Deloitte picks Adelaide for first in a series of Australian tech hubs
Deloitte has launched a new innovation and technology hub in Adelaide – the latest of Australia’s largest professional services firms to be ramping up in the state.
Adelaide continues to cement its reputation as a major emerging technology hub with Deloitte the latest big player to set up shop, the Big Four professional services firm selecting the city for the launch of its first Australian Centre for Innovation and Technology. The move is expected to create 500 jobs over the coming two years, and follows a local recruitment drive announced last month within the firm’s consulting division.
Through the new innovation and technology centre, Deloitte will partner with South Australian universities to push research in emerging technologies such as data analytics, cyber and artificial intelligence, with the resultant solutions then deployed in the delivery of large-scale technology transformation projects for clients across Australia. The firm said that the technology would also be used to improve audit efficiency and quality.
“Our Adelaide Centre for Innovation and Technology further elevates our commitment to innovation and enhances our ability to support our clients with digital risk, digital accounting, cyber, data, and cloud technology capabilities,” said Deloitte Australia CEO Adam Powick. “This is a bold investment for our firm – in new professional services talent, in the growth of our business, and in the South Australian market.”
Providing a range of technology and financial audit services, the new centre will commence operations later this year, and is the first of a number the accounting and consulting firm is planning to open across the country over the next 18 months. Meanwhile, the 500 slated jobs will bring Deloitte’s local headcount to 800, and, mirroring its recent consulting ramp-up, there will be some focus on luring talent back to South Australia from interstate.
Nevertheless, the firm will still be backing local talent. Making reference to the state’s burgeoning defence and space industries – “which require specialised onshore services” – Deloitte’s Adelaide managing partner Hendri Mentz said, “It’s incredibly pleasing that Adelaide has been chosen as the home of our first centre. We have enormous confidence in the South Australian economy and the exceptional talent market that exists in the state.”
Deloitte, however, will likely now find itself in a scramble for skilled professionals, with competitors PwC and Accenture also recently establishing innovation and service delivery hubs in the city. In September, Accenture announced an aerospace and defence focused hub in Adelaide expected to create 2,000 jobs over five years, while PwC followed with the launch of an onshore delivery centre, adding 300 jobs over 18 months.
Accenture itself will be helping to enhance the talent pipeline, last week announcing a business and digital academy in partnership with the UniSA, while the state’s premier Steven Marshall remains buoyant; “While we currently have more people employed than ever before in our state’s history, my aim is to create even more jobs. The establishment of the Deloitte centre in Adelaide further highlights our economic growth in sectors underpinned by technology and innovation.”
