Microsoft, Accenture & Avanade team up for AI transformation

Microsoft, Accenture, and Avanade are collaborating to transform industries through generative AI and Copilot technologies.

As part of the strategic partnership, Accenture and Avanade are introducing a Copilot business transformation practice, supported by Microsoft, which includes investments in new capabilities and training to facilitate the integration of AI at scale. This move is expected to help organisations across various sectors adopt AI processes more efficiently and securely.

Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO of Accenture, stated, "The investment we are making with Microsoft takes our long-standing partnership to the next level, helping our clients accelerate and integrate AI at scale as a catalyst for reinvention. The powerful combination of Microsoft Copilot, agentic and generative AI technologies, and Avanade's and Accenture's deep industry and functional expertise will help enable enterprises to reimagine their processes and operations, discover innovative ways of working, strengthen their security and open up new pathways to value."

Accenture and Avanade's Copilot business transformation practice will provide the necessary technology and industry experience for clients to expand their use of Copilot and agents in enterprise functions. This collaboration includes the development of AI and Copilot agent templates, extensions, plugins, and connectors that organisations can leverage to enhance data utilisation and operational efficiency.

The practice will include 5,000 professionals from Accenture and Avanade, working alongside Microsoft product specialists, incorporating insights from over 50,000 Microsoft Copilot-trained professionals. Accenture plans to scale its internal use of Microsoft 365 Copilots from 100,000 to approximately 200,000 users, informed by their deployment experiences.

Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Microsoft, expressed, "We are pleased to deepen our collaboration with Accenture to help our mutual customers develop AI-first business processes responsibly and securely, while helping them drive market differentiation. By bringing together Copilots and human ambition, paired with the autonomous capabilities of an agent, we can accelerate AI transformation for organisations across industries and help them realize successful business outcomes through pragmatic innovation."

Accenture and Avanade have shown the potential of AI-driven solutions, such as a supplier discovery and risk agent that can yield up to 15% cost savings and a procure-to-pay agent that boosts efficiency by up to 40%. They also collaborate on industry-specific solutions, like the Manufacturing Copilot, which uses Microsoft Manufacturing Data Solutions to enhance factory operations.

In partnership with Microsoft, the companies have facilitated the deployment of Microsoft 365 Copilot at Repsol, a global multi-energy company. The deployment has reportedly resulted in significant productivity improvements, such as a gross average of 121 minutes saved weekly per employee.

Additionally, Accenture and Avanade, with Microsoft, have established a new Azure Generative AI Engineer Nanodegree program through Udacity, aiming to equip learners with the skills necessary to work with AI-driven applications on Azure.

The strategic collaboration between Microsoft, Accenture, and Avanade illustrates the growing importance of AI and digital transformation in modern business practices, aiming to foster innovation and efficiency across their client organisations.