Mark Ford: Acquisition and Growth

By Bud on April 29, 2008 TrackBacks (0) Comments (2)

The Internet has led to the spawning of a whole industry: Identity and Access Management. We conclude our conversation with Deloitte's Mark Ford about how Deloitte is participating in this market innovation.

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Filed under: Ann Arbor, MI | Defining New Markets | Deloitte | IT Security | Managing Growth | Mark Ford | Twelve Month Goals

As Mark Ford, Principal, Deloitte, shares in this segment (download 7 minute iPod compatible video, 34MB), Deloitte's privacy and security practice is growing in excess of 30% per year, and the firm expects this rate to continue through 2010. An issue with this kind of growth in demand is how to add quality capacity to meet it.

Deloitte's strategy consists of a mixture of internal growth and and acquisition. Recently, the firm acquired Iditarod Systems, a McLean, VA based firm in the identity space. Iditarod has a similar culture to Deloitte's and brings a valuable technical focus to the table.

At Michigan Innovators, we tend toward Larry Schmitt's definition of innovation, i.e., a change that is accepted by the market place. In the case we have been discussing in this series of segments, Deloitte perceived a decade ago that the Internet would bring a whole host of access and security issues to its traditional corporate clientele. The rapid growth of Deloitte's Internet security related practices bears witness to the scope of change taking place in that market place.

(n.b., As used in this article, "Deloitte" means Deloitte & Touche LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Deloitte's site (www.deloitte.com/us/about) outlines the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.)

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2 Comments

Cheryl Stacy on June 9, 2008 8:40 AM
I think this is an innovative idea to expand a service beyond what is currently available. Ford has noticed a gap in an area of his expertise within his company that can better service his customers and make a profit. I think the idea of really putting the customer first and providing a service is foremost in this endevour. The thing that I got from watching the iPod is the importance that branding has on this service. It would have been much more difficult to start this service without the brand name of Deloitte to give credibility and an already existing client base. Ford mentioned how it is much more difficult in the service business to capture an audience and earn their business. I wonder how many customers of yours are existing and how many new customers you have earned since starting this business? Thanks and great idea. Cheryl
Chris Angle on November 16, 2008 5:29 PM
The security and privacy industry seems to be very interesting. Mark Ford discusses, among other things, the growth of the Deloitte company to date, and also predictions about future growth. The growth of the security and privacy market within the past two years has been from approximately 300 people to 700 people. Deloitte currently has a 30% annual growth rate and is on track to have tripled its practice by 2010. One thing that has allowed Deloitte to grow smoothly is the acquisition of Iditarod Systems. Iditarod Systems was in the same market as Deloitte and essentially was able to continue work as usual after merging. Iditarod also brought some technological advancement to the table which allowed for even more seamless growth. When Deloitte began business operations ten years ago they predicted that e-business would bring about a whole new market in security and privacy management. This very accurate assessment has allowed them to continue fueling rapid growth into the future. I believe this is one of the most important aspects of beginning a business. The future of the market has to be carefully assessed. Deloitte was able to inject them self into an emerging market with a lot of potential growth. Both of these factors have contributed to the success of the company. The appeal of getting into a new and growing market is what initially inspired me to pursue a future as an entrepreneur. I would like to create a business similar in nature that that of Deloitte.

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