KUALA LUMPUR AND SINGAPORE, 19 September 2023

Avanade, a leading Microsoft solutions provider, today announced the launch of its first Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab in Southeast Asia. Located within Avanade’s Malaysia office in the heart and financial district of Kuala Lumpur, the lab marks another milestone in Avanade’s commitment to foster innovation, enable industry transformation, and grow local talent in the region.

The lab, which also acts as a centre of excellence, will help organizations accelerate their AI readiness through the opportunity to experiment and co-create generative AI solutions responsibly and build up their capabilities to extract business value from their data. By demonstrating how the responsible and innovative use of generative AI can enable employees in different functions achieve higher productivity, it also aims to help organizations adopt an AI-first mindset.

Avanade’s Trendlines research reveals that 85 percent of organizations globally expect AI to increase revenue growth by 2025. Almost nine in 10 respondents also indicated that they would broaden their use and sharing of first-party data with other companies to drive innovation and growth.

By providing immersive workshops and demonstrations, the lab intends to empower clients with tangible experiences that showcase the vast potential of generative AI-driven solutions. The features organizations can expect from Avanade’s Generative AI Lab include:

• Chatting with Your Data: Clients can seamlessly engage with their data through interactive conversations. This eliminates the need for intricate dashboards or reporting skills and allowing more functions and employees to effectively use data to drive business outcomes.
• Real-Time Voice Analytics: Clients will have the chance to gain instant insights from their conversations with AI onsite. Users can see how valuable insights are extracted during moments of truth in customer interactions through conversation transcription, sentiment analysis, and other avenues.
• Image Generation Demo: Clients can visualize the creative capabilities of generative AI by creating visuals and designs using text inputs.

“With AI reshaping industries and redefining the relationship between people and technology, Avanade’s Generative AI Lab is the ideal sandbox for our clients to reimagine products and services for their customers and what the future of work looks like for their employees,” said Bhavya Kapoor, Southeast Asia Managing Director, Avanade. “This investment reinforces our commitment to unleash the potential of Malaysia and the Southeast Asia region - by helping organizations to uncover the transformative capabilities of AI and data, and therefore positioning them at the forefront of the AI revolution."

As a pioneer in AI innovation, Avanade has collaborated closely with Microsoft. This deep and long-term relationship has enabled Avanade to develop AI-powered solutions on the Microsoft cloud to drive industry and functional transformation globally.

K Raman, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia, said, “The emergence of generative AI enables organizations to be more creative, productive, and efficient. It functions as a catalyst that drives meaningful innovation. The establishment of Avanade’s Generative AI Lab in Malaysia marks a crucial step in bringing to life the opportunities of this cutting-edge technology locally and across the region, and we are glad to partner with Avanade in advancing the adoption of AI for more people and organizations, in Malaysia and beyond.”

Avanade’s Generative AI Lab is set to bring together best practices and innovative solutions under one roof to drive operational excellence and power a new era of innovation in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. The lab also complements Avanade’s recently launched Generative AI services: the Avanade AI Organizational Readiness Framework and Avanade AI Governance Quick Start Service.

Together with Accenture, Avanade was most recently named Microsoft Global SI Partner of The Year for the 18th time; Malaysia Country Partner of the Year; Singapore Country Partner of the Year; Financial Services Industry Partner of The Year (Singapore); Azure Data & AI Partner of the Year (Asia Pacific); and Azure Infrastructure Partner of the Year (Asia Pacific).

About Avanade
Avanade is the leading provider of innovative digital, cloud and advisory services, industry solutions and design-led experiences across the Microsoft ecosystem. Every day, our 60,000 professionals in 26 countries make a genuine human impact for our clients, their employees and their customers.

We have been recognized, together with our parent Accenture, as Microsoft’s Global SI Partner of the Year more than any other company. With the most Microsoft certifications (60,000+) and 18 (out of 18) Gold-level Microsoft competencies, we are uniquely positioned to help businesses grow and solve their toughest challenges.

We are a people first company, committed to providing an inclusive workplace where employees feel comfortable being their authentic selves. As a responsible business, we are building a sustainable world and helping young people from underrepresented communities fulfill their potential.

Majority owned by Accenture, Avanade was founded in 2000 by Accenture LLP and Microsoft Corporation. Learn more at www.avanade.com.