You may have heard of our Advanced Technology Centers (ATCs), but how much do you really know about the ATCs and the central role they play at Avanade? Some fast facts:

• Avanade is 38,000 professionals strong, and 27,000 of those professionals are with the ATC, in 23 centers across the globe.
• The first center was established in India in 2002 (back then called Global Delivery Networks (GDN).
• The ATCs have since grown to hold over 30,000 certifications, becoming the trusted advisors to more than 790 clients in all industries.
• To give you an idea of the kind of impact the ATCs can have: In FY19 alone, they hosted over 259 clients influencing $118.2 million.

To paint a broader picture, we sat down with Avanade ATC Lead Raghavan Iyer. Here, he explains how impactful the ATCs are at Avanade.

Avanade News: How does the ATCs fit into Avanade’s larger business model?

Raghavan: The ATCs support the overall Avanade ecosystem – all three areas (North America, Europe and Growth Markets) and all four market units (Applications and Infrastructure, Data and AI, Modern Workplace and Business Applications) – at scale. The ATC recently got renamed – they used to be called the Delivery Centers, whereas now it’s the Advanced Technology Centers. So, they don’t just do delivery, they’re also focused on the three I’s: Innovation, Intelligence and Industry. They’re home to some very large innovation hubs. Not only do we do presales support, but also large-scale innovation programs with our clients. Last year alone, we supported 1,000+ C-level visits across the ATCs.Hence ATCs are an integral part of Avanade ecosystem and a key asset to drive growth.

Avanade News: How has the ATC evolved since the first center was established in 2002?

Raghavan: The ATCs have gone through several waves of transformation – not just in terms of the dramatic growth in number of professionals (from 0 to over 27,000), but in being recognized for innovation at scale and industry excellence. And the ATCs are continuing to evolve. While we already have specialization at scale, we are currently looking at a path to ensure that we’re able to build that. We need more specialists to meet clients’ needs, so that’s another journey that we’re undertaking right now.

Avanade News: You mentioned the importance of client visits to the ATCs.

Raghavan: Client visits happen as a part of regular delivery and on all pre-sales opportunities – so anything where there is a large RFP. The client usually wants to visit the center, meet the team who they’ll be partnering with, and generally get a sense for how things work. We host these C-level visits to make the client feel comfortable that this place can deliver with excellence for them. There are also visits for repeat clients to explore the art of the possible and to harness our innovation architecture to help co-innovate with us.

Avanade News: What’s something you wish you could do with the ATCs?

Raghavan: I wish we could have everyone within Avanade come to see the ATCs in action. To get a sense of the sheer scale and capacity, you have to visit a center yourself and see everything first-hand.

Avanade News:As you reflect on Avanade’s 20th anniversary year, what are you most proud of from the ATC side?

Raghavan: The ATCs are home to multiple Centers of Excellence and Studios. In each Market Unit, we have a large-scale Studio presence. Every step along the way, the growth of the ATCs has been supported by Avanade. Our former CEO Adam Warby was here ribbon-cutting with me at several of these centers. Whether it’s the number of clients that we service or headcount growth or Centers of Excellence, the ATCs play a key role in that.

Let me give you an example. Recently, we hosted a successful visit with J.P. Morgan, a diamond client. The visit was so successful that in the middle of their cloud transformation, they visited again with another member of their senior management to further understand our capabilities and services related to modernization of their applications and infrastructure. As a result, we uncovered other opportunities with the client, like potential data strategy before migration. The ATCs propel growth by really engaging clients, and that’s a difference maker for Avanade.

Avanade News: Last question – what do you hope for the future of the ATC?

Raghavan: I think ATCs have a great opportunity to continue to support the growth of Avanade and the Accenture Microsoft Business Group at scale. Avanade is the power of AMBG, and if the ambition of our CEO is to grow Avanade to 70,000 people, the ATC will be 50,000 of those people. That’s the number that Pam Maynard gave us as she was talking about the ambition of Avanade. That’s a tremendous growth opportunity and being a part of that opportunity is exciting.

Learn more about the ATCs.