NEC buys Melbourne-based cloud and data consultancy Exco Partners
Global technology consultancy NEC has purchased Melbourne-based Microsoft cloud & data specialist Exco Partners, adding a team of around 60 professionals to its Australian headcount.
Established in 2020 and led by managing partner Craig Roberton, Exco Partners provides a range of services across data analytics & AI, cloud engineering, CX & design, and project delivery, with a focus on the advanced Microsoft suite.
The consultancy, which has an additional office in Sydney and a headcount of around 60 advisors and technicians, will continue to operate as a dedicated unit within NEC Australia, which itself has approximately 1,000 employees across the country.
“This partnership marks a significant milestone in Exco Partners’ journey,” Roberton said. “Being part of NEC gives us serious size, scale and complementary capability, enabling us to deliver bigger, broader and more complex transformation programs. We’re excited to combine NEC’s global reach and technology depth with our own expertise to deliver at a different scale.”
NEC meanwhile said the acquisition, made for an undisclosed sum, would enhance its capabilities across cloud, data and AI, complementing what its says are its established strengths in IT managed services, unified communications, biometrics, and digital government, with the firm having previously launched a digital government centre of excellence in Perth.
“Our customers are navigating increasingly complex digital and AI-driven transformations, often in highly regulated and mission-critical environments, while Exco Partners has demonstrated an ability to deliver meaningful outcomes in these settings, combining technical depth with a strong customer-first culture,” said NEC A/NZ chief Keith Morrison, who was appointed to the role last year.
Morrison continued; “Bringing that together with NEC’s own capabilities and scale supercharges our ability to support customers as they modernise, innovate and scale securely with high-value digital and AI-enabled services. This is a strong addition to our business and reflects our continued investment in the A/NZ region as we evolve NEC’s high-value digital solutions portfolio.”
Exco, formed in its current guise through the acquisition of fellow Melbourne firm Core Consulting (co-founded by Exco director Chris Dwyer) and apparently taking its name from a mythical outback spirit guide for Australia’s early explorers and engineers, counts a range of public and private sector clients among its roll-call, including the Bureau of Meteorology, Bupa, Bendigo Bank, ASIC, and Beyond Blue.
Notably though, another Exco co-founder and chief strategy officer, Ben Laughlin, once led an IT security audit for the Hawthorn Football Club while working as a business development manager at HCLTech acquisition DWS (and then later spending time at Capgemini acquisition RXP), with NEC meanwhile throwing its technological weight behind fierce rival Essendon.
That aside, NEC’s own chief strategy officer Ayala Domani concluded; “Exco adds critical capability at a time when clients are accelerating their adoption of AI-enabled solutions. They will strengthen our position in complex government case management, bringing human-centred and secure, scalable solutions, including as to modern, integrated customer portals and apps.”
