When Accenture LLP advises its clients to move fast and acquire technologies for continuous innovation, it also follows its own advice.

Since August, Accenture has made 17 acquisitions or investments, which included a number of consultancy firms and subsidiary businesses from major enterprises, such as SAP SE and Symantec Corp.

Accenture’s pursuit of new technologies also helps define its role as a facilitator between large businesses and the startup community, entities that may appear to be operating in separate worlds yet can benefit from participating in the tech ecosystem together.

“We’re a bridge builder between those highly successful, large enterprises, which are big, slow, and risk averse, and the startups, which are small, fast, and nothing but risk,” said Michael Redding (pictured), managing director of Accenture Ventures at Accenture. “How does an organization connect to the external ecosystem to systematically, scalably and sustainably innovate? That’s part of the role of Accenture Ventures.”

Redding spoke with Jeff Frick, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Accenture Technology Vision event in San Francisco, and they discussed the importance of finding common ground for innovation between large companies and startups, the true meaning of “Industry 4.0” and why major firms constantly fear disruption.

Nurturing ‘Innovation DNA’

Launched only five years ago, Accenture Ventures makes investments and serves as a bridge builder for large clients interested in understanding the emerging technology landscape. The firm’s role exemplifies a trend identified in its latest report, “Technology Vision 2020: We, The Post-Digital People,” which listed “Innovation DNA” as one of the key tech themes for the coming year.

According to the report, 76% of the executives surveyed agreed that “getting innovation right” would require working with ecosystem partners and third-party organizations.

“The role of Accenture and Accenture Ventures as being part of the ‘Innovation DNA’ is to make a bridge; let’s figure out how the elephant can dance and not get caught up in disruptions but leverage them to propel those big enterprises forward,” Redding explained. “You’ve got to find a way to meet each other in the middle, get the strengths of each but pointed in the same direction. They know they need to do it, they know they want to do it, but they just don’t know how, and that’s the gap we help fill.”

Beyond Industry 4.0

Accenture’s bridge building goes beyond the notion of Industry 4.0, a term commonly used to describe the Fourth Industrial Revolution. If Industry 4.0 is characterized by smart systems powered by data and artificial intelligence, then what could possibly define 5.0 or beyond?

For this reason, Accenture prefers to define the current state as Industry X.O, based on its belief that the very concept of industry itself is rapidly evolving.

“A lot of places talk about Industry 4.0, but let’s make it a variable, which makes it evergreen,” Redding said.

Accenture’s latest report also took note that 56% of executives felt under constant siege, where new technologies were poised to disrupt their businesses like enemy armies looming ominously nearby. It’s a situation that exemplifies both the challenge and opportunity for Accenture as it works with clients large and small.

“You’ve got the aircraft carrier, and you have all the battleships and PT boats circling around it,” Redding said. “That’s a battle group, and that’s what we really see as the opportunity — to bring the strength of that disruption, passion, energy and capital married to market scale, data and customer base. Put those things together, and it’s an unstoppable force.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the recent Accenture Technology Vision event:

Photo: SiliconANGLE