Accenture (ACN) Adds Another Innovation Hubs In Australia

Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) recently opened an innovation hub in Perth, Western Australia. It is aimed at helping mining and energy companies in the region, enhance their business performance through the application of digital technologies.

The company and its clients will work together to improve sustainability, cybersecurity, health, safety and productivity of workers, and the performance of machines.

Digital Technologies in Focus

Situated at the Exchange Tower, 2 The Esplanade, the innovation hub is equipped with a Liquid Studio, used for prototype development; a new design studio from Fjord, Accenture Interactive’s design and innovation consultancy; and a MakerLab space for 3D printing.

Technology innovations like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, virtual and augmented reality, quantum computing, blockchain and drones will be easily accessible to its clients. Collectively, the innovation hub will have advanced digital technologies, service design, data science and industry knowledge.

The hub extends Accenture’s global network of Industry X.0 innovation centers. It is the latest addition to the network of the company’s innovation hubs in Australia, spread across Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. These locations are further connected to more than 100 Accenture innovation hubs and centers around the world.

Bob Easton, chairman at Accenture Australia and New Zealand, stated, “The new hub delivers innovation to our clients’ doorsteps here in Australia. We invest locally and leverage Accenture’s global capabilities to develop innovation that puts Australia on a world stage.”

Ann Burns, Accenture Resources Industry lead at Australia and New Zealand, stated, “With this new innovation hub, we are helping raise the innovation profile of Western Australia and Australia overall.”

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Accenture carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) , Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and Cardtronics (NASDAQ:CATM) . While Global Payments and Cardtronics sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Mastercard carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Long-term expected EPS (three to five years) growth rate for Global Payments, Mastercard and Cardtronics is 17%, 15.9% and 4%, respectively.

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