Fujitsu launches AI and cyber consulting brand Uvance Wayfinders downunder

Technology giant Fujitsu has officially launched its integrated consulting practice Uvance Wayfinders downunder, with plans to double its number of local advisors to 120 by early next year.

Launched by Fujitsu in its home market of Japan at the start of 2024, Uvance Wayfinders has since rolled out to the US and selected European markets, with the local practice to be led by Mat Franklin, founder of Canberra-based acquisition MF & Associates.

With a focus on AI and cybersecurity, Fujitsu bills Uvance Wayfinders as a new type of consulting model connecting strategy, architecture, technology, and execution to deliver end-to-end transformation for clients, from planning through to adoption and real outcomes.

In an interview with industry publication techpartner.news, both Franklin and global Uvance Wayfinders chief executive Shin Shuda – who joined the firm last year after more than two decades at Accenture – pointed to Fujitsu’s deep industry and technology heritage as a point difference as compared to most large competitors and ‘generalist’ consultants in a rapidly advancing AI era.

“What you really want at a point of transition is expertise and people that can help you make a difference, because there are simply not enough people in the world that have been there and done that with AI, who can understand where your business is going, what your competitors are going to be doing, and what you need to do to adapt really quickly,” Franklin told the publication.

Franklin did however note that advisory isn’t exactly a new thing for the firm in Australia, with strategy and management among MF & Associates’ portfolio of services and the company’s 2023 acquisition described as an important step for Fujitsu’s Uvance brand, which was launched two years prior with the ambition of building into a 10,000-strong global consulting business.

Uvance Wayfinders in Australia

Indeed, the launch of Uvance Wayfinders brand in Australia and New Zealand strikes more like the culmination of a string of strategic acquisitions made in the region over the past five or so years, further including Melbourne-based data consultancy Versor in 2021, while the cyber side of things has been bolstered by expertise from pick-ups oobe, and InPhySec across the ditch.

“We’ve now brought together about 60 consultants, and we’re planning to be at about 120 by March next year,” Franklin said. “That’s a fairly aggressive growth rate and it’s a good challenge. We’re finding people who have been successful in the old consulting model, but who are really interested in exploring what we’re doing differently to create the model of the future.”