PwC’s powerful ecosystem of strategic alliances with global technology leaders is delivering transformative outcomes through leading-edge technology implementation. Alliance partners Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce, Workday, Oracle, AWS, Harvey and Guidewire are collaborating with organisations across every sector.
“By bringing together PwC’s deep consulting, business-led industry knowledge and expertise with best-in-class engineering and innovation from our alliance partners, we create tech‑powered, right‑fit solutions that help organisations modernise, scale and reinvent their business models for sustained success,” says Barry Whelan, PwC tech consulting partner, who specialises in large-scale, technology-powered business transformation.
Aisling Curtis, market leader for PwC Ireland’s strategic alliances, explains that organisations are not necessarily interested in technology alone, but outcomes that deliver for growth. “They are focused on their own businesses,” she says, “and need a partner who can implement technology solutions in a way that helps them to achieve their business goals.”
The process goes beyond the technology, she adds. “We built this ecosystem to combine the best products from our technology partners with PwC’s deep business-led industry expertise, enabling us to deliver end-to-end transformation. It’s far more than just installing a piece of technology. We provide the strategy and implementation and we run the technology. That means we advise on the best technology platform that will suit the client. Then we integrate the platforms into the client’s business - including the people, processes, training and organisational change required for real adoption and outcomes.”
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The key is the combination of PwC’s deep industry knowledge and the leading-edge solutions provided by its alliance partners. “Our understanding of the clients’ business needs and strategic objectives means we are able to work with them to select and implement the right solution for them and their industry,” says Whelan. “We overlay the solution with our tax, advisory, risk and regulatory, governance, security, innovation and change management expertise to accelerate business transformation, innovation and growth.”
This is backed up by PwC’s technology expertise which has seen it secure big wins at the 2025 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards, highlighting its leadership in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), cloud and digital transformation. PwC was also named as a leader in a number of IDC analyst reports including for worldwide cloud transformation, AI services, cyber, risk and governance.
Importantly, the complete end-to-end technology solution is fully implemented and managed by PwC. “We provide a single point of contact for the entire alliance ecosystem,” says Curtis. “That is one of the many benefits of working with us.”
Geopolitical, regulatory, economic and other challenges are placing traditional business models under strain, Curtis adds. “To become truly future fit, businesses they need to move on from the implementation of individual transformation projects and become transformative enterprises. That is not just about technology deployment but the organisational adoption of technology at scale, maximising the return on investment safely and securely with the right governance and a strategy that includes everyone.”
That requires a more integrated approach to technology solution implementation. “Selecting a firm like PwC who can provide everything from strategic advice to the implementation of the technology along with business and other supports means the focus is on the right solution for the transformative outcomes the client is trying to achieve.”
In short, PwC and its alliance ecosystem help clients modernise, improve operational efficiency, and adopt AI or cloud solutions. It also enables accelerated digitalisation bringing about faster, more effective adoption of new technology platforms and AI capabilities.
‘At a time when tech talent is hard to find, we help clients to build capability by upskilling their people’
Real‑world impact is already being delivered for PwC clients, according to Whelan. “In one case, we worked with an organisation operating in multiple jurisdictions around the world. They were also operating multiple HR systems with obvious inefficiencies. They needed a single source of truth for all their employees and we delivered that and their workforce transformation on a single platform. These projects are a lot more than technology. We bring our understanding of workforce regulations, tax and legal systems around the world to bear. This enables us to roll out the technology solution in a compliant way in multiple countries.”
In another example, PwC worked with global food giant, Glanbia, to improve efficiency by reimagining its financial close process. “The company has 150 different entities worldwide, each generating complex intercompany transactions and foreign currency calculations,” Whelan explains. “We brought together expertise from across our global network – teams from Ireland, Germany, Italy and India – to deliver an integrated SAP consolidation solution to streamline Glanbia’s entire financial reporting process.” The solution consolidated all 150 companies seamlessly, resulting in an 80 per cent reduction in manual cash flow reporting.
PwC also worked with Glanbia on the adoption, change, governance and security aspects of the roll out of Microsoft CoPilot. “Glanbia has been very innovative in the way they have adopted the technology and it has improved productivity across the whole organisation,” says Curtis.
In another example, BnM (previously Bord na Móna) engaged PwC to develop its AI strategy and accelerate digital transformation by advancing AI across the organisation. The intention was to improve operational efficiency, enhance decision making and enable their workforce. The solution leveraged PwC’s strong alliance with Microsoft to ensure secure, compliant and impactful AI adoption.
Innovation is at the core of the PwC alliance offering. “We act as innovation partners for our clients,” says Whelan. “Our technology partners invest billions of dollars in R&D every year and we have visibility on what’s coming down the line for them. That enables us to work with clients to prepare for those new platforms or modules and to adopt them where appropriate and continuously evolve the solution.”
The people element is also critically important. “To fully maximise the return on investment from both financial and resource points of view, organisations need to ensure they have the skills and capability to utilise the solution not just today but into the future,” says Curtis. “At a time when tech talent is hard to find, we help clients to build capability by upskilling their people.”
‘We are integrating AI agents into the core of our alliance services to automate complex tasks, such as in finance and supply chain operations’
Looking ahead, Curtis says the future of the PwC alliance ecosystem is focused on accelerating business reinvention through deep, AI-driven partnerships with technology leaders. “PwC has become a trusted partner combining its industry and technology implementation expertise with our partners’ technologies to deliver end-to-end transformation, cloud migration and AI-enabled, automated managed services.”
Solutions continue to evolve. “We are integrating AI agents into the core of our alliance services to automate complex tasks, such as in finance and supply chain operations, helping clients move from experimentation to enterprise ready application,” says Whelan.
There is also a move towards more industry-specific cloud solutions, he adds. “Partnerships are becoming more sector-focused to address specific regulatory, sustainability and digital experience requirements. We are seeing clients in highly regulated industries like insurance choose solutions from specialists like Guidewire, for example. We bring the expertise to help clients choose the right platform and enable them to navigate disruptive, volatile markets and achieve sustainable growth.”
