• National consulting firm Accenture (NYSE:ACN) announced today that it acquired Atlanta-based cloud-computing consulting firm Cloud Sherpas for an undisclosed amount.
• Accenture will incorporate Cloud Sherpas into its new Cloud First Applications team, adding more than 1,100 professionals specializing in Salesforce.com, Google, ServiceNow and other pure-play technologies.
• The deal joins two leaders in their respective spaces: Accenture, a $30 billion outsourcing giant at No. 2 on the CRN Solution Provider 500; and Cloud Sherpas, No. 3 on CRN's 2015 Fast Growth list with a 289 percent two-year growth rate.

Looking to the Cloud As A Differentiator

• Complexity in Simplicity: While an often-cited benefit of the transition to the cloud is a more "simple" IT setup, there is ample opportunity for integrators and configurators skilled at working with existing legacy applications and customizing solutions to fit clients' unique needs. By adding Cloud Sherpas to its portfolio, Accenture taps into this area and is able to service clients throughout their transition.
• Positioning Itself to Service Growing Demand: Accenture has found that its typical clients are increasingly embracing the cloud platform, and it has raced to accommodate them. Cloud revenues hit $1 billion in 2013, and since then the company has acquired multiple cloud assets to bolster its offerings portfolio. 
• No Coincidence: This announcement comes as Salesforce.com launches its Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. Accenture already has more than 2,700 consultants who work on Salesforce integration, and with this acquisition it is gaining 500 more. In the press release announcing the transaction, Salesforce.com vice chairman and president Keith Block was quoted hailing the transaction as "exciting for our ecosystem."

For more information about this transaction, click here to read the press release.