Accenture acquires ?What If!

The deal will boost Accenture’s front-end innovation capabilities, which are used by clients to prototype and scale products. Headquartered in London, with offices in New York and Shanghai, ?What If! employs 150 staff across strategy, insight and research, ideation, design and commercial analytics.

Established in 1992, the company develops programmes and methods to train people and organisations on innovation culture, including proprietary metrics to measure a project’s commercial viability. It works with clients in a range of sectors, including consumer goods and services, finance and healthcare.

John Zealley, who leads Accenture’s Customer Insight and Growth practice, said: “Together with ?What If!, we will help C-suite executives ask the right questions at the front end of their innovation journeys, imagine the ‘art of the possible,’ and then reinvent themselves — a core part of Accenture’s Living Business growth proposition for clients.”

Dave Allan, co-founder and board member at ?What If!, said: “By joining forces with Accenture, we can industrialise and scale our frameworks and methodologies, offering our existing client base a broad range of technology-related capabilities.”

He added that the acquisition would allow clients to “turn disruptive ideas into innovative digital solutions that drive business performance”.