Accenture acquires Schaumburg AI company in bid to help clients use big data

Global consulting firm Accenture has acquired Kogentix, a Schaumburg-based data analytics and artificial intelligence company, in an effort to get its clients ahead of the big data curve. The 220-employee company provides services that help organizations make better decisions with their data. The deal, which closed Thursday, will improve Accenture's ability to help its clients build out their data analytics capabilities, said Kingston Smith, managing director of Accenture's Applied Intelligence practice. "If you think about the clients we serve here in the Chicago area, they're not digital native companies," Smith said. "(This) is where they're headed."