Acquisition, when complete, will make Avanade a world leader in dedicated Microsoft Dynamics CRM services

SEATTLE – April 23, 2010 – Avanade, a business technology service provider, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Microsoft Dynamics CRM assets of Ascentium Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary, Ascentium Federal, Inc. Approximately 90 Ascentium CRM professionals will be offered employment at Avanade as part of the acquisition, most of them located in Baltimore, Md., and Bellevue, Wash. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Avanade’s interest in this acquisition reflects our commitment to the Microsoft Dynamics platform and its ability to help companies around the world achieve powerful business results,” said Adam Warby, CEO, Avanade. “As we at Avanade celebrate our 10th anniversary, it is a fitting time to emphasize our market leadership, commitment to and investment in the business benefits the Microsoft platform delivers to our customers.”

This strategic acquisition is intended to bring together Avanade’s strong technology capabilities, global reach and Dynamics CRM expertise with Ascentium’s dedicated Dynamics CRM team and deep specialization. Upon close of the deal, Avanade becomes a world leader in the provision of dedicated Dynamics CRM services, offering customers more deployment options, scalable systems and broad skill sets in CRM solutions.

“When Ascentium made the decision to refocus the company, we began to look for a home for our Dynamics CRM practice that would mirror our commitment to our customers and our people,” said Mark Barrett, CEO, Ascentium CRM practice. “We found both in Avanade. Avanade is known for its expertise in Microsoft technologies; it also has a long record of focusing on its customers and investing in its people.”

“Avanade and Ascentium are valued partners in delivering Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions to our customers and helping them get the most from their investment,” said Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president, Microsoft Business Solutions at Microsoft. “Both companies bring unique and powerful capabilities that demonstrate the real-world benefits of Microsoft Dynamics.”The traditional model for buying and managing IT systems is rapidly changing. Enterprise software, such as CRM, is increasingly being delivered as a cloud-based service. Avanade recently launched Avanade Online Services (AOS), its software-as-a-services offering for Microsoft enterprise solutions. Dynamics CRM is the first solution offered on AOS. Avanade now is able to offer customers the power of choice – whether to deploy Dynamics CRM on their own internal IT systems or in the cloud as a service through AOS.

“The decision to acquire the assets of Ascentium’s CRM practice is a result of a strategic and deliberate look at how we can grow our business in ways that provide maximum value to our enterprise customers,” said Aziz Virani, executive vice president, Global Technologies & Solutions, Avanade. “Expanding our CRM reach will allow us to bring the benefit of Dynamics CRM to more companies around the world, on-premise or as a service.”

In 2009, Ascentium was named the Microsoft Dynamics Outstanding Reseller of the Year. That same year, Avanade was named to the 2009 President’s Club for Microsoft Dynamics® and to the Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle.

The acquisition is expected to be completed within 90 days, subject to closing conditions.

About Ascentium

Ascentium The Experience AgencyTM delivers unmatched user experiences and innovative business solutions by fusing strategic account planning, innovative emerging technologies and world-class creative to create multichannel connections between consumers, brands and businesses. With offices in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, and London, Ascentium provides innovative, multi-channel, business impacting results for some of the world’s top brands. In 2009, Ascentium was singled out by Forrester Research as the agency with the “highest client satisfaction” on the Forrester WaveTM of Top Interactive Agencies.

About Avanade

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 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.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied.

These include, without limitation, risks that: Avanade and Ascentium will not be able to close the transaction in the time period anticipated, or at all, which is dependent on the parties’ ability to satisfy certain closing conditions; the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Avanade; Avanade’s business could be negatively affected if the company cannot expand and develop its services and solutions in response to changes in technology and client demand; the management consulting, systems integration and technology markets are highly competitive and Avanade might not be able to compete effectively; Avanade’s business could be negatively affected by economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on its clients’ business and levels of business activity; Avanade’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting process; clients may not be satisfied with Avanade’s services; Avanade could have liability or its reputation could be damaged if it does not protect client data or information systems or if its information systems are breached; Avanade’s business could be negatively affected by legal liability that results from providing its solutions or services; Avanade’s results could be adversely affected if its clients terminate their contracts with the company; liabilities could arise if subcontractors or other third parties with whom the company partners cannot deliver their project contributions on time or at all; Avanade’s results of operations may be adversely affected by the rate of growth in the use of technology in business and the type and level of technology spending by its clients; Avanade’s profitability may suffer if it is not able to maintain favorable pricing rates and utilization rates or if the company cannot control costs; Avanade’s global operations are subject to complex risks, some of which might be beyond its control; Avanade’s business may be adversely affected if it is unable to keep its supply of skills, including those personnel currently employed by Ascentium, and resources in balance with client demand; Avanade may be unable to achieve its business objectives if the company cannot manage the organizational challenges associated with the scope

2of its operations; Avanade has only a limited ability to protect its intellectual property rights, and its services or solutions could infringe on the rights of others or it could lose its ability to use the intellectual property of others; Avanade’s ability to attract or retain business may depend on the company’s reputation in the marketplace; loss of the company’s significant corporate relationships with Accenture and Microsoft could reduce its revenue and growth prospects; Avanade has a limited ability to set its own independent strategies, and its business strategy and direction may be dictated by Accenture’s overall business strategy; Avanade relies on Accenture for the majority of its revenue, and the loss of that revenue would have a significant adverse impact on Avanade’s results of operations and may affect its ability to continue to operate; Avanade’s global delivery network relies on Accenture, and the loss of that network would increase Avanade’s operating expenses; Microsoft has certain minority rights, and may exercise those rights to protect its own interests, which may not align with Avanade’s; and Avanade is committed to using Microsoft-related technologies, and the company’s inability to use those technologies would adversely impact its results of operations.

Statements in this press release speak only as of the date they were made, and Avanade undertakes no duty to update any forward- looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Avanade’s expectations.

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Alliance Thrives Through Vision, Commitment and Innovation to the Microsoft Platform

SEATTLE– April 14, 2010 – In April, Avanade, a business technology services provider, marks its 10th anniversary. Created through an alliance between Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Avanade has more than 10,000 professionals in 24 countries. This year, Avanade is approaching $1 billion in annualized sales, making it the world’s largest technology services firm completely dedicated to the Microsoft platform. To date, Avanade has worked with more than 3,400 organizations globally.

Adam Warby, Avanade CEO, said, “This ten-year milestone is a proud moment for Avanade. We have maintained a relentless focus in helping our customers solve some of their most pressing business challenges. As Microsoft technologies advance and new business models emerge, Avanade will continue to be on the forefront of this innovation, helping customers reduce costs, improve performance and realize results. In reaching this milestone, I am grateful to our global staff, customers and the rich heritage of our alliance with Accenture and Microsoft.”

“Our collaboration with Avanade goes back some time,” said Massimo Castagnini, General Manager Consorzio Operativo Gruppo MPS. “I believe we have completed a series of projects which can be considered trailblazers as far as our competitors are concerned. I believe Avanade’s contribution to be extremely important, especially in the area of innovation, which has allowed us to be a company at the forefront of innovation.”

Avanade, Accenture and Microsoft are well positioned for the future as the alliance continues to make investments in innovation on the Microsoft platform. The three companies are actively pursuing opportunities for growth in many areas, including new innovations in healthcare, oil and gas, digital marketing, client- focused CRM solutions and cloud computing.

For example, in the past year Avanade, Accenture and Microsoft have been investing in capabilities to deliver cloud-related services for Microsoft offerings, including Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite and the Windows Azure platform. In January, Avanade launched Avanade Online Services (AOS). AOS provides a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to deliver Microsoft solutions to large enterprises, with Microsoft Dynamics CRM (customer relationship management) as the first solution offered.“Creating Avanade was a bold, but well-timed move as clients began to recognize the value Microsoft was delivering to the enterprise,” said Donald Rippert, chief technology officer and global managing director, Innovation & Ecosystems, Accenture, and an Avanade Board member. “The influence of Avanade and the alliance, and the impact of Microsoft solutions on the market, will only grow as companies realize the benefits that our collective efforts deliver every day.”

“Accenture and Avanade have delivered real business value on Microsoft for BT Group. I strongly believe Dare2Share will contribute to the company’s workforce transformation agenda and help BT Group to become the industry leader in customer service, which are the ultimate goals,” said Peter Butler, Director of Learning, BT Group plc.

In 2000, Microsoft began making significant investments to penetrate the enterprise market. Accenture wanted to capitalize on client demand for Microsoft solutions and establish market-leading expertise on the platform. The two companies forged a powerful alliance that included creating Avanade, a stand-alone company that would combine Accenture’s business and industry acumen and Microsoft’s deep technology expertise.

“The vision to create Avanade with Accenture has proven to be an effective strategy to deliver Microsoft solutions to the world’s largest organizations,” said Simon Witts, corporate vice president, Enterprise & Partner Group, Microsoft, and an Avanade Board member. “Avanade will continue to help companies navigate, deploy and take advantage of Microsoft solutions and services as cloud computing rapidly changes how enterprises deploy and manage technology.”

Over the past decade, Accenture and Avanade have collaborated on more than 5,100 Microsoft projects and developed more than 100 industry-specific and cross-industry solutions. Together, Avanade and Accenture have more than 50,000 Microsoft-skilled staff worldwide – more than any other competitor. Avanade consultants hold more than 13,000 Microsoft certifications, the largest number of certifications per employee of any service provider.

About Avanade

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 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.

Key Drivers for Cloud: cost, flexibility, speed to market

SEATTLE – March 31, 2010 – As companies evaluate cloud computing services to improve business performance, Avanade, a business technology services provider, reports customers are seeing value from Microsoft cloud-based solutions and services.

“We are seeing a great deal of interest in Microsoft cloud offerings in the last six months,” said Aziz Virani, executive vice president, Global Technology & Solutions, Avanade. “Several business factors are driving this. The challenging economic environment has certainly increased interest in the potential of cloud computing because of its ability to help reduce costs. Growing competition is forcing companies to consider how cloud can help them increase speed to market or uncover new market opportunities. And many customers of ours point to the opportunity of cloud to eliminate managing application upgrades, which can consume tremendous IT time.”

In 2009 Avanade engaged Kelton Research to conduct two global surveys on cloud computing – one in February 2009 and the other in September 2009. Between the first survey and the second, there was a 320 percent increase in executives and IT decision-makers reporting they are testing or planning to implement cloud computing technologies.

In the past year, Avanade has been working to deliver cloud-related services for Microsoft offerings, including Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite, the Windows Azure platform and Avanade Online Services (AOS). AOS provides a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to deliver Microsoft solutions to large enterprises, with Microsoft Dynamics CRM (customer relationships management) as the first offering.

Interest in cloud migrations services delivered by Avanade to migrate to Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) has doubled in the last quarter. Based on early deployments, customers are seeing cost savings of 15 to 30 percent when they switch from traditional internally managed systems to BPOS.

A Real-World Example: Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS)

A global manufacturing company based in the Nordic region with operations in more than 400 locations needed to harmonize its business communications and collaboration systems to realize the vision of one global company. Avanade worked with the manufacturer to help deliver a global, unified communication system. The company explored multiple scenarios, using Avanade’s Business Benefits Calculator and Estimating Model to assess whether to deploy unified communications on its internal IT systems or in the cloud. The analysis showed that the company would realize the most benefit, both from a financial and functional perspective, if deployed in the cloud to its more than 5,000 employees.

By migrating email services and adding functionality such as chat, conferencing, presence and project workspaces provided by BPOS, the company estimates it will save several million Euros over a few year period of time. The system is also easily extendable to customers, partners, suppliers and future acquisitions to further improve collaboration across groups.

Avanade Online Services (AOS) is Avanade’s SaaS delivery platform for Microsoft solutions. The first solution running on AOS is Microsoft Dynamics CRM. According to Avanade’s global cloud survey last fall, the majority of respondents ranked CRM as the most critical differentiator and strategic weapon for their businesses versus the competition. The majority of respondents said they are deploying SaaS for CRM (52 percent).

Since the launch of AOS, the majority of interest from customers evaluating and signing contracts are made up of large enterprises, with less demand from the mid-market.

One of the largest global manufacturers, with about 50,000 employees, is an early adopter of AOS. AOS merges the functionality of the company’s old Lotus Notes with the interoperability of a Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The deployment was fast, with no upfront hardware or software licensing costs – zero. Employees are more productive because they can access the new service through their familiar Outlook client, even when offline. A recent survey revealed 95% satisfaction rate, indicating widespread acceptance and endorsement at the grassroots level.

Microsoft Windows Azure

While Windows Azure has only been publicly available since end of January, Avanade has seen strong interest from customers. Avanade was early among global systems integrators to deploy applications into production on Azure. Avanade has created a dedicated Windows Azure team in India to serve customers globally with a development and delivery needs.

For example, Avanade worked with Origin Digital, an Accenture company, to help move to the Azure platform. Origin Digital (www.origindigital.com), a global IP broadcasting company, wanted to increase transcoding throughput without increasing capital expense. To gain dynamic scalability within a familiar development environment, the company built an innovative transcoding Cloud application on the Windows Azure platform. The application is expected to reduce compute costs and database administration time as well as expedite moves into new geographic markets and grow its business.

As cloud computing evolves rapidly, Avanade continues to track industry trends through research as well as customer engagements to help organizations navigate, deploy and take advantage of Microsoft cloud-based solutions and services.

About Avanade

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 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.