SEATTLE – Sept. 26, 2011 – Avanade, a business technology solutions and managed services provider, today announced its inclusion in the 2011 InformationWeek 500, an annual listing that identifies and honors the nation's most innovative users of information technology. Avanade was recognized for its Modernization and Virtualization Program (MVP), which included a complete revamp of its Seattle-based physical data center in order to better serve the company‘s burgeoning business.
InformationWeek tracks the technology, strategies, investments and administrative practices of America‘s best-known companies. The annual list is unique among corporate rankings as it spotlights the power of innovation in information technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders.
"For 23 years, the InformationWeek 500 has chronicled and honored the most innovative users of business technology," said Rob Preston, editor in chief at InformationWeek. "In this day and age, however, being innovative isn‘t enough. Companies and their IT organizations need to innovate faster than ever before to stay a step or two ahead of their customers, partners, and competitors. This year‘s ranking placed special emphasis on those high-octane business technology innovators."
Through its MVP program, Avanade improved its Seattle-based physical data center to create a modernized, on-demand and automated global data center. As a result, the company significantly increased its responsiveness, created an elastic infrastructure that supports ongoing business growth without server sprawl, and slashed overall operation costs. Avanade also became one of the first companies to use Microsoft Windows Server with Hyper-V to virtualize an entire data center – including development, test and production environments.
"One of Avanade‘s core values is 'Demonstrate a Passion for Technology,' said Chris Miller, chief information officer at Avanade." At Avanade, we take innovation seriously. We‘re lucky that through our association with Microsoft, we are able to actively collaborate on break-through technologies early in a development cycle – and then to directly leverage those results to benefit Avanade customers.
Avanade was further recognized for its innovative IT department and innovative use of Microsoft technologies. Avanade is an established early adopter of many Microsoft technologies, showcasing successful customer implementations of Windows 7, Exchange, LyncTM, Microsoft Dynamics® CRM, Microsoft Windows Server with Hyper-V® for data center virtualization, and more.
The 2011 InformationWeek 500 list was revealed on September 13 at a gala awards ceremony in Dana Point, Calif. Additional details can be found online at www.informationweek.com/iw500/. |
| 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 more than 12,000 professionals. Additional information can be found at www.avanade.com. |
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