The Association for Data-Driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA) has been acquired by the Australian Computer Society (ACS) for an undisclosed sum.

The deal will see ADMA, as well the IAPA (Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia), D+TC (Digital + Technology Collective) and DGA (Data Governance Australia) all come under ACS.

The four industry bodies were all previously part of the Australian Alliance for Data Leadership (AADL), which was formed by ADMA in 2017.

B&T understands the AADL is now defunct following the acquisition.

In a note to members, ADMA chairman Steve Brennen the move brings its members up to pace with the technological side of the industry.

“Data and technology are fundamental to the success of modern business that is also constantly evolving. As an association, we need to move and adapt, building greater resources and acquiring the very best intelligence to ensure our members are always up to date,” he said.

“By joining ACS, we now have access to leading edge thinking and education in the IT sector and together, we will be able to leverage best practice and insights in technology, marketing, analytics, digital and governance to drive data-driven industries forward.”

ADMA’s current managing director Andrea Martens came into the role in August last year, after one-time boss Ben Sharp departed the association after just two weeks.

Speaking on the acquisition, Martens said: “In guiding the custodians of the data and technology systems that feed the data value chain, ACS is like a turbo charger for our associations that support the capture, storage, access, analysis, insights and action of data.

“This turbo-charging reinforces the marketer’s role as the revenue generation machine for business; increases the scale and velocity of analytics, insights and AI-led innovation and boosts focus on cybersecurity, storage and the ethics of data in business.

She added the affiliation with ACS helps ADMA to support the data engineers, analysts, scientists and data managers specifically.

ACS President Yohan Ramasundara said: ““By adding ADMA, IAPA, D+TC and DGA into the ACS fold, we will be able to heighten awareness of data governance, privacy and cyber resilience across the broader Australian economy, while providing end-to-end data-driven solutions for ACS members and those of ADMA, IAPA, D+TC and DGA.”