Vodafone Group acquires Bluefish Communications

UK-based Vodafone Group has acquired European IT and communications consultancy Bluefish Communications for £3.14m ($4.94m). The consultancy will form part of Vodafone’s Global Enterprise division, which manages communications technologies for its largest multinational customers.

The firm said that Bluefish will form the nucleus of a new unified communications and collaboration practice within Vodafone Global Enterprise, which will focus on advising multinational companies on how to get the most from their mobile, fixed line and IT services. It will also offer guidance to clients on the adoption of cloud services.

The company is also hoping that through the newly acquired consultancy, it will be able to convince its large corporate customers on how new collaboration services, such as video conferencing, can boost their business’s performance.

Through the acquisition, Vodafone will also offer services to its multinational customers, such as an audit of existing infrastructure and future communication needs, advice on moving to a communications strategy that spans mobile, fixed line and IT, and management of system integrators and vendors to ensure unified communications networks are closely aligned to business strategy.

“Having the right information at the right time, in the right place, has never been more important to business success and this acquisition will enhance our ability to advise multinationals on how to maximise value from their communications,” commented Nick Jeffery, CEO of Vodafone Global Enterprise.

UK-headquartered Bluefish has been named as one of the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 “Fastest growing UK technology companies” for three consecutive years in 2007, 2008, 2009, as well as being named in Deloitte top 500 fastest growing technology companies in EMEA in 2010. The acquisition will expand Bluefish’s geographical reach as it becomes part of Vodafone Global Enterprise’s global network.