NEW GLOBAL RESEARCH FINDS AUSTRALIAN EXECUTIVES RANK SECOND IN THE WORLD AS COLLABORATIVE TEAM PLAYERS

SYDNEY – June 8, 2010 – A recent global survey of attitudes and adoption of collaboration technologies shows that companies perceive clear value from employee collaboration services and software. The survey, commissioned by Avanade, a business technology services provider, showed that more than 80 percent of executives believe that enterprise-wide collaboration is the key to success with almost half of Australian executives spending a significant amount of time collaborating with colleagues and business partners in the workplace

The research shows that despite the collaborative nature of Australian executives, a technology gap exists when organisations try to filter information to the right people, at the right time. Australian organisations still continue to use traditional methods of communication, such as telephone calls and email, rather than implementing the right collaboration technologies, indicating there is still room for improvement.

The study, conducted by Kelton Research, interviewed more than 500 C-level executives, IT decision makers and business unit leaders from 17 countries. The global results further highlight how collaboration is impacting the enterprise, including that businesses are enabling greater collaboration across globalised workforces and empowering employees to solve business issues more efficiently.

“Technologies that facilitate better collaboration are changing business cultures,” said Jeyan Jeevaratnam, Country Manager, Avanade Australia. “In an age of real-time information and instant expectations, meaningful collaboration that involves both people and technology can mean the difference between success and failure. Avanade views collaboration technologies as essential to the future of the workplace. It allows companies to connect with employees, partners and customers in new and productive ways, from anywhere in the world, to enhance business performance.”

The research illustrates that businesses are enabling greater collaboration across global workforces and empowering employees to solve business issues more efficiently. Among the findings:

• Australia is a nation of collaborators: Forty-five percent of Australian executives surveyed spent up to and more than 40 hours per week collaborating preferring to collaborate as part of a team.

• Collaboration enables Australian businesses to provide best practices: In order to deliver the best outcomes, forty-two percent cent of Australian Executives believe collaboration delivers the greatest results.

• Technology is helping Australian businesses address the pressure to innovate: Notwithstanding the stabilisation of the local economy, 78 per cent of Australian executives still feel the pressure to innovate and gain a competitive edge, which was in line with the global outlook (79 per cent). Adoption of collaboration technologies by Australian companies is increasing (58 per cent) to address these concerns, demonstrating enterprises are becoming more open to embracing new technologies and actively emphasise innovation and growth over cost savings. Across geographies and industries, respondents are reporting a gradual shift away from cost savings as a top priority, instead reporting a marked increase in pressure to innovate.

• More needs to be done to bridge the technology gap that exists within Australian enterprises: Thirty-six per cent of Australian companies overwhelmingly feel current IT infrastructures do not allow employees to accessibly find the right information. This highlights the fact that Australian organisations still need to embrace alternative technologies, like social media and Web 2.0 applications, as part of its collaboration technology mix.

Jeevaratnam believes Australian enterprises are still behind when it comes to the adoption of collaborative technologies. “Although we have seen a resounding shift by everyday Australians to use social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, Australian enterprises are still overwhelmingly choosing more traditional forms of communication – email and telephone – when they could be adopting newer and more collaborative forms of communication such as Microsoft Office Communication to connect with employees anywhere in real time, or using SharePoint to form ad-hoc global teams for collaboration activities,” he said.

“As Australian enterprises proactively look for ways to globalise, these types of technologies are fast becoming a key tool in obtaining the ability to maximise resources to solve a variety of business issues.”

About the Survey

The Collaboration survey was conducted by Kelton Research, an independent research firm, between February 8 to February 25, 2010, and included 538 online interviews with C-level executives, IT decision makers and business unit leaders at the top companies in 17 countries across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. For more information on this study and Avanade’s collaboration expertise, please visit www.avanade.com.

About Avanade

Avanade provides business technology services that connect insight, innovation and expertise in Microsoft technologies to help customers realise results. Avanade’s services and solutions help improve performance, productivity and sales for organisations 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 helpdeliver 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 24 countries worldwide with more than 9,700 professionals. Additional information can be found at www.avanade.com.

Avanade and the Avanade logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Avanade Inc. Other product, service, or company names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. 2010 Avanade Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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