Avanade Opens New Operation in Brazil

Avanade to Collaborate With Accenture, Microsoft to Support Growing Demand for Microsoft Technologies


SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - October 14, 2010) -  Avanade, a business technology services provider, today announced the opening of its new Brazil operation. Avanade will work closely with Accenture and Microsoft Corp., which founded the company in 2000, to deliver award-winning Microsoft solutions that address the business needs of large organizations. Avanade Brazil joins a global Avanade team of 11,000 professionals in more than 20 countries, dedicated to helping enterprise customers realize results on the Microsoft platform.

Adam Warby, Avanade CEO, said, "For 10 years Avanade has helped companies around the world take advantage of the power of the Microsoft platform to achieve success. The prominence of Microsoft solutions among CIOs continues to grow. We will support Brazil-based organizations, as well as our global customers who are expanding their operations in Brazil, to deliver proven mission-critical Microsoft solutions. No other IT services firm has Avanade's expertise, innovation and global scale to help CIOs benefit from their Microsoft investments."

Microsoft continues to expand and enhance its enterprise technology portfolio, and is today a leader in areas critical to CIOs such as cloud-based services, business applications from Microsoft Dynamics and workplace productivity.

In Brazil, Avanade will initially focus on technology innovation in key areas such as cloud computing and workplace productivity. Avanade's cloud-based offerings include services for Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite, application development on Microsoft Windows Azure, and Avanade Online Services for CRM, offering Microsoft Dynamics CRM delivered a Software-as-a-Service. Avanade will also provide support to companies looking to increase workplace productivity with enterprise-wide collaboration strategies. Avanade's research confirms that collaboration ranks among the most business critical technology investments. Microsoft SharePoint 2010 is a leading collaboration platform, and Avanade is a global leader in SharePoint Server deployments.

Donald Rippert, Accenture chief technology officer and Avanade Board member, said: "Executives at large organizations face many business challenges that require unique insights, proven experience and delivered performance. As Avanade expands globally in places like Brazil, we will be able to help companies accelerate adoption of Microsoft technologies, which are having a significant influence in addressing top CIO priorities. The business impact of Accenture, Avanade and Microsoft will only grow as companies realize the benefits that our collective efforts deliver."

"Organizations in Brazil are playing a leading role in the growth of the global economy and therefore demanding more and more from technology," said Ashish Kumar, Avanade's president of Europe, Africa and Latin America. "At the same time, Microsoft is bringing a comprehensive wave of innovation to enterprise computing. This is the right time to bring Avanade's deep Microsoft expertise and unique solutions into the Brazilian market."

The alliance between Accenture, Avanade and Microsoft combines Accenture's industry, business and technology acumen focused on helping clients become high-performance businesses; Avanade's Microsoft expertise and innovation that delivers results, and Microsoft's market-leading, enterprise-ready business software. To date, this alliance has collaborated on more than 5,100 projects across more than 1,700 clients and developed 110 industry-specific and cross-industry solutions. Accenture and Avanade have 52,000 Microsoft-skilled resources, more than any other competitor.

"Microsoft is investing in and delivering solutions that directly address some of the most pressing enterprise issues today, including cloud computing and workplace productivity," said Mark Hill, vice president, Enterprise Partners, Microsoft. "Our alliance with Accenture and Avanade will help companies doing business in Brazil to navigate, deploy and take advantage of Microsoft solutions and services. Avanade's ability to develop and deliver innovation with Microsoft solutions on a global scale is part of our strategy to help companies improve business results on the Microsoft platform."

About Avanade
Avanade provides business technology services that connect insight, innovation and expertise in Microsoft® technologies to help customers realize results. Avanade's services and solutions help improve performance, productivity and sales for organizations in all industries. The company applies Microsoft expertise from its global network of consultants, drawing on the right mix of onshore, offshore and nearshore skills, which together are designed to help deliver results faster, at lower cost and with less risk. Avanade, which is majority owned by Accenture, was founded in 2000 by Accenture and Microsoft Corporation and serves customers in more than 20 countries worldwide with 11,000 professionals. Additional information can be found at www.avanade.com.

Avanade and the Avanade logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Avanade Inc. Other product, service, or company names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Contact Information:

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Avanade:
Charlie Zaragoza
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