Avanade says AI's biggest value will come from more than productivity alone. By Neil Trim on October 7, 2026 * Preliminary Avanade research finds nearly three-quarters of business leaders believe AI investment remains focused on incremental gains, with just 17% reporting fundamental operating model redesign * Reuters Imagen launches new AI-powered content activation capabilities, built with Avanade, showing what becomes possible when organisations move beyond AI productivity gains Avanade, one of the world's leading Microsoft experts, today launches Build Beyond Limits, its point of view on the next phase of driving AI value: moving beyond AI productivity gains to create entirely new business models, revenue streams and customer experiences. After working with more than 7,000 organisations worldwide and deploying AI across its own business as Microsoft's Client Zero, Avanade sees a clear pattern emerging. While the first wave of AI adoption focused on productivity and efficiency, the organisations creating lasting competitive advantage are using AI to fundamentally redesign how they operate, serve customers and create value. "We're reaching a tipping point in the AI journey," said Chris Howarth, CEO, Avanade. "The first chapter of AI implementation was about doing things faster. The next chapter is about doing things that were never thought possible before. The organisations that lead tomorrow won't simply use AI to improve today's business. They'll use it to build entirely new ways of creating value." That perspective is reinforced by preliminary findings from Avanade's upcoming AI Reality Report. The research found that: * 73% of leaders believe too much AI investment remains focused on incremental improvements to existing processes and ways of working. * Just 17% report having fundamentally redesigned their operating model around AI. The findings suggest that while AI adoption continues to accelerate, most organisations remain focused on improving existing processes rather than rethinking the business itself. "Most organisations today have AI on their business," said Ben Beath, Chief AI Officer, Avanade. "They're using Copilot, automation and AI tools to make existing work faster and more efficient. That delivers real value and is an important first step. But lasting advantage comes when organisations put AI in their business by redesigning workflows around intelligence, connecting data, technology and people differently, and creating entirely new sources of value. That's where we see the biggest opportunity emerging." Avanade calls this shift AI bolted ON the business versus AI built IN the business. AI ON the business focuses on enhancing existing work through productivity tools, automation and copilots. AI IN the business embeds intelligence directly into products, services, workflows and operating models to unlock new forms of growth, customer experience and business value. One organisation already demonstrating that shift is Reuters Imagen, the content management platform trusted by sports organisations, broadcasters and rights holders. Working with Avanade, Reuters Imagen recently launched new AI-powered content activation capabilities that transform how organisations create, manage and monetise content. Rather than simply automating existing manual processes, the platform uses AI to analyse live and archived footage, automatically generate metadata, identify key moments and create highlights in near real time. Its live-to-social capability enables content to be identified, clipped and published while events are still unfolding, creating new opportunities to engage audiences and generate value from content. "Historically, Imagen was often viewed as a platform used by broadcast operations teams. Today, organisations want the same content to be available across broadcast, digital, social, and marketing teams," says David Wilkinson, Head of Reuters Imagen. "By helping customers activate content across those audiences, we're creating entirely new opportunities for how content is used and monetised. We're helping organisations activate content, create value from it, and deliver it wherever their audiences are." For Avanade, organisations such as Reuters Imagen represent the next stage of AI adoption: moving beyond productivity gains to create new business capabilities that were previously impossible. "That's what Build Beyond Limits is ultimately about," said Howarth. "The future winners won't be the organisations that simply do the same things faster. They'll be the organisations that use AI to redefine what's possible." Ben Beath was announced as Avanade's Chief AI Officer on 30 September 2026. Please follow and like us:

Former Avanade executive is Iron Mountain's country leader. Valdemir Marques de Morais has three decades of experience at companies such as Totvs, IBM, and SAP. October 5, 2026 - 16:35 Font size: -A+A Valdemir Marques de Morais (Photo: Disclosure) Iron Mountain, a U.S. multinational specialized in document management, announced Valdemir Marques de Morais, formerly of Avanade, as its new country leader for Brazil. With about three decades in the market, the executive leaves Avanade after a year at the head of the national sales and business development department. His previous experience was at C3 AI, specialized in artificial intelligence platform and applications for large corporations and governments, where he was based in Florida to serve as the company's senior vice president. Between 2017 and 2022, he was an executive director at Totvs with different focuses, including large corporations, consulting, and international markets. Morais was also head of cloud sales for Latin America at IBM and a senior manager at Accenture. At the beginning of his career, he spent more than a decade and a half at SAP, holding positions as consulting manager and senior sales director for the public sector. At Iron Mountain, the executive takes over operations with the mission of accelerating the growth strategy in Brazil. Morais will be responsible for innovation, portfolio evolution, and new business development. "Brazil is a strategic market for our company and is going through a period of strong technological acceleration. Our focus is to remain close to our clients and support them with innovative information protection and management solutions that unlock the power of their data, especially in the AI era, preparing their operations for the advancement of new technologies," says Morais. Founded in the 1950s in the United States, Iron Mountain is known for offering physical document storage, but in recent years it has been betting on the digitalization of its offerings. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange as a real estate investment trust, the company serves more than 225,000 clients in dozens of countries, offering physical storage and high-security custody for paper documents, magnetic media, and valuable artifacts, in addition to digitalization services, secure digital cloud custody, secure destruction, and document recycling. Among its clients are names such as Oracle, Grammy Museum, Akamai, Canal+, The Coca-Cola Company, GarantiBBVA, Sanofi, and Boeing. Reporter at Baguete Diário

Avanade elevates AI leader Ben Beath to chief AI role. 2 Oct 2026 3 mins Focus will be on helping organisations embed AI technology into. Avanade has signalled that AI has become a core business and transformation priority with the appointment of its AI acceleration lead Ben Beath to the role of chief AI officer. Beath has been with Avanade since 2018 and not only served as the AI acceleration lead but was also co-lead of its AI transformation office. In his new role, Beath will focus on helping organisations embed AI technology into how they operate and create value. He will also drive AI fluency and capability across Avanade, accelerating the use of intelligent tools and agentic systems across its teams and service delivery. "The AI conversation continues to shift incredibly quickly and has moved past debate of whether or not to invest," said Beath. "Today's topic centers around how organizations can realise the full value of that investment. "Key differentiation is being delivered by those that are moving past tools and rethinking how work gets done, how decisions are made, and how they serve their customers. For Avanade that means leading through its own use of AI. "My focus is on learning what delivers results in our business and bringing that experience to clients as they navigate their own transformation," he explained. "That's how we can help turn AI investment into measurable business value." That's his combination of entrepreneurial experience, deep understanding of AI and track record of leading transformation will be invaluable in helping clients navigate this next phase of change, said Avanade CEO Chris Howarth. "Ben has spent his career helping organisations embrace new technologies and translate innovation into business outcomes," he said. "AI presents an enormous opportunity for organisations but realising that potential requires more than technology alone. "Ben will play an important role in helping Avanade and our clients adopt AI at scale, responsibly and with confidence." Beath has been with Avanade since 2018, most recently serving as AI Acceleration Lead and co-lead of its AI Transformation Office. He worked with enterprise clients to navigate the disruptive potential of AI and understand where it can materially change how they operate. The Australian joined Avanade following its acquisition of Loud&Clear, a digital agency he co-founded in 2009 and grew into a large independent digital agency locally. In 2022, he relocated to New York to lead Avanade's Digital Experiences business across the Northeast before moving into his AI-focused leadership roles. Alongside Loud&Clear, Beath has co-founded five startups, including PlayHQ, an Australian community sports platform. Don't miss a thing From its editors straight to your inbox. Get started by entering your email address below. Community Editor