LONDON, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vodafone Business is teaming with Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to deliver managed security services to small to medium enterprises (SME) and national corporate customers in Europe. Vodafone will bring enterprise-grade cybersecurity along with access to leading cyber talent and expertise to organisations that do not have the experience, time or resources to keep up with the rapidly evolving threat landscape.
As a result of this strategic relationship, businesses in Europe will have access to world-class security services in simple, pre-defined packages designed specifically for their needs from a provider they trust. Accenture and Vodafone Business also intend to jointly invest in security innovation to help keep organizations safe as new threats emerge. The agreement is a key step forward in Vodafone Business’ strategy to offer enterprise-grade cybersecurity to businesses of all sizes.In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, more organizations are conducting business online and working to secure their supply chains. This shift has highlighted gaps between small to medium enterprises at different levels of digital readiness that are very vulnerable to cyberattacks. While larger enterprises improve their cybersecurity defense, cybercriminals are increasingly turning their attention to less well defended organisations. Vodafone Business is committed to helping customers emerge stronger and safer from the crisis.Vinod Kumar, CEO Vodafone Business said, “We are committed to better support small and medium enterprises and national corporate sized businesses as they transform and ‘future ready’ their organization. Working with Accenture, we will leverage our combined capabilities and global experience to deliver modular security solutions, offering access to technologies that until now were only available to companies with large IT budgets. Today’s news builds upon the Vodafone V-Hub service recently announced.”According to the Vodafone Business Future Ready Report 2020, “Forty-one percent of businesses were concerned with keeping data safe online and 38 percent were concerned with losing important information or data.”Vodafone Business with Accenture Security will deliver comprehensive managed and professional security services to help businesses to detect, respond and recover from a cyberattack including:Cyber assessment services that will start the customer journey – to include employee awareness, cyber resilience and vulnerability diagnostics.Managed security services include monitoring, incident management and response that will be easy to use, deploy and grow with a business – removing complexity at every stage. These services will leverage Accenture’s recent acquisition of Symantec’s Cyber Security Services business. Professional services focused on risk assessment, testing and testing employee awareness of phishing attacks. Joint investment in an innovation lab focused on security solutions and intelligence for workplace, cloud, IoT and SD-WAN environments.A simple and seamless experience including onboarding, delivery and service management, streamlining the time it takes to deploy and protect a business.“The distinct nature of cybercrime makes it borderless and anonymous. Cybercriminals can come from anywhere and as they take advantage of the COVID-19 situation, they pose a significant threat to businesses of all sizes with costly consequences,” said Kelly Bissell, who leads Accenture Security globally. “This strategic relationship brings together two leading global players and will give Vodafone customers access to leading cybersecurity talent and industry expertise globally.”Vodafone Business managed security services will launch later this year to SME and national corporate sized businesses, initially in Italy and Spain with the United Kingdom and Germany to follow. These new services will align with the company’s core mobile, fixed, IoT and cloud portfolio solutions. In addition, they complement and build upon Vodafone’s existing cyber-as-a-service offerings for businesses of all sizes. About VodafoneVodafone is a leading technology communications company keeping society connected and building a digital future for everyone. Vodafone is focused on two scaled and differentiated regional platforms in Europe and Africa. We operate mobile and fixed networks in 22 countries and partner with mobile networks in 48 more. As at 31 March 2020 we had over 300m mobile customers, more than 27m fixed broadband customers and over 22m TV customers.We connect for a better future. We are optimistic about how technology and connectivity can enhance the future and improve people’s lives. Through our business, we aim to build a digital society that enhances socio-economic progress, embraces everyone and does not come at the cost of our planet. That is why we have committed to improve one billion lives and halve our environmental impact by 2025.For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com.About AccentureAccenture SecurityAccenture Security helps organizations build resilience from the inside out, so they can confidently focus on innovation and growth. Leveraging its global network of cybersecurity labs, deep industry understanding across client value chains and services that span the security lifecycle, Accenture helps organizations protect their valuable assets, end-to-end. With services that include strategy and risk management, cyber defense, digital identity, application security and managed security, Accenture enables businesses around the world to defend against known sophisticated threats, and the unknown. Follow us @AccentureSecure on Twitter or visit us at www.accenture.com/security.This document is intended for general informational purposes only and does not take into account the reader’s specific circumstances, and may not reflect the most current developments. Accenture disclaims, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all liability for the accuracy and completeness of the information in this presentation and for any acts or omissions made based on such information. Accenture does not provide legal, regulatory, audit, or tax advice. Readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel or other licensed professionals.This document makes reference to marks owned by third parties. All such third-party marks are the property of their respective owners. No sponsorship, endorsement or approval of this content by the owners of such marks is intended, expressed or implied.Forward-Looking StatementsExcept for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. For a discussion of risks and actions taken in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, see “Our results of operations have been adversely affected and could in the future be materially adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19)” under Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in Accenture plc’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended February 29, 2020. Many of the following risks, uncertainties and other factors identified below are, and will be, amplified by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). These risks include, without limitation, risks that: the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accenture’s results of operations have been adversely affected and could in the future be materially adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19); Accenture’s results of operations could be adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company’s clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture’s business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company’s services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the company’s results of operations; if Accenture is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company’s business, the utilization rate of the company’s professionals and the company’s results of operations may be materially adversely affected; Accenture could face legal, reputational and financial risks if the company fails to protect client and/or company data from security breaches or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; changes in Accenture’s level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company’s effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture’s profitability could materially suffer if the company is unable to obtain favorable pricing for its services and solutions, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies; Accenture’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; as a result of Accenture’s geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue to expand in its key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; Accenture’s business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; Accenture’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with key alliance partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company’s results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accenture’s services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture’s results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; many of Accenture’s contracts include fees subject to the attainment of targets or specific service levels, which could increase the variability of the company’s revenues and impact its margins; Accenture might be unable to access additional capital on favorable terms or at all and if the company raises equity capital, it may dilute its shareholders’ ownership interest in the company; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.Copyright © 2020 Accenture.All rights reserved. Accenture and its logo are registered trademarks.
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