Downdetector and Speedtest Part of $1.2 Billion Ookla Sale to Accenture, Ziff Davis Expects Closing in Coming Months
Accenture has agreed to buy Ookla—the owner of Speedtest and Downdetector—from Ziff Davis for $1. 2 billion in cash, a deal that reallocates major consumer-facing network measurement tools into an IT services environment. The acquisition positions Downdetector alongside Speedtest, Ekahau and RootMetrics as data assets Accenture will fold into offerings aimed at optimizing Wi‑Fi, 5G and AI infrastructure—a shift with clear implications for enterprise network operations and public‑sector clients.
What the Downdetector sale signals for outage monitoring and consumer tools
Downdetector, a widely used status-monitoring tool for online services, will become part of Accenture’s portfolio of data products acquired through Ookla. The move brings consumer-facing diagnostics and business-to-business monitoring under an IT consultant’s umbrella, potentially changing how outage data is packaged and marketed to enterprise and government purchasers. Under its previous owner, Downdetector complemented Speedtest’s consumer diagnostics with Downdetector Explorer, a monitoring product for businesses that helps detect incidents for streaming services, banks, social networks and communication providers.
How Accenture plans to integrate Ookla, Speedtest and Downdetector data
Accenture plans to incorporate Ookla’s data products into services targeted at communications service providers, hyperscalers, government entities and similar customers to optimize mission‑critical Wi‑Fi and 5G networks. The company outlined several intended applications for the acquired datasets: ensuring the resilience of AI infrastructure and edge datacenters that handle inference workloads, improving fraud prevention for banks, enabling smart home analytics for utilities, and helping retailers optimize store traffic. Those stated use cases show an emphasis on using network performance telemetry to inform higher‑level business and infrastructure decisions.
Assets, scale, and what comes next
The Ookla platform acquired by Accenture includes Ekahau, which provides wireless troubleshooting and design tools, and RootMetrics, which monitors mobile network performance. Ookla’s products register significant consumer activity, with the company reporting 250 million consumer-initiated tests per month under its prior ownership. The business operates with roughly 430 employees and reported a net income of $76. 1 million and revenue of $230. 7 million in 2025.
Ziff Davis originally purchased Ookla in 2014 for $15 million and now expects the current sale to close in the coming months. If finalized, the transfer will move well-known public diagnostics and enterprise monitoring tools into an IT services firm that already serves large public sector and commercial clients.
Implications and observables to watch
- Product positioning: Downdetector and Speedtest may shift further toward enterprise analytics and packaged services as their telemetry is embedded in IT solutions.
- Client base alignment: Accenture’s existing public sector and hyperscaler engagements could accelerate enterprise adoption of Ookla datasets for infrastructure planning and AI resilience work.
- Timing and transition: Ziff Davis expects the sale to close in the coming months; the operational integration timeline and product roadmaps will determine how quickly customers see changes.
Recent updates indicate the acquisition is intended to leverage Ookla’s scale and telemetry across a range of enterprise use cases. Details on integration milestones and how Downdetector’s consumer monitoring will be balanced with business-to-business offerings may evolve as the transaction moves toward closing.
