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Progressive Companies Accept New Work Approaches, Apply new Business Processes and Realize Results 

SEATTLE – Jan. 29, 2013 – Avanade, a global business technology solutions and managed services provider, today released results from a global survey of nearly 600 C-level executives and IT decision-makers in 19 countries. Research findings show that widespread use of consumer technologies in the enterprise are having a sweeping impact on traditional ways of doing business and the results companies can achieve.

Traditionally, technology use at work has been dictated by business requirements. Executives authorized technology purchases based on corporate needs and objectives. For example, new regulations led to email archiving systems and bigger customer rosters led to centralized customer relationship management (CRM) systems. More recently, this dynamic has shifted from enterprise-driven to employee-driven technologies, especially in the area of mobile devices and consumer technologies.

Business are Enabling Consumer Technologies
Rather than shut out mobile and consumer technologies, Avanade’s survey shows companies are not only embracing these technologies in the workplace, they’re enabling them.

• More than six in ten companies (61 percent) report the majority of their employees now use personal computing devices in the workplace.
• More than half (54 percent) report the majority of their employees use smartphones for basic work tasks such as reading email, online documents and calendar invitations.
• One-third (33 percent) report the majority of their employees use tablets for basic work tasks.
• More surprisingly, the exact same number of respondents – 33 percent – report the majority of their employees are using tablets for advanced business purposes such as CRM, project management, content creation and data analysis.

Progressive Companies are Realizing the Most Reward
The most progressive companies that are redesigning how work gets done are building entirely new business processes around these trends to reap new benefits. Avanade calls this “Work Redesigned.” According to Avanade’s research:

• More than 7 out of 10 (71 percent) companies surveyed have changed at least one business process – including processes in IT management, sales and marketing, HR and customer services – in an effort to accommodate emerging work trends including the use of mobile and consumer technologies.
• Notably, 20 percent of companies have changed 4 or more business processes to capitalize on the rise of mobility and consumer technologies at work.

These same progressive companies – businesses that have enabled emerging mobile and consumer technologies and have established progressive policies and business processes to support them – are seeing measurable impact and positive results on profitability, product development and employee satisfaction. More specifically Avanade’s research reveals these companies are reporting:

• Stronger sales – Companies are deriving greater value from collaboration technologies. They are 73 percent more likely to report improved sales and new customer acquisition through the use of their collaboration tools than other companies.
• Increased profits – Companies that have adopted emerging mobile and consumer technologies are 54 percent more likely to report increased profits than businesses not leveraging these technologies, policies and processes.
• Greater agility – Similarly, those same companies are 58 percent more likely to report improvement in bringing products and services to market.
• Improved employee satisfaction – These companies are 37 percent more likely to report improved employee satisfaction. They also report a greater emphasis on creativity and greater ability to solve problems.

Mick Slattery, executive vice president, Avanade Global Service Lines, said, “The nature of work and how business gets done is going through a transformation. Consumer technologies in the workplace are a significant catalyst for this transformation. Executives are capitalizing on the opportunity these technologies offer by adjusting business processes and updating policies with measurable results in areas such as customer service, profitable growth, happier employees and bringing new products and services to market faster.”

Closing the Business and IT Gap
Avanade’s research also uncovered a significant gap in views between business leaders and IT regarding the role of mobile and consumer technologies in the enterprise. The disconnect between C-level executives and their IT staff may be the biggest factor limiting more widespread redesign of business processes enabled by mobile and consumer technologies. Security is often a chief concern with new technology adoption. However, security concerns reveal a disconnect between IT decision makers and business executives.

• Seventy-one percent of C-level executives believed the rest of the company could accomplish work tasks outside of the office walls – 39 percent higher than the rate of IT staff and business unit leaders who reported the same.
• IT decision makers are focused on minimizing potential risks (55 percent) with personal computing technologies at work. However, the C-suite’s primary concern is capitalizing on the potential benefits (56 percent) these employee-owned devices can bring to the enterprise.

 Successful companies are bridging these two views to achieve the best results. “This disconnect is not uncommon – executives see opportunities with new technologies while IT seeks to protect the company’s assets,” added Slattery. “Our experience shows us that the type of transformation these technologies can deliver must start with a close partnership between business and IT leadership.”