EY announces dedicated Microsoft Services Group
EY Global has created a dedicated Microsoft Services Group – the first of the Big Four accounting and consulting firms to do so. The move will expand EY’s already strong relationship with Microsoft.
More than 80% of EY’s client services and solutions are hosted on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, and the newly formed services group will build on the pair’s strategic alliance. EY says it will facilitate additional cloud services built on Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform.
The dedicated practice will combine EY’s technology consulting expertise with Microsoft’s cloud-based services to help clients across industries tackle imperative digital challenges in the Covid-19 era, including the reinvention of back office processes with advanced technology.
“We are pleased to expand our long-standing alliance and applaud how EY teams are accelerating customers' journey to the cloud and delivering more value with Microsoft technology," said Judson Althoff, EVP of worldwide commercial business at Microsoft.
The practice will make use of Microsoft’s online learning catalog and classrooms to grow its current roster of several thousand certified EY Microsoft practitioners, as well as more than 20,000 employees with Microsoft training.
EY teams leveraging Microsoft solutions have supported more than 1,200 clients and executed more than 3,000 digital transformation projects globally, according to a release from the consulting firm. They’ve been particularly active in the public sector this year, helping numerous governments with public finance management related to pandemic stimulus programs. In the US, the EY team used Microsoft PowerApps, Dynamics, and Azure to build an online portal for grants management – FASTER (Funds Application Status Tracker for Emergency Relief).
EY has also continued to work with numerous commercial clients on their digital transformation. The company recently helped Nationwide Insurance create its mobile-first, digital insurance platform Spire – which was built on the Azure-powered EY Nexus for Insurance solution.
"Technological disruption is reshaping businesses and the way people work, especially in today's unpredictable environment, and, as a result, EY clients are seeking more tech-driven consulting services and a strategy to reframe their future,” said Dan Higgins, EY Global technology consulting leader. “The EY Microsoft Services Group brings together both organizations' respective strengths and exemplifies the shared belief that ecosystems help contribute to long-term value creation.”
EY and Microsoft also recently announced the expansion of an Azure-powered blockchain platform for gaming rights and royalty management.