UXC tackles boardroom with new consultants

Diversified local technology solutions group UXC will form a new management consulting group as it attempts to tackle high-end strategic IT issues.

UXC currently has a range of subsidiaries providing IT services a little further down the value chain, such as systems integration and application development.. For example it owns Red Rock and Oxygen, which are respectively key providers of technology and services based on Oracle and SAP.

The new group, UXC Management Consulting, "will focus on strategic and business integration issues for blue chip and upper mid-market clients," according to a statement issued by the company to the Australian Stock Exchange this morning.

The new group will be based in Sydney and led by former KPMG executives. UXC plans to grow the group from 5-7 people to 15-20 by the end of 2007.

The fledgling consultancy has also formed "an exclusive alliance" with Consulting Elements, which UXC said is a group comprising former managers of Bearing Point and Cap Gemini.

The deal will entail Consulting Elements developing business opportunities and winning projects for UXC to then fulfil through its own delivery mechanisms. "UXC retains an option over the Consulting Elements Group," the statement said.

UXC executive chairman Geoff Lord said it was important for UXC "to leverage its other business offerings through a strong consulting offering with access to the boardroom".

In a separate speech made at UXC's annual general meeting today, Lord outlined a number of new business wins for UXC's SAP subsidiary Oxygen. Oxygen has in the last month attracted a number of new clients including AGL, BHP Billiton, BlueScope and Rio Tinto.

Lord also said UXC had received preliminary advice of a major win with the Federal Government, but did not disclose further details.