NCS acquires Eighty20 Solutions to accelerate Australian growth

SINGAPORE and SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Media OutReach – 28 October 2021 – NCS will acquire a majority stake in Eighty20
Solutions (Eighty20), an Australian cloud transformation specialist, to
continue scaling its market presence in Australia. One of the fastest growing IT
companies in Australia[1],
Eighty20 will further boost NCS’
NEXT capabilities to support Australian clients in their digital transformation
journey with its end-to-end suite of solutions across cloud, business
applications, workplace modernisation, and managed services.

Andre Conti, Head of NEXT Solutions, NCS Australia, said “Since
starting our operations last December, we have expanded our presence in
Australia with the launch of NCS NEXT Cloud Centre of Excellence and the recent
acquisition of Riley, a cloud consultancy with dedicated expertise in Google
cloud applications. The addition of Eighty20’s unique capabilities in digital,
cloud and workplace transformation across Microsoft cloud platforms will
complement our existing technology practices, allowing us to meet the needs of
our clients with a ‘best-of-cloud’ service portfolio.”

Eighty20’s offerings across Microsoft cloud platforms,
combined with Riley’s dedicated expertise in Google Cloud applications, adds to
NCS’ NEXT’s cloud capabilities and comprehensive portfolio of cloud services in
AWS, Google and Microsoft.  

A Microsoft Gold Partner, Eighty20 specialises in
cloud transformation with a blue-chip client portfolio in the financial
services, energy, government, healthcare, IT, manufacturing, and retail
industries. Its clientele includes Woolworths, Suncorp, TPG, New South Wales Department of
Education, and Boral.

Through its partnership with Microsoft, Eighty20 helps
organisations:

• Transition to cloud platforms to enable workplace
  collaboration and business scalability;
• Implement and optimise modern cloud infrastructure
  centered on security requirements;
• Modernise and integrate cloud applications with legacy
  technologies.

It brings with it a 120-strong team of experts across
strategy, project delivery, technical execution, organisation change and
adoption, as well as managed services. The investment in Eighty20 will further
grow NCS’ headcount in Australia over the next few years. This is further
bolstered by a Memorandum of Understanding signed in August with the State
Government of Victoria, represented by Invest Victoria, as well as the
Department of Treasury and Finance, to create 500 new digital jobs.

“This strategic
partnership between Eighty20 and NCS illustrates our continued drive to provide
best of breed digital transformation solutions to our clients and the market”,
said John Kelly, Founder, Eighty20
Solutions. “It allows us to leverage the scale, technical depth, and
geographic footprint of NCS, whilst continuing our mission to deliver tier-one
consulting services with a boutique feel.”

Justin Rees, Founder, Eighty20 Solutions added, “NCS is at the forefront of digital
innovation, and combined with their heritage in large scale transformations,
particularly government, makes them the perfect partner for our next phase of
growth.”

Eighty20 will continue to run independently under NCS with all employees continuing in
their current roles within the companies. Founders, John Kelly and
Justin Rees, will retain a significant minority stake and will retain their
roles within the business. The completion of the transaction is subject to
fulfilment of closing conditions.