Deloitte acquires Strut to add DevOps capability to its cloud consulting service

Deloitte has announced that it has acquired Strut Digital, a Sydney-based professional and managed services firm, to fill the DevOps gap in its cloud implementation service.

Kevin Russo, lead partner in Deloitte's Technology, Strategy, and Architecture division, told ZDNet that Strut was the next logical acquisition for Deloitte, complementing the purchases of Plenary Networks, Sixtree, and Cloud Solutions Group over the last couple of years.

He added that Deloitte has been looking to provide a "holistic end-to-end technology service" to clients, particularly those migrating to the cloud.

"We can now provide our clients with dedicated DevOps capability to help de-risk their migration to the cloud and where required manage the ongoing cloud environment," Russo said.

Strut, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) specialist that helps enterprises move to and manage cloud-based IT environments, also complements Deloitte's recently announced alliance with AWS, the professional services giant said.

"We are experiencing significant demand from public and private sector clients for our technology expertise," Deloitte CEO Cindy Hook said in a statement. "Our clients are all talking about how to make the best use of the cloud, reflecting their need to rapidly adapt to unforeseen shifts in their marketplace, while improving how they service their customers in new and innovative ways."

Strut's team of 25 will relocate to Deloitte's offices in Sydney, but will, for the most part, continue to operate as it has been, the company's CEO Zack Levy said.

"Internally, nothing is changing. The reporting line isn't changing. What we do and how we do it are not changing," Levy told ZDNet.

"At our core, we're automation experts. We believe that you shouldn't do in the cloud anything more than twice; and if some things are being done repeatedly, then automate it. When you introduce automation, the outcome is predictable and you reduce the speed that it takes to happen. It changes the way developers and organisations bring solutions to the market -- from idea to execution or from feedback to improvement."

Levy admitted that the team will be able to take advantage of Deloitte's brand, clients, and resources to scale-up Strut's offering in the market.

"It's frustrating when you're a self-funded small business because you can't always, for example, hire the people when you need them even if they're available because you have to wait for a deal to close or a customer to pay. We don't have to worry about this anymore," Levy said.

Strut's team, who has previously worked with brands such as Westpac, Qantas, Redballoon, and Amway, will form the DevOps component of the cloud operating unit within Deloitte's technology consulting practice and will collaborate with teams specialising in analytics, cloud infrastructure, and software engineering.

Russo said Deloitte will continue to be on the lookout for new capabilities to add to its cloud implementation service depending on client need and demand.

The terms of the deal between Deloitte and Strut were not disclosed.