5 deals in Jan 21 with intense activity in IT

2. Cognizant acquires 500-strong Australia-headquartered technology consultancy Servian

500-strong Australia-headquartered technology consultancy Servian has been acquired by Cognizant. Servian was founded in 2008 and has over the past twelve years grown into one of Australia’s larger technology and data & analytics consulting firm. Since inception, the firm has worked with more than 190 major companies in Australia and New Zealand in the banking, telecommunications, insurance, retail, and government sectors, including eight of ANZ’s 15 largest companies. The digital consultancy helps its clients with advisory, technology and managed services offerings in areas such as data and analytics, cloud infrastructure, DevOps, UI/UX, customer engagement, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and internet of things. Backing its portfolio are partnerships with major software vendors, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Salesforce, Snowflake, Oracle and Red Hat.

3. Technology consultancy, Idea11 ropes in investment for growth

Idea11, a Brisbane-based cloud consultancy specialised in Amazon Web Services, is now poised to expand its operations across Australia, following a capital injection from investment management firm PieLAB. Since launching in 2009, Idea11 has grown to a team of 50 professionals spread across two offices – Brisbane and Sydney – serving a wide range of clients over the years, including the City of Gold Coast, Queensland Government, EB Games and TAE Aerospace, among others. The award-winning end-to-end digital transformation services firm is now ready for its next phase of growth. Founded by a team of established entrepreneurs, PieLAB is an investment firm that helps grow promising small and medium enterprises, mainly via capital injections and mentorship. Idea11 is the latest beneficiary of this offering, following an undisclosed investment from PieLAB.

4. Siesma acquires Melbourne based specialist IT consulting business, coIB

Seisma enhances complex migration capability with acquisition of Melbourne Based Specialist Firm coIB. Seisma, acquired by Liverpool Partners in October 2020, has completed the acquisition of coIB, a Melbourne based specialist IT consulting business. Founded in 2015, coIB is a specialist IT consulting firm that works on complex, highly technical data migrations, digital operations, DevOps and workplace transformations. coIB consists of approximately 40 people, including a robust team of certified professionals with comprehensive experience in AWS and Azure Platforms. coIB works extensively with enterprise clients on large complex migrations in highly regulated industries. Seisma chief executive Robert Hogeland said the acquisition was a strong fit for the IT services business.

5. Sydney-based education platform gets $10m PE injection

A company paid by universities to improve student performance is getting a $10 million private-equity injection after demand for its services during the pandemic soared 70 per cent in Europe and 40 per cent in Australia. Sydney-based Studiosity runs a platform with tutors who give students feedback on writing, referencing and citations, and runs their work through plagiarism software. More than 80 per cent of Studiosity’s business is with higher education providers and it has 1.3 million students on its books in eight countries. There had been big growth in enrolments during the global financial crisis as students tried to differentiate themselves in employment markets by adding qualifications. Typical undergraduate degrees took three years to complete, which kept students away from unemployment queues until demand picked up again. This was repeating during COVID-19 but with the added factor it was driving people online to work and there was a flow-on to universities which were more willing to teach on line.