Main News Desk

SABMiller taps into global skills

~ Avanade and Deloitte enable brewer’s key staff to work together effectively with Collaboration Toolkit ~

UK - July 19, 2007

Avanade, the IT consultancy, and Deloitte, the business advisors, have worked together to complete the delivery of a global ‘Collaboration Toolkit’ that will enable staff at SABMiller to work together more effectively, wherever they are based.

The Toolkit is based on the first global deployment of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS 2007), Live Communication Server (LCS 2005) and LiveMeeting. Avanade, who built the technical platforms, worked alongside Deloitte’s team of consultants, who developed the strategy for the project and managed it through build, test, pilot and delivery to staff.

The collaborative working tools allow SABMiller’s 60,000 group-wide staff around the world to connect with each other in online ‘collaboration rooms’. These enable the easy sharing of documents, plus information sharing via wikis and blogs where discussion groups for the work are created. New instant messaging technology combined with ‘presence awareness’ enables staff to locate colleagues, know whether they are available and communicate with them via the most appropriate medium. They can also use the ‘People locator’ to search for the person with the right skills to contribute to the project. The Collaboration Toolkit also includes web and audio conferencing facilities and tools for large file transfer.

Karen Pritchett, project manager at SABMiller, commented: “Our people, and their knowledge, are one of our biggest assets and it is recognised, right from the top of the organisation, that in order to sustain our success we need to enable our global workforce to collaborate more easily.”

Colin Clarkson-Short, partner in consulting at Deloitte, responsible for managing all of the third parties involved in the project, commented: “Following the success of the pilot in January, the Toolkit is now deployed globally. Employee feedback suggests that teams are in more regular contact with each other and information is being shared and re-used around the world.”

Richard Hall, chief technology officer at Avanade UK, explained further: “The collaboration workplaces have become a central point of communication, where staff can develop global standards and share working practices. Furthermore, everyday contact has been simplified with Live Communication Server and the new technology’s easy integration with Microsoft Outlook. Combined, the technology in the toolkit equips staff to manage complex global projects more effectively, by connecting people with people.”

One construction project in Colombia is using the experience gained from a benchmark 18-month project to build a brewery in Port Elizabeth (South Africa). Dr. Dino Petrarolo, Group Head of Manufacturing Development, explains that using the knowledge, people and documentation captured and shared within the Collaboration Toolkit, the new Colombian brewery is on track to be completed within just 12 months.

Karen concluded: “This project has given staff around the world tools to work together easily on everything from financial reports to brewing processes. The deep technical expertise of the teams involved meant that a global deployment to desktops within 60 countries, with central servers in the US and project managers in London and South Africa, was completed exactly according to the brief. The Toolkit has earned the buy-in of staff around the world, who are already sharing vital expertise across the business.”

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Executive quote

Richard Hall, chief technology officer at Avanade UK, explained further: “The collaboration workplaces have become a central point of communication, where staff can develop global standards and share working practices. Furthermore, everyday contact has been simplified with Live Communication Server and the new technology’s easy integration with Microsoft Outlook. Combined, the technology in the toolkit equips staff to manage complex global projects more effectively, by connecting people with people.”

Customer quote

Karen Pritchett, project manager at SABMiller, commented: “Our people, and their knowledge, are one of our biggest assets and it is recognised, right from the top of the organisation, that in order to sustain our success we need to enable our global workforce to collaborate more easily.”

About the company

About Deloitte

In this press release references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte & Touche LLP, which is among the country’s leading professional services firms. Deloitte & Touche LLP is the United Kingdom member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (‘DTT’), a Swiss Verein whose member firms are separate and independent legal entities. Neither DTT nor any of its member firms has any liability for each other’s acts or omissions. Services are provided by member firms or their subsidiaries and not by DTT. Deloitte & Touche LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press. For further information, visit our website at www.deloitte.co.uk

About Avanade
Avanade is a global IT consultancy dedicated to using the Microsoft platform to help enterprises achieve profitable growth. Through proven solutions that extend Microsoft technologies, Avanade helps enterprises increase revenue, reduce costs and reinvest in innovation to gain competitive advantage. Avanade consultants deliver value according to each customer’s requirements, timeline and budget by combining insight, innovation and the talent of our global workforce. Founded in 2000 by Accenture and Microsoft Corp., Avanade has more than 6,500 professionals serving customers in 22 countries worldwide. Additional information can be found at www.avanade.com.

Additional information can be found at www.avanade.com.

About SABMiller
SABMiller plc is one of the world’s largest brewers with brewing interests or distribution agreements in over 60 countries across six continents. The group’s brands include premium international beers such as Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell, as well as an exceptional range of market leading local brands. Outside the USA, SABMiller plc is also one of the largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world.

In the year ended 31 March 2007, the group reported US$3,154 million adjusted pre-tax profit and revenue of US$18,620 million. SABMiller plc is listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges

Contact details

For further information, please contact:
Suzy Ferguson or Gemma Rowlan at LEWIS
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7802 2626
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7802 2627
Email: suzyf@lewispr.com / gemmar@lewispr.com
Web: www.lewispr.com

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