Fujitsu buys Canberra-based consultancy MF & Associates

Following last year’s purchase of oobe, global technology giant Fujitsu has picked up another Canberra-based consultancy – MF & Associates, which focuses on the public and healthcare sectors.

Global technology giant Fujitsu continues to strengthen its Australian arm with Canberra-based digital transformation consultancy MF & Associates the latest in a string of recent local acquisitions.

To be rebranded as ‘MF & A, a Fujitsu company’, the consultancy will otherwise continue to operate as a standalone entity with its full current team under the leadership of founder and managing director Matt Franklin.

“We’re excited to become a part of one of the leading global technology companies and to introduce Fujitsu’s impressive technology innovations to our clients,” Franklin stated. “Like Fujitsu, we pride ourselves on having a strong purpose-led approach to the way we do business and we’re thrilled with the synergies this will create for our existing and future clients on their digital transformation journeys.”

Founded by Franklin in Canberra in 2019 after a period at MXA Consulting and as an innovation director with the Department of Defence, MF & Associates provides strategy and management consulting services alongside tech and cybersecurity advisory with a particular focus on the public sector and healthcare industries.

According to a post on LinkedIn, MF & Associates has a team of more than 50 consultants.

“We’re experiencing a growing demand for consulting and cybersecurity capabilities, and welcome MF & Associates’ team of highly experienced consultants,” said Fujitsu Asia Pacific CEO Graeme Beardsell. “At Fujitsu we aim to digitally transform businesses to drive positive, lasting change for our environment, economies and societies, and MF & Associates’ team of experts will further support us in achieving these goals.”

MF & Associates marks Fujitsu’s fourth acquisition in the Australia and New Zealand market since it broke a decade-long dry spell through the purchase of Melbourne data science consultancy Versor in early 2021, with the firm also this month picking up Thailand-based SAP specialist Innovation Consulting Services. In between, Fujitsu additionally acquired Wellington cybersecurity firm InPhySec and Microsoft specialist oobe.

As well as complementing the latter two purchases in building up Fujitisu’s local security credentials, the firm said the MF & Associates acquisition marks an important step in fulfilling its ambitions for Fujitsu Uvance, a brand which the firm launched in 2021 to help address societal issues through digital innovation.

Fujitsu said it intends on significantly expanding its consulting capabilities by 2025 to include up to 10,000 professionals.