SAP’s SAP Sapphire conference accounted for several of the biggest news items that crossed the wire in the consulting industry last week. Boardroom Insight caught up with the software vendor, as well as three of its largest partners, for a closer look at the updates. Elsewhere, WPP rebranded its core advertising unit, EY launched an on-premise AI offering and KPMG unveiled its next management committee. Plus, a brief discussion of Dell’s latest supercomputer construction contract in The Weekly Briefing’s technology subsection. 

The big story: At SAP Sapphire, Accenture introduced a suite of services designed to help clients adopt the SAP Business Suite. The offering is geared towards companies with fast-growing top lines under $5 billion per year. Accenture senior managing director Caspar Borggreve, the global lead of the firm’s SAP Business Group, briefed Boardroom Insight on the rollout of the new services. We also heard from SAP, Amazon Web Services and Google’s public cloud business about the news they announced at Sapphire.

WPP rebranded its flagship advertising unit. GroupM, which manages more than $60 billion worth of annual ad purchases for the marketing giant’s largest clients, is now known as WPP Media. The renamed unit’s three core subsidiaries, namely Mindshare, Wavemaker and EssenceMediacom, will retain their current brands.

EY expands its AI portfolio. The Big Four firm has a new offering called EY.ai enterprise private that will help large organizations create on-premises AI clusters. Customers will receive access to EY-developed AI models, Dell hardware and Nvidia’s Blackwell graphics cards. The chip vendor is also set to supply other components including networking technology.

DXC Technology wins new partner recognition. Dynatrace, an NYSE-listed firm with a platform that helps companies monitor their IT infrastructure for issues, has named the consultancy its global partner of the year. The software vendor cited DXC’s efforts to drive the adoption of its technology as one of the factors behind the decision. Partner accolades are a useful marketing asset for IT consultancies, particularly when they come from a large tech company.

Leadership changes

KPMG’s U.S. member firm has revealed its next management committee. The group includes eight vice chairs who will oversee the firm’s business operations. There is one vice chair for each of KPMG’s three core units, namely its audit, tax and advisory practices. The Big Four firm also has a vice chair of AI and digital innovation. The management committee will start its work on July 1. 

BDO USA will have a new CEO. The firm’s current top executive, Wayne Berson, plans to retire next June. BDO USA’s top line nearly quadrupled to about $3 billion during his tenure. The board of directors nominated Matthew Becker, who is currently the national managing principal of the firm’s tax business, to succeed Berson. The appointment will become official once a majority of BDO USA principals approve it.

Technology corner

Dell has won another supercomputing contract. The data center vendor has been hired to build a system called NERSC-10 for the U.S. Department of Energy. It will feature liquid-cooled servers equipped with Nvidia’s upcoming Vera-Rubin chips. The supercomputer is expected to support research in fields such as materials design and molecular dynamics.

Photo courtesy of SAP