Avanade's Paul Dowling Selected for 2010 CIO Ones to Watch Award


SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - May 4, 2010) -  Avanade, a business technology service provider, today announced that Paul Dowling, vice president of ITS hosting, network, and information security, has been named a recipient of the 2010 CIO Ones to Watch awards from IDG's CIO magazine and CIO Executive Council. This honor is bestowed upon 25 rising stars in information technology (IT) who bring leadership, innovation and value to their organization and are primed to become future CIOs.

"The Ones to Watch honorees bring a great diversity of leadership skills and IT experience to their organizations," says CIO Editor in Chief Maryfran Johnson. "We were especially impressed this year by the keen business focus that is so clearly shaping the careers of this talented group of executives."

Paul was nominated for his deep understanding of what the company needs to be successful and a vision of what technology is capable of doing. With 21 years of experience, Paul is currently responsible for the global data center and network infrastructure that supports Avanade's business operations. Most recently, he is leading a major effort to re-engineer Avanade's data center infrastructure using Microsoft's Hyper-V platform, which will reduce physical machine count by 75 percent and power consumption by 47 percent.

"This recognition of Paul is well deserved," said Chris Miller, CIO at Avanade. "Paul has a rare mix of talents that makes for an exceptional IT professional. He understands business and, as a technologist at heart, he knows IT application development, delivery and support inside and out. It is people like Paul who advance Avanade's commitment to helping customers realize the best results on Microsoft."

Paul joined Avanade in November 2006 and, as a member of Avanade's IT organization, was instrumental in optimizing IT project delivery at Avanade to deliver multiple simultaneous large-scale initiatives, including an ERP conversion and enterprise-wide deliveries of Vista, Exchange, Office Communications Server, and SharePoint Enterprise Search.

Dowling was recognized by a diverse panel of top-tier CIOs as an up and coming leader and someone well equipped to become a successful CIO of tomorrow. All Ones to Watch honorees must be nominated or endorsed by a practicing CIO. Nominations were submitted between May and November 2009 and reviewed by a judging panel of leading CIOs. Each judge scored and ranked the candidates he/she deserved to be Ones To Watch finalists. From the highest-scoring finalists, 25 honorees were chosen.

"The future of the IT profession is a top passion for the members of the CIO Executive Council. That's why they volunteer year after year for the tough job of judging which nominees have the best skills and experience to become our next generation of CIOs," says Pam Stenson, CIO Executive Council Senior VP and General Manager.

Paul accepted his award at the CIO Ones to Watch awards ceremony held on May 3, 2010, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO during CIO magazine's Leadership Event.

About CIO Magazine and the CIO Executive Council
Launched in 1987, CIO magazine addresses issues vital to the success of chief information officers (CIOs) worldwide. The CIO portfolio includes an award-winning website (www.CIO.com), CIO magazine, CIO Executive Programs and the CIO Executive Council. CIO properties provide technology and business leaders with analysis and insight on information technology trends and a keen understanding of IT's role in achieving business goals. The U.S. edition of the magazine and website are recipients of 200 awards to date, including two Grand Neals from the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards and two Magazine of the Year awards from the National Society of Business Publication Editors. CIO magazine is published in more than twenty-five countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, South Korea and Sweden. CIO Executive Programs -- a series of face-to-face conferences including CIO The Year Ahead Summit and the CIO 100 Symposium & Awards -- provide educational and networking opportunities for pre-qualified corporate and government leaders. The CIO Executive Council is a global professional association of CIOs and senior IT leaders from more than 700 organizations that serve as an unbiased peer advisory network. This member-driven organization is also dedicated to leadership development for current and future IT business leaders and to the advancement of the CIO role and IT profession. CIO magazine, CIO.com, CIO Executive Programs and the CIO Executive Council are produced by International Data Group's award-winning business unit: CXO Media Inc.

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.

Contact Information:

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Avanade:
Charlie Zaragoza
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