Less than two months after securing new growth capital, Improven can announce its first acquisition. Utrecht-based It's Value is adding 15 consultants to Improven's finance transformation team.
"The partnership with It's Value fits perfectly with our strategy to strengthen and expand our position in consulting at the intersection of finance, IT and risk in the coming years," said Jan Bosman, Managing Partner of It's Value Improven.
Since its foundation in 2009, It's Value has specialised in financial management for organisations' IT divisions. The firm helps CIOs and senior IT leaders gain insight and control over their IT spending, a cost item that has increased significantly in recent years due to the growing importance of themes such as digitalisation, cloud and home working.
"We help organisations connect IT, finance and business to increase the added value of IT," explains Peter van Loon, managing director of It's Value.
"We specialise in Technology Business Management (TBM), a best-practice IT cost management framework which has been created by and for companies. Based on this framework and TBM software, we help clients obtain detailed transparency in technology costs."
"By linking IT spending to business strategy, business investment decisions with a large IT component can be made on a well-founded basis."
This way, organisations can also spend their money more efficiently. Take the cloud: better insight into IT needs and spending can help companies save on their cloud migration and management costs, sometimes up to 30%. As these often involve large contracts with cloud service providers, the counter can add up considerably in this regard.
"In the more than 70 projects we have completed in the Netherlands, UK and Belgium, we have helped our clients save many millions, but above all we have added a lot of value in governing and controlling IT costs," van Loon said.
With the addition of It's Value, Improven is expanding its capabilities aimed at CFO and CIO - and everything in between. "We strengthen our position in IT financial management and bring on board a European leader in TBM software," says Bosman.
He is referring to the collaboration between It's Value and APPTIO. This US company provides a software as a service platform for technology business management, and is one of the leaders in the segment, according to research firm Gartner. APPTIO is also the driving force behind the international Technology Business Management Council.
In addition, the acquisition - the second for Improven since its launch in 2016 and probably not the last - opportunities for the agency's 150 or so (now 165) colleagues. "Through substantive deepening and broadening and through the international nature and complexity of the projects," Bosman explains.
It has been in recent months high season in the deallandscape of the consulting industry. Both large firms and smaller parties are buying industry peers to expand services or scale up. Thereby, the role of financial sponsors is increasing - Improven (sponsor: Quadrum Capital) is another example.