Management and technology consultancy Accenture has purchased N3, an Atlanta-based inside sales outsourcing firm with particular expertise in technology sales.
Inside sales – also known as remote sales or virtual sales – refers to the sale of products and services via phone, email, or the internet. It’s the dominant sales model for representatives in B2B, technology, and SaaS, and is increasingly popular for B2C sales as the pandemic boosts the popularity of remote processes.
N3 was founded in 2004 and delivers a technology-enabled sales framework supported by digital marketing and custom analytics. The firm’s customer-centric, cloud and AI-powered selling approach enables smarter and more efficient customer interactions and more sales conversions.
N3’s clients include leading brands such as Microsoft, Cisco, and SAP. The firm is headquartered in Atlanta, with global locations in Brazil, Costa Rica, Ireland, the UK, Germany, Japan, and Singapore.
The acquisition will see Accenture add 2,200 employees globally, along with expanded capabilities in AI and machine learning. N3 will bolster Accenture’s SynOps – a human-machine operating “engine” which optimizes business processes. Launched in early 2019, SynOps leverages data and insights from 1,000+ Accenture client engagements and synthesizes this with data from existing client systems to identify opportunities for business process reinvention.
“Increasingly, B2B buyers expect the same ‘Amazon-like’ interactions they experience as consumers when purchasing far more complex services— a trend that’s only accelerated in the current pandemic,” said Manish Sharma, group chief executive of Accenture Operations. “N3 provides the perfect combination of skilled talent and technology to remove barriers and better influence purchasing decisions at critical stages.”
Jeff Laue, founder and CEO of N3, said, “We were drawn to Accenture, in large part, due to the growth opportunity – as far as developing talent, advancing capabilities, and joining a company with strengths and values that complement our own. Together, our capabilities provide a differentiated, data-driven approach that companies can use to sharpen their sales focus and deliver on the ambition of sustainable growth.”
Accenture recently announced a $3 billion investment in its 70,000-person Cloud First practice. The investment will advance all aspects of the firm’s cloud offering, from basic functions such as cloud migration and cloud artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to more meta investments in developing industry road maps, data models, and solutions for the entire cloud ecosystem.