Avanade
Encyclopedia
Avanade Inc., a subsidiary of Accenture LLP., is a multinational IT
consulting
and software company that develops business software from a Microsoft products platform. Founded on April 4, 2000, Avanade is atypical amongst many systems integrators such as IBM
and EDS
in that Avanade's services are specialized to the Microsoft software platform. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company had 9700 employees in 34 countries at the close of its fiscal year 2009. Avanade has 4,000+ badged staff located offshore in India
, the Philippines
and Slovakia
who work in Accenture-owned delivery centers as part of a global delivery network spanning six cities in India and one in the Philippines.
of Accenture.
Through the joint venture, Accenture and Microsoft looked to enter what they perceived to be a largely untapped market for Microsoft-focused consulting services for companies in the Fortune 1000.
India and the Philippines supplies Avanade with offshore consultants contracted from parent company Accenture's delivery centers. Overall, these offshore workers comprise over 40% of Avanade's total workforce. Avanade relies heavily on offshore workers in India, China and other developing countries to reduce costs.
and Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Avanade's Service Line portfolio:
Avanade's business model is heavily dependent on Accenture. Nearly 80% Avanade's revenue comes from Accenture, primarily by serving as a subcontractor to Accenture.
In fiscal year 2007, Avanade grew revenues by 23% to $593 million and increased its global number of employees by 22%. Revenues were led by the company’s operations in North America (51%), followed by Europe (39%), then Asia Pacific (9%)
As of 2008, almost half of Avanade’s 8,000 workforce are Accenture employees on contract to Avanade. http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/06/16/focus8.html
A significant portion of Avanade's total revenue is obtained by subcontracting for Accenture and Microsoft. In fiscal year 2007, that amounted to more than 70% of total revenue for the company.
In 2007, 2008 and 2009, Avanade undertook several rounds of layoffs. http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Avanade-RVW282689.htm
Additionally, Avanade work has received recognition via awards given to its clients:
List of Avanade Awards won during 2009(award name / month / geography):
An independent report conducted by North Highland Co. found multiple problems with the project, although North Highland Co. acknowledged the State of Colorado had a "terrible reputation" for handling its computer problems, and Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, said, "I suspect the failure rests on the shoulder of the legislature."
While writing about the contents of the public SEC disclosure, Seattle Times noted that then Avanade CEO Mitch Hill's brother, Mark Hill, was on Avanade's payroll with a $7,000-per-month contract. Mark Hill, who is chairman of California's Marin County Republican Central Committee, was employed by Avanade to facilitate the company "in developing business with certain California governmental agencies." http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/2006/02/avanade_bares_financial_details_1.html
Avanade's parent, Accenture LLP, was named as a defendant in a civil whistleblower lawsuit that the Department of Justice joined in 2007. The suit alleges improper practices involving Accenture's alliances with third-party vendors in connection with work
undertaken for the Federal government. Accenture has denied the allegations of that lawsuit. Avanade was initially named as a defendant in a similar civil lawsuit, but that lawsuit was subsequently dismissed.http://www.immixgroup.com/resources/mu_display.cfm?ID=379
In May 2008, CEO Mitch Hill announced that he would be leaving Avanade to be replaced, per Board of Directors vote, by UK General Manager Adam Warby. Warby, a UK citizen, announced he will continue to work from Avanade's London office while Avanade remains headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA. http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/06/16/focus8.html
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
consulting
Information technology consulting
Information technology consulting is a field that focuses on advising businesses on how best to use information technology to meet their business objectives...
and software company that develops business software from a Microsoft products platform. Founded on April 4, 2000, Avanade is atypical amongst many systems integrators such as IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
and EDS
EDS
- Education :* Educational specialist , a terminal academic degree in the U.S.* Episcopal Divinity School, an Episcopal Seminary in Cambridge, Massachusetts* Evansville Day School, an independent college-prep school in Evansville, Indiana- Politics :...
in that Avanade's services are specialized to the Microsoft software platform. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company had 9700 employees in 34 countries at the close of its fiscal year 2009. Avanade has 4,000+ badged staff located offshore in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
who work in Accenture-owned delivery centers as part of a global delivery network spanning six cities in India and one in the Philippines.
History
Avanade was formed in April 2000 as a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft. Ownership was initially split between the two founding companies, with Accenture owning 51% and Microsoft 49%. In 2001, however, Accenture increased its ownership to become the majority owner and Avanade became a subsidiarySubsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of Accenture.
Through the joint venture, Accenture and Microsoft looked to enter what they perceived to be a largely untapped market for Microsoft-focused consulting services for companies in the Fortune 1000.
Acquisitions
To-date, Avanade has acquired five other firms:- In 2003, Avanade acquired BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
-based DCG, a firm specializing in ebusiness consulting and integration. - In 2003, Avanade acquired St. Louis-based G.A. Sullivan, a technology services company.
- In 2005, Avanade acquired ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based en’tegrate, a services firm specializing in Microsoft AX deployments. - In 2007, Avanade acquired CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
-based HOB Business Solutions, a services firm specializing in Microsoft Dynamics AX solutions. - In 2008, Avanade acquired Ghent, Belgium-based Quadreon, a services firm specializing in Microsoft Dynamics AX solutions.
- In 2010, Avanade acquired the US portion of the CRM practice from AscentiumAscentiumAscentium is a digital advertising agency with headquarters in Seattle. As of January 2010 Ascentium employs over 500 people Seattle, in Los Angeles, Portland, Spokane, Atlanta, Ottawa, Montreal, and London.- Agency Model :...
, a US based marketing firm.
Operations
Avanade operates its business throughout 42 cities in America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. These locations include:Europe
- Belgium
- Denmark
- FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
Asia Pacific
- Australia
- China
- India
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Philippines
- Singapore
- Thailand
Africa
- South Africa - launched on 1 September 2011
India and the Philippines supplies Avanade with offshore consultants contracted from parent company Accenture's delivery centers. Overall, these offshore workers comprise over 40% of Avanade's total workforce. Avanade relies heavily on offshore workers in India, China and other developing countries to reduce costs.
Services
Avanade services center around three primary areas: application development and integration with the Microsoft .NET platform, infrastructure services aimed at streamlining, upgrading, and securing customer infrastructure investments, and a third, emerging area around delivering packaged ERP and CRM solutions, such as Microsoft Dynamics CRMMicrosoft Dynamics CRM
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a multi-lingual Customer Relationship Management software package developed by Microsoft. Out of the box, the product focuses mainly on Sales, Marketing, and Service sectors, but Microsoft has been marketing Dynamics CRM as an XRM platform and has been encouraging...
and Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Avanade's Service Line portfolio:
- Application Development
- Application Integration
- Application Lifecyle Management
- Application Renewal
- Azure Services
- Digital Marketing
- e-Commerce
- Rich Internet Applications
- Customer Relationship ManagementCustomer relationship managementCustomer relationship management is a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing,...
- AOS for CRM
- CRM for Consumer Packaged Goods
- CRM for Insurance
- CRM for Partner Relationship Management
- CRM for Wealth Management
- Enterprise Resource PlanningEnterprise resource planningEnterprise resource planning systems integrate internal and external management information across an entire organization, embracing finance/accounting, manufacturing, sales and service, customer relationship management, etc. ERP systems automate this activity with an integrated software application...
- Avanade Maufacturing
- Avanade Professional Services
- Avanade Retail Management
- Avanade Wholesale Distribution
- Technology Infrastructure
- BPOS Migration
- Desktop Transformation
- Elastic Datacenter
- Business IntelligenceBusiness intelligenceBusiness intelligence mainly refers to computer-based techniques used in identifying, extracting, and analyzing business data, such as sales revenue by products and/or departments, or by associated costs and incomes....
- Intelligent Warehousing
- Performance Analytics
- CollaborationCollaborationCollaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
- Expert Source
- OutsourcingOutsourcingOutsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
- Application Management for Commerce
- Application Management for Dynamics AX
- Application Management for Dynamics CRM
- Application Management for MOSS
- Application Management for .NET
- Capacity Services
- Infrastructure Outsourcing
Finances
According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, as of 2008, Avanade is 80 percent owned by Accenture plc (formerly Andersen Consulting), a multinational software and outsourcing firm. Microsoft owns about 17 percent of the company. The original founding members and early employees own the remaining 3 percent.Avanade's business model is heavily dependent on Accenture. Nearly 80% Avanade's revenue comes from Accenture, primarily by serving as a subcontractor to Accenture.
In fiscal year 2007, Avanade grew revenues by 23% to $593 million and increased its global number of employees by 22%. Revenues were led by the company’s operations in North America (51%), followed by Europe (39%), then Asia Pacific (9%)
As of 2008, almost half of Avanade’s 8,000 workforce are Accenture employees on contract to Avanade. http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/06/16/focus8.html
A significant portion of Avanade's total revenue is obtained by subcontracting for Accenture and Microsoft. In fiscal year 2007, that amounted to more than 70% of total revenue for the company.
In 2007, 2008 and 2009, Avanade undertook several rounds of layoffs. http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Avanade-RVW282689.htm
Awards
From Microsoft:- Microsoft Global Enterprise Partner of the Year six times: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2001 (All 6 jointly won with parent company Accenture)
- Microsoft Dynamics: President’s Circle and Inner Circle, 2007 and 2005 2006,
Additionally, Avanade work has received recognition via awards given to its clients:
- Microsoft Pinnacle Awards given to Avanade clients, Haldex and Wellmark, 2007 (award posting) and BGE Home, 2005 (award announcement)
- ZDNet awarded International SOS with its Smart 50 award, 2006. (announcement)
- Training Magazine’s Top 125 Global List, Feb 11, 2010 (http://www.avanade.com/us/about/news/pressdetail.aspx?id=438)
- Avanade Recognized by IDG’S COMPUTERWORLD as One of the Best Places to Work in IT, June 15, 2009(http://www.avanade.com/us/about/news/pressdetail.aspx?id=362)
List of Avanade Awards won during 2009(award name / month / geography):
- Brill Street's Top 50 Generation Y Employers Chicago Oct US-Central
- Computerworld: 100 Best Places to Work in IT Jun Global
- Consulting Magazine: Best Firms to Work For Sept Global
- Crain's Chicago Business: Best Places to Work in Chicago Sept US-Central
- CRF Institute: Top Employer (Avanade Spain) Oct Spain
- Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle and President’s Club Aug Global
- Microsoft Enterprise Alliance Partner of the Year (Joint w/Accenture) Jun Global
- Microsoft Midwest Region Sales Excellence Partner Sep US-Central
- Microsoft Northeast Enterprise District Partner of the Year Oct US-East
- Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal: Top 25 IT Consulting Firms Oct US-East
- Computable: Women in IT Nov Netherlands
- Datamanager: Top 100 Nov Italy
- El Economista: Top Employer Oct Spain
- RRHH Digital: Top Employers 2009 Spain Oct Spain
- Computerworld: Top 100 Software and Services Sep Italy
- Sirmi: Top 200 Nov Italy
- Training Magazine: 2010 Top 125 Feb Global
Criticism
Some projects undertaken by Avanade have failed to deliver the desired objectives, the "CSTARS" project being one of the more publicly criticised projects. CSTARS was supposed to provide streamlined procedures and increased efficiencies for the State of Colorado's Dept. of Revenue. It took over 7 years to develop at a cost of about $10 million, but was unplugged in April 2007, just seven months after it was launched.An independent report conducted by North Highland Co. found multiple problems with the project, although North Highland Co. acknowledged the State of Colorado had a "terrible reputation" for handling its computer problems, and Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, said, "I suspect the failure rests on the shoulder of the legislature."
Legal Issues of Note
In 2006, Avanade began filing financial disclosure reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a requirement even for the privately held Avanade when their number of shareholders exceeded 500. (Avanade had 1,100 shareholders at the time of first filing in 2006.) http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/2006/02/avanade_bares_financial_details_1.htmlWhile writing about the contents of the public SEC disclosure, Seattle Times noted that then Avanade CEO Mitch Hill's brother, Mark Hill, was on Avanade's payroll with a $7,000-per-month contract. Mark Hill, who is chairman of California's Marin County Republican Central Committee, was employed by Avanade to facilitate the company "in developing business with certain California governmental agencies." http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/2006/02/avanade_bares_financial_details_1.html
Avanade's parent, Accenture LLP, was named as a defendant in a civil whistleblower lawsuit that the Department of Justice joined in 2007. The suit alleges improper practices involving Accenture's alliances with third-party vendors in connection with work
undertaken for the Federal government. Accenture has denied the allegations of that lawsuit. Avanade was initially named as a defendant in a similar civil lawsuit, but that lawsuit was subsequently dismissed.http://www.immixgroup.com/resources/mu_display.cfm?ID=379
In May 2008, CEO Mitch Hill announced that he would be leaving Avanade to be replaced, per Board of Directors vote, by UK General Manager Adam Warby. Warby, a UK citizen, announced he will continue to work from Avanade's London office while Avanade remains headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA. http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/06/16/focus8.html
External links
- Avanade's Website www.avanade.com
- Avanade's Consultant's Blog Space The Avanade Advisor
- Avanade Inc. Fact Sheet as listed on Hoover's