News
Microsoft and Andersen Create Joint Company
- By Scott Bekker
- March 13, 2000
Microsoft Corp. and Andersen Consulting Inc. today announced development of a new company that will focus on enterprise customers. The joint venture, dubbed Avanade, will deliver Internet-specific and other enterprise platform services based on the Windows 2000 operating system platform.
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) president and CEO, says that Avanade (www.avanade.com) is the piece in the Windows 2000 puzzle that will enable Microsoft to address the highest level companies in the enterprise market space.
"Avanade will be primarily focused on the Windows 2000 platform to deploy scalable enterprise solutions," says Mitch Hill, the CEO of Avanade.
Avanade, which is subject to regulatory approval, will specialize in developing Windows DNA development and application integration, highly available enterprise and Web infrastructures, and data center consulting services.
In addition to the joint company, Andersen Consulting (www.ac.com) is creating a dedicated organization of 3,000 business solution architects with expertise in Microsoft technologies and products to support the development of industry-specific and cross-industry solutions on the Windows 2000 platform.
Andersen Consulting's Microsoft Solutions Organization, leading with Windows 2000, will define and build reference architectures, develop and distribute reusable knowledge capital.
Microsoft’s Ballmer said that Avanade and the relationship with Andersen positions Microsoft to compete with IBM’s Global Services division more effectively than Microsoft has in the past. "There’s no customers we have to walk away from saying ‘We can’t help you,’" he says. – Thomas Sullivan
About the Author
Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.