Interview with Thierry Breton

What were Atos’ major achievements in 2018?

In 2018, Atos changed dimension. We grew substantially and established a truly worldwide footprint, propelling our digital transformation in a sustainable way that will benefit our clients. The clear highlight was the acquisition and rapid integration of Syntel, which has added a new dimension to our Business & Platform Solutions activities, expanded our platform in India, reinforced our priorities in the US, and increased our global footprint. Within Worldline, the acquisition of SIX Payment Services has consolidated its position as undisputed European leader in payment services. Taken together, these acquisitions have reinforced our position as a trusted partner for digital transformation.

Aside from mergers & acquisitions, we demonstrated our technological leadership in a wide range of arenas, from the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang to the new Google Cloud partnership. Over the course of the year, our expertise in vital strategic areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity and GDPR generated high levels of strong and sustainable growth across most of our divisions.

Every day we help our clients to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities presented by the current era of digital change, giving them control of their digital destinies.

How does Atos help its customers respond to these challenges?

Our role at Atos has always been to help our clients take full advantage of technological revolutions – from the introduction of the first PC to the advent of quantum simulation.
Our mission is to help our customers understand this changing world, support them in creating opportunities from digital approaches and resolve any dilemmas they may face in this process. We want to accompany them on a long-term journey into a sustainable, responsible and meaningful future where corporate and social responsibility principles are embedded in their growth strategy – in other words, sustainable digital transformation.
We first look at the specific business issue our client is facing and from there find the digital solution. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, which is why we become experts in our clients’ businesses.

We are entering a new cycle of transformation, that of artificial intelligence (AI), automation and the Internet of Things. Today, the Internet, smartphones and social networks are part of every moment of our lives. They change the way we work, and also the way we relax and communicate with one another. That’s what makes this transition deeper.
Digital transformation is driving fundamental business and organizational changes and our clients know that they must adapt and embrace the opportunities this brings in order to thrive.
One thing is clear: a ‘wait-and-see’ approach is not a viable option for digital transformation.

For Atos it is becoming increasingly clear that business outcomes will be shaped by the constraints of the real-world and ethics. Digital business models will be restrained or sustained depending on how society at large views them – the question “could we?” will more frequently be accompanied by the question “should we?”. We need to consider and mitigate the potential inequalities that technologies like AI and automation could bring. We believe business success will be driven by getting the balance right.