Atos leads first European project for coordination of Big Data

Madrid, 28 November 2012

Atos, an international IT services company, is coordinating the project Big Data Public Private Forum (BIG), a two-year programme co-funded by the European Commission as part of the Framework Programme – FP7. BIG aims to provide a collaborative platform to discuss the challenges and opportunities offered by technologies oriented to the processing of large volumes of data (Big Data) and its impact in the new economy. Atos participates in the project through its Atos Research & Innovation division in Spain.

BIG’s contributions will be crucial for the industry and the scientific community, policy makers and the general public, and will provide an action plan to address the new challenges. Handling large amounts of data plays an increasingly important role in society and the current economy. The data can come from sensors that collect climate, traffic or pollution data in a city, from online enquiries to travel agencies, or via the geopositioning of the multitude of users that are members of communities such as OpenStreetMaps.

The integration, analysis and use of this data may lead to innovative new products and services. For example, we will be able to re-route traffic, if, for example, detected traffic patterns cause excessive increased air pollution under certain weather conditions. Travel agencies can suggest background information on events, historic sites or attractions for certain travel destinations. Governments and Public Administrations can come closer to citizens and leverage their creative potential by opening up government data.

Work in BIG is organised in sectorial forums and technical working groups. These include:

Sectoral Forums: Health; Public Sector; Insurance and Finance; Telecommunications, Media & Entertainment; Manufacturing, Retail, Energy and Transport.
Technical Working Groups: Data acquisition, Data analysis, Data enrichment, Data storage and Data usage.

Work in the various BIG forums and working groups is performed online (through mailing lists, webinars and conference calls), and by organizing workshops, conventions and conferences. The main event co-organized by BIG is the European Data Forum which will take place on April 19th-20th 2013 in Dublin, Ireland.

BIG consortium consists of 11 companies, research centres, institutions and nonprofit communities in six European countries: Atos, Press Association, Siemens, AGT Group, Uni Innsbruck, National University of Ireland in Galway, University of Leipzig, DFKI, Exalead, Open Knowledge Foundation and STI International. However, BIG is an open project, as one of its objectives is to build a self-sustaining community around Big Data in Europe, which is interested in engaging in their forums and working groups communities of experts and initiatives outside the project.

Josema Cavanillas, Research & Innovation Director at Atos Spain, said: “Big Data is a project which results are relevant to public and private organisations from all sectors. One of its main objectives is to help develop a culture of openness in the access and use of large volumes of data, so as to generate new business opportunities through the use of a free flow of information that would otherwise be unmanageable. Atos is particularly proud of its contribution to this pioneering effort, which will generate new opportunities for all economy agents and Administration “.

About Atos

Atos is an international information technology services company with annual 2011 pro forma revenue of EUR 8.5 billion and 74,000 employees in 48 countries. Serving a global client base, it delivers hi-tech transactional services, consulting and technology services, systems integration and managed services. With its deep technology expertise and industry knowledge, it works with clients across the following market sectors: Manufacturing, Retail, Services; Public, Health & Transports; Financial Services; Telecoms, Media & Technology; Energy & Utilities.

Atos is focused on business technology that powers progress and helps organisations to create their firm of the future. It is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market. Atos operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting & Technology Services, Atos Worldline and Atos Worldgrid. For more information, visit: https://atos.net/en-gb