focused their efforts on app-based delivery while large banks continue to adopt a ‘one size fits all approach’ to their small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and client relationships. Cynergy Bank will offer a personal relationship experience but with the infrastructure and software of a fully digital bank.

In addition to digitally-enabled traditional lending and savings products focused on customer needs, the bank will introduce a new suite of digital products. These will be delivered through the Bank’s digital products platform enabling the bank’s customers to access the next generation of banking and tailored support services to help customers grow their businesses.

“We are redefining what it means to be a relationship bank in the digital age, with face-to-face service blended with amazing technology,” said Nick Fahy, CEO of Cynergy Bank. “Our digital relationship bank – the first in the UK – will launch in early 2021, will enable our relationship managers to become growth advisors to their SME clients, with a suite of inputs, which will be delivered digitally. These include data insights into market dynamics and business performance by sectors. Each of the relationship managers will share these insights with customers so that they can review their business performance against the market and generate tangible actions to drive growth and deliver efficiencies.

“Many customers’ needs continue to fall between two stools. The neobanks focus their efforts on app-based delivery and large banks, in their rush to digitise, have failed to recognise that businesses, are looking for human relationship management from their bank as well as the latest digital technologies. In partnership with Google Cloud and Wipro, we will create a digital bank with real people to speak to. We are creating an end-to-end banking and business services technology platform based on Google Cloud and Wipro’s extensive financial services, digital and technology experience. We are really excited about what this new platform will offer our new and existing customers.”

The new model is set to launch in Q1 2021. The Bank will go beyond banking into offering a suite of additional tailored services delivered digitally to customers.

“Wipro is proud to partner with Cynergy Bank and Google Cloud to create this end-to-end digital banking and business services technology offering. With this partnership, we look forward to introducing a new way of banking to customers in the UK, followed by other markets around the world.” said Omkar Nisal, Senior Vice President and Head, Banking EMEA at Wipro Limited.