Exadel acquires the London consultancy Tangent to enhance its AI engineering offerings with experience design.

      The software services company based in Tampa and owned by Sun Capital is incorporating the UK digital agency trusted by SAP and IWG into its Digital Experiences division. The terms of the deal have not been revealed.

      On Monday, Exadel, a software development and consulting firm located in Tampa, announced its acquisition of Tangent, a digital experience consultancy based in London. The details of the agreement were not disclosed.

      Tangent will maintain its brand identity as part of Exadel’s Digital Experiences practice, with Chief Executive Leigh Gammons taking on the role of managing director and senior vice president to oversee the business.

      Exadel frames the acquisition as a strategic move to unify two components of enterprise transformation that have historically existed in separate vendor categories.

      Exadel offers what it describes as AI-native engineering services, including data infrastructure, applications, and the backend operations required to manage an enterprise's technology stack, supported by a workforce exceeding 2,000 across the US, Europe, and LATAM.

      In contrast, Tangent specializes in front-end services such as user experience (UX), product development, web experience, and MarTech engineering, functioning as a smaller boutique focused on enterprise digital-product work. The acquisition consolidates strategy, design, and engineering under a single contract.

      “Brands increasingly succeed or fail based on the AI-driven digital experiences they deliver to customers,” stated James Dalziel, Exadel’s chief operating officer. “By integrating Tangent into our organization, we enhance our capability to assist global clients in designing exceptional experiences and continuously optimizing and scaling them using AI.”

      Gammons highlighted the importance of their partnership from a different angle, saying, “Companies are seeking more than just outstanding digital experiences; they require solutions that can continually evolve and yield measurable outcomes.”

      Tangent has been in operation since 2001 and serves enterprise clients such as SAP, IWG, and UK Power Networks, alongside Exadel’s mentions of New Balance and Vodafone. The company has a headquarters in London, an office in Newcastle, and a delivery presence in Spain, South Africa, Poland, Egypt, and Pakistan. Gammons took over as chief executive after leaving a senior position at WPP.

      Exadel has demonstrated a distinct pattern in its mergers and acquisitions strategy. Following its take-private transaction by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, the company has pursued growth by acquiring additional capabilities through smaller acquisitions.

      Previous acquisitions include Motion Software, CPQi, and Coppei, with Tangent being the latest addition aimed specifically at the design and strategy aspects of the enterprise stack, rather than focusing solely on engineering or sector-specific back-end systems.

      The two companies have also unveiled a joint AI accelerator program for enterprise clients, intended to facilitate the transition from "AI ambition to real-world delivery." However, specifics regarding structure, pricing, and pilot customers have not been made public. This development positions Exadel as an AI-native alternative to the Big Four and other global systems integrators, particularly in engagements where Tangent’s experience design has typically been outsourced.

      This acquisition reflects a broader reassessment of the enterprise services sector that has been evident for several quarters. Products from AI agent foundations have begun to penetrate the workflows traditionally billed by consulting firms.

      Earlier this month, Anthropic released ten financial services agent templates, integrated Moody’s data into the workspace, and expanded distribution through Microsoft 365 and Snowflake. Additionally, SAP introduced an Autonomous Enterprise framework featuring over 200 AI agents developed in collaboration with Anthropic.

      For a service firm like Exadel, the pivotal question is no longer whether AI will be the most valuable aspect of their offerings; rather, it is whether an integrator capable of linking the model layer to the customer experience layer end-to-end can maintain pricing power against the model layer itself.

      The viability of the Exadel-Tangent partnership as such an integrator will be assessed over the next 18 months based on customer acquisition. Exadel’s "Exadel Colleague" AI delivery product, launched last month, signifies the company's belief that its engineering capabilities will not be overshadowed by AI models.

      Ultimately, the effectiveness of Tangent's clientele will determine if the design aspect, combined with the engineering side, provides the merged entity with a competitive advantage in securing contracts for front-end-heavy enterprise projects.