For the second consecutive year, Accenture (NYSE:ACN) is positioned in the “As-a-Service Winner Circle” of the HfS Research 2017 Blueprint Report: Design Thinking in the As-a-Service Economy.

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Accenture positioned in the As-a-Service Winner Circle of the HfS Research Blueprint Report: Design ...

Accenture positioned in the As-a-Service Winner Circle of the HfS Research Blueprint Report: Design Thinking in the As-a-Service Economy. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The report recognizes Accenture’s commitment to and leadership in using Design Thinking principles broadly across the business; its training and mentoring internally and with clients; and its “recognizable investments in future capabilities in talent and technology that continue to increase the value of Design Thinking methods.” Accenture is also praised as a “powerhouse” when it comes to depth and breadth in designing and developing solutions for industry relevance and business outcomes.

"HfS Research launched this Blueprint to explore and share how the human-centered, action-oriented principles and methods of Design Thinking are being integrated into the way service providers work in business operations and outsourcing," explained Barbra McGann, chief research officer, HfS Research. "Using Design Thinking in operations means that Accenture teams are not assuming they understand the client or stakeholder needs and solutions, but exploring more of the unconscious actions of their clients that can impact more meaningful design solutions and outcomes. Accenture and Fjord combine strong capabilities to ensure that what is designed is also viable within any business context and system infrastructure.”

A significant element of the assessment methodology was based on the progress of service providers in realizing the As-a-Service economy, which is focused on applying on-demand technology and talent to drive business outcomes.

“Accenture’s continued leadership in the Design Thinking space is a testament to our ongoing commitment to deliver innovation, thoughtful talent development and user-centric frameworks to our clients,” said Debbie Polishook, group chief executive of Accenture Operations. “We remain committed to embedding a flexible, iterative approach to transformational business process services that allows our clients to accelerate innovation.”

Additional Accenture strengths highlighted in the report include:

  • Design Thinking, Design Doing, Design Culture: Accenture has a culture of doing, so with Design Thinking and its focus on observing and understanding end users, it is adding in the element of digital product creation. With the acquisition of Fjord, Accenture brought global capabilities, methodologies, and studios it now uses for design projects, changing the way it works internally and with clients. Clients appreciate that Accenture can take into consideration what they know about their business when they design and manage complexity.
  • Thoughtful Talent Development: Accenture wants its entire workforce to understand the principles of Design Thinking–collaboration, human-centered, iterative. Training ranges from self-studies on Design Thinking to tools and workshops for experiential learning.
  • Innovation Framework: The Accenture Innovation Architecture supports a journey that includes, as warranted, research, prototyping, development, and implementation of services and operations support. It also gives clients comfort that innovation is tied to outcomes – through a project or on-going service.
  • Cultural Shift: Accenture’s rich history of consulting and operations work is focused on defining and delivering business outcomes. Design Thinking is helping to shift services and solutions to user-centric versus “best practices.”

The report assessed the innovation and execution capabilities of 11 major As-a-Service providers operationalizing Design Thinking, and reviewed their internal operations, client digital transformation and client business operations.

The results of this report were based on data collected in the fourth quarter of 2016 and first quarter of 2017, from buyers, service providers and advisors in the outsourcing services industry.

The HfS Research 2017 Blueprint Report: Design Thinking in the As-a-Service Economy can be accessed here.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 401,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.