Omnicom Shifts Omni Engineering Teams to Endava Amid AI Platform Push

Omnicom has transferred significant portions of the product and engineering teams supporting its AI-powered Omni platform to technology contractor Endava, according to ADWEEK.

The changes came just months after Omnicom highlighted a revamped version of Omni at CES in January, positioning the platform as a central part of its offering to clients.

At least 468 employees in the U.S., U.K., India and Malaysia were affected by the transfers in June and July, according to documents obtained by ADWEEK. The company also laid off about 50 U.S. employees from its Omni Platforms Product & Engineering Division on June 9. Additional product and engineering cuts were made in Australia, the U.K. and Malaysia, sources told ADWEEK.

An Omnicom spokesperson told ADWEEK that the company entered into a multiyear partnership with Endava designed to increase engineering capacity and accelerate delivery.

Under the arrangement, Omnicom retains ownership of the Omni product, as well as its AI innovation, data science, client relationships and intellectual property, the spokesperson said.

Some affected employees questioned the strategy of separating a key technology platform from portions of the engineering team responsible for developing and supporting it. One transferred employee told ADWEEK the move raises questions about outsourcing engineering work for a product Omnicom is actively marketing to clients.

— Based on reporting by ADWEEK