Acclimation

Jul 23, 2021

iTWire Friday, 23 July 2021 11:55 VIDEO Interview: Acclimation's Rod Taubman and Cameron Sherrard talk SAP and the Capgemini acquisition 0 GUEST INTERVIEW: Capping off an incredible 13 years is Acclimation, whose acquisition by Capgemini sees a strengthened SAP capability that existing and new customers will become quickly acclimatised and accustomed to, with Acclimation Managing Director Rod Taubman and Managing Partner Cameron Sherrard discussing the past, present and future with iTWireTV. In early July, iTWire reported the news that Capgemini had acquired multi award-winning SAP specialist, Acclimation . Capgemini's A/NZ MD, Kaylene O'Brien was naturally excited, stating: "The acquisition of Acclimation will position Capgemini as a leader in SAP delivery in the region. They have built a reputation for excellence in delivering SAP and cloud solutions for a wide range of complex businesses. Our goal is to bring new thinking and innovation to our clients and accelerate their transformation to be more sustainable businesses." With over 100 employees, and offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, along with major clients including Coles Group, PowerLink, MMG Limited, NSW Land Registry Services and Dulux Group, among many others, the combined strengths of both companies is undeniable, with Acclimation MD Rod Taubman stating: "After thirteen years of sustained growth, Acclimation is thrilled to be joining Capgemini. Combining our two SAP practices strengthens Capgemini as a formidable tier one partner in Australia." Acclimation managing partner Cameron Sherrard stated: "People are Acclimation's driving force. Joining Capgemini presents a great opportunity for Acclimation's team to further develop and grow. There are strong cultural synergies across both companies, which will ensure a seamless transition, smooth client management and a solid career progression path for our team." SAP A/NZ president and MD Damien Bueno also naturally welcomed the move, stating: "Capgemini's acquisition [of Acclimation] will not only bolster its SAP credentials, it will also enable it to leverage market-leading software automation approaches, accelerating the path to the cloud through RISE with SAP for customers no matter what stage of the journey they are on." Acclimation continues growing, too – as you’ll see in the interview embedded below, Taubman and Sherrard stated the company is in a hiring mode , and it’s clearly a dynamic company with plenty of opportunity for great talent! So, with Acclimation's solid record of performance repeatedly recognised with multiple awards, repeat customer business over the years and now the subject of an astute acquisition, it was a great time to talk with Rod Taubman and Cameron Sherrard on the past, present and future. My video interview with both gentlemen is below, followed by a summary of the topics we spoke about, so please watch and read on! I started by introducing both Rod and Cameron, welcoming them to iTWireTV, and asking them to refresh us on the products and services that Acclimation offers to Australian businesses today. We then spoke about the big news of Acclimation's acquisition by Capgemini and what this meant for the future, along with the multiple awards Acclimation has won over the years, leading me to ask what sets Acclimation and now Capgemini apart in the SAP space. I asked both Rod and Cam to tell us about some of the customers and projects they've worked on over the years, and the strengths that Capgemini brings to the table, the current and impending growth, how this will affect capacity and the combined companies’ ability to hit the ground running rather than needing to take time to integrate. Rod and Cam spoke about whether Acclimation will remain a separate brand, or whether it will transition into becoming part of Capgemini's operations in Australia and New Zealand, as well as lessons learned from COVID, which is sadly seeing yet another lockdown in Australia as we spoke. Both also spoke about Acclimation being in a hiring mode, which is always a great sign of a growing business. Changing gears as I like to do towards the end of the interview, I asked both Rod and Cam about their memories of their first computer, about their own histories in the world of tech, and how they both saw Acclimation and Capgemini evolving over the next couple of years and the industry evolving through to 2030. I asked both about the best advice they've received in life, and their final message to iTWire viewers and readers, and to their current and future customers and partners. So, please watch the video interview above to learn more!