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Accenture is acquiring Soben, a Glasgow-based construction consultancy that helps companies build data centers.

The dollar value of the transaction was not disclosed. 

Cloud infrastructure providers are expanding their data center networks to prepare for the anticipated growth in AI usage. Similar steps are being taken by co-location firms, which are companies that lease data center space to other businesses. These parallel trends are generating demand for new server farms, which is where Soben comes into the picture. Cloud providers and co-location providers hire the firm to help them coordinate their data center construction projects.

One of Soben’s focus areas is commercial management. This is a construction industry term for determining the cost of a new development and whether the expected return will cover that cost. In the co-location market, that might mean analyzing whether a new data center will draw enough cloud provider tenants to turn a profit.

Once construction is underway, Soben helps clients ensure that the work is carried out without delays or cost overruns. Additionally, the consultancy aligns new data centers with the client’s sustainability goals. Because data centers’ power usage accounts for much of their carbon footprint, cutting electricity use is often the core priority of sustainability initiatives in this market. One way companies go about the task is by placing their server farms in locations with cold winters, where less electricity is needed to run server cooling equipment. Data center operators also make significant investments in green energy sourcing agreements.

“Soben will enhance our infrastructure and capital projects capabilities across Europe, particularly boosting our practice in the UK,” Accenture executive Maddie Walker commented in a prepared statement. 

Soben employs 250 staffers and has a presence in about a dozen markets. Accenture will fold the firm into its Industry X unit, which provides engineering consulting services. The unit is active in not only the construction sector but also other asset-heavy verticals such as the manufacturing segment, where it works on production line optimization projects.

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