Atos’ Tokyo 2020 Olympic countdown

With Tokyo 2020 fast approaching, Atos – the worldwide IT partner for the Olympic and Paralympic Games – is continuing its work in preparation for the Games. Atos are at the forefront of digital empowerment for the Olympics, preparing and delivering secure digital platforms and integrating other technology partners and suppliers.

Atos has revolutionised technology in the Games since the start of our relationship with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), 27 years ago. For example, Tokyo 2020 will be the first Games to use Advanced Access Control System with facial recognition accreditation entry system on all athletes, volunteers and staff which will significantly reduce fraud, error and waiting times at entry points. Further innovation which Atos has delivered at previous Games includes:

• PyeongChang 2018 – For the first time ever, all critical applications were hosted 100% in the cloud. All results were delivered around the world in 0.3 seconds
• Rio de Janeiro 2016 – We collected and analysed over 400 million IT security events, filtering them down to ensure risks to IT systems were eliminated
• London 2012 – We gave viewers, for the first time, the ability to choose exactly which competition, nation or athlete they wanted to follow, and enable them to follow more than one sporting event simultaneously

At any Games, security is a key concern. At peak, the Games systems hold the most critical personal data in the world. The Olympic Games Rio 2016 Games were the most targeted for cyber security attacks in the history of the summer Games. However, our secure, dedicated cloud infrastructure ensured that cyber security for all critical systems was maintained. Ensuring the safety of the Olympic Games will continue to be a top priority of Atos.

Delivering the Games involves drawing on talent from across our business, from its consulting division to IT, artificial intelligence, and big data specialists. We take pride in ensuring the safety of the Games and look forward to providing further updates on our work on Tokyo 2020 as the Games draw nearer.

Élie Girard, Atos CEO, said: “We are incredibly proud of our longstanding partnership with the IOC on the delivery of key Digital and Cybersecurity services for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. As the partnership enters its fourth decade, we are continuing to drive innovation and improvement to ensure that Tokyo 2020 will provide for an unrivalled user experience. The use of facial recognition technology for the first time this summer is another impressive milestone in our partnership. Atos looks forward once again to being at the heart of the Games: a global celebration that always witnesses the very best in human spirt and endeavour.”

Unleashing Great British Enterprise

We have started this year by launching our Digital Society campaign – aimed at demonstrating how technology can drive positive social outcomes – with the release of the Unleashing Great British Enterprise paper. It offers valuable insights into how the adoption of new technology, allied with the unparalleled drive and creativity of our entrepreneurs, can deliver total transformation of the economy.

The paper sets out how:

• Local economies that have the most unrealised potential are the ones that could benefit most from digital adoption
• Entrepreneurial and enterprising outcomes can vary significantly within a town or city’s local economy, as well as between the local economies of different towns and cities
• The British economy would benefit to the tune of £34bn a year by 2030 if the local economies of towns and cities were to realise their full entrepreneurial potential over the next decade

The paper has been featured in regional and national press, including in the Daily Telegraph on 8^th January, as well as online media.

Speaking on the paper’s release, Senior Executive Vice President, CEO Atos UK&I and Global Head of Atos Syntel said: “This paper, the first in Atos’ Digital Society series, calls for a step-change in the way businesses understand and embrace digital technology. If we can encourage a change of approach, we could witness every area of the country unleash its entrepreneurial potential and support an emerging digital society which has the power to transform and inform, connect and innovate, and to be the driving force behind Britain’s continued prosperity.”

Rapidly evolving world of cyber threats and defence explained in Atos’ newest paper

Launched in front of a full house at techUK’s Cyber Innovation Den 2019, Atos’ Digital Vision for Cyber Security 2 report highlights significant new threats and innovative cyber security solutions that have recently gathered momentum across the cyber security landscape.

The report marks two years since Atos’ first Digital Vision for Cyber Security was published and concentrates on major changes to the cyber security landscape following those outlined in the previous report, showing that, whilst the power of technology as an enabler for positive change has grown exponentially, unfortunately so too has the power of those who use these same technologies to disrupt and threaten organisations.

Speaking upon launch of the paper, Pierre Barnabé, Senior Executive Vice President, Head of Big Data & Cybersecurity said: “Much has changed in the world of cyber security over the past two years. Significant new threats have emerged but so too have innovative cyber security solutions. The challenge to stay ahead of our adversaries prevails, as does the need to ensure that cyber security is a board-level priority. This demands that we continue developing cutting-edge capabilities, enabling the benefits of digital technologies, and supporting the UK as a world leader in cyber security.”

Atos’ AI & Ethics Campaign Looks Forward To Its Second Year

Atos will be continuing to interrogate the increasing use of AI as part of a successful, ongoing partnership with the think tank Onward.

Following a series of roundtables in Parliament last year on the subject of AI & Ethics, we jointly produced a report – Hardwiring Trust – which was launched during the 2019 conference season at a fringe event with Secretary of State Nicky Morgan. We believe that there are three issues – communication, accountability and accessibility – emerging from this work that warrant further debate and discussion.

In the coming months, we look forward to more discussions with parliamentarians and hosting events exploring the real-world application of AI at our dedicated Lab in our UK headquarters’.

Speaking on the partnership with Onward, Kulveer Ranger, SVP, Head of Strategy, Marketing, Comms & Public Affairs, Northern Europe & APAC said: “We are at a critical time: the future power of AI is still to be fully defined – but we already know it will shape advancement in every aspect of our lives. Our findings must be taken into account to ensure that trust and legitimacy in AI continues to be established. I look forward to continuing the conversation during the course of the year and delivering some real challenge for progress to both government and industry.”

Atos Bytes

Launch of new programme to work with SMEs

Atos has launched a new programme to provide customers with easy access to innovative digital solutions from small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

 

Atos and Google lead the way in digital transformation for customers

Recently Atos was a marquee sponsor at Next London, the largest Google Cloud event taking place in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region in 2019.

This event feeds into Google Cloud and Atos’ global partnership with the agreement to jointly develop and deliver solutions for enterprise customers, bringing together Google’s unparalleled cloud and technology services with Atos’ proven understanding of complex transformation solutions.

 

‘Digital Vision for Mobility’ Day

Following on from the launch of the Digital Vision for Mobility opinion paper, Atos hosted a ‘Mobility Day’ in its UK headquarters, bringing together leading experts from Atos, partners and key transport industry organisations.

Atos’ Digital Vision for Mobility opinion paper sets out how digital technology has transformed the UK’s transport sector over the past 30 years and considers the impact of disruptive forces such as AI and automation on operators and passengers in the near future.

 

Atos celebrates double gold at Women in IT Excellence Awards

The awards saw Atos UK&I, a Times Top 50 Employer for Women, celebrating its young talent with Mary Kirby named Graduate of the Year and Priya Kanda taking home Rising Star of the Year in the ENT tech category.