Project and portfolio management consultancy UMT has been acquired by Ernst & Young in the United States. The smaller firm, which has offices in 10 locations, was named Microsoft PPM partner of the year in 2013.

Earlier this year EY formed a strategic alliance with Microsoft to work with enterprise customers in making the transition to Microsoft’s cloud and data platforms. EY has several business lines that use Microsoft technologies, including Program Performance Center, a service that does portfolio and program optimization across the enterprise, using a combination of  Microsoft Azure, SQL Server, Project Server and Power BI alongside EY’s own integrated suite of program management processes, data capture and analysis protocols.

The latest deal offers several benefits to EY:

• Clients will be able to obtain end-to-end PPM services from a single vendor;
• UMT’s consulting talent will accelerate EY’s abilities to deliver those Microsoft-based solutions; and
• The amplified focus on Microsoft will bolster the relationship both companies have with Microsoft’s sales teams across regions.

“We see the joining of UMT Consulting and EY as a win for the industry,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. “This pairing will enhance the potential of our alliance given the new capabilities this will give EY in the Microsoft project space.”

Carmine Di Sibio, EY’s global managing partner for client services, believes the new pairing will allow the expanded company to better serve the organizations it consults to. “UMT Consulting’s methods are a natural fit with EY’s existing resources, and the talent we are bringing into the organization is second to none,” he said. “With many global enterprises grappling with the challenge of getting a handle on disparate projects that are coming in both over time and over budget, this addition can enhance EY’s ability to deliver business transformation and portfolio management services by leveraging UMT Consulting’s proprietary methods.”