Home Retail Group appoints Atos to run - For Business Account

After a competitive tender the Home Retail Group (HRG) has signed a 4 year agreement with Atos, an international IT services company, for the implementation of a business account scheme to allow SME business customers to purchase goods and services in-store, online and via Argos Direct. The new For Business account card will be launched by HRG’s business to business division, Argos for Business.

Danny Clenaghan, Managing Director of Argos for Business said: “We are committed to providing excellent service to our customers and we are excited to extend this service to the SME market. We are confident that Atos will deliver this service to the excellent standard our customers expect. The For Business account allows businesses instant access to over 35,000 product lines at great value prices, supported by excellent account management tools.”

Iain Kingsley, SVP for Hi-Tech Transactional Services in the UK Atos, said: “We are delighted to add Home Retail Group to our client list, which extends our business account scheme in the retail sector. We have developed an excellent offering in payment services and this contract is further evidence that they can be adapted and tailored to meet the needs of different clients to help them attract business customers, drive sales and therefore gain competitive advantage.”

Atos, a leader in transaction services, will be providing full management of the business account card for small to medium enterprises in the UK and providing an end to end service from application to payment. The scheme will commence in April with a trial across a region of Argos stores.

The on-line account support facility will allow customers to manage their account, control costs and access various management information tools including a line item detail invoice archive.

Atos launches trends report Ascent Look Out 2012+

Atos launches trends report Ascent Look Out 2012+

Atos, an international IT services company, unveiled its fourth edition of the independent trends report. Ascent Look Out 2012+ brings together insights of over 200 contributors from various geographies, business lines and industries across Atos. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the emerging trends, business needs and technologies that will be driving innovation in the years ahead.

The report presents clear and independent market-sector information to help clients make key strategic decisions about their businesses and anticipate new challenges created by the emergence of new technologies now and in the future. Atos looks for continued improvements and therefore offers its trends report for the first time in five editions to better adhere to Atos go to market strategy and focus on clients in five market sectors: Manufacturing & Retail, Public Sector, Healthcare & Transport; Financial Services; Telecoms, Media & Technology and Energy & Utilities.

Next wave of disruptive technologies and innovative business processes
The special ‘Focus On’ section is devoted to the Social Organization that transforms collaboration by combining people connections, knowledge and processes. A new way of working embraces the communication mindset, tools and techniques that consumers are already using for communication and collaboration - like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter - in the workplace. This increases efficiency, fosters innovation and helps organizations to grow.

The coming together of traditional enterprise collaboration tools, content management and social networking will create the next wave of disruptive technologies and innovative business processes and ultimately change the way that enterprises collaborate, both internally and externally. It may even lead to the formation of highly connected and borderless enterprises in the longer term.  Atos sees early adopters who gain competitive advantage from the many potential opportunities that the Social Organization has to offer, like Atos zero email initiative.

Gilles Grapinet, Senior Executive Vice President Global Functions at Atos said: “The technology and business landscape has been changing at an unprecedented speed and, as one of the world’s leading IT companies, we have the responsibility to think one step ahead and anticipate coming business and technology challenges for our clients. We are proud to issue for the fourth edition of our in-depth trends report that is embraced by our customers worldwide. Ascent Look Out aims to raise awareness of the emerging trends, business needs and technologies that will drive innovation and we believe that early adopters of social organization tools will gain competitive advantage in an economy where IT pervasiveness accelerates”.

Atos is awarded the `2012 Innovative Payments Trophy'

Atos Worldline, which brings together Atos core expertise in hi-tech transactional services, has been awarded the 2012 Innovative Payments Trophy in the “Customer Experience” category at the PayForum trade fair in Paris for its innovative ‘Cross Channel Payment’ solution. Developed by Atos Worldline, this R&D concept provides a single mobile payment experience regardless of the initial payment channel – web, mobile, connected TV, IVS or call centre. Atos Worldline improves the purchasing process and continuity between channels through innovation.

Atos India SAP Education introduces new courses

Atos India SAP Education introduces new courses in Instructor Led Training mode - BI (Business Intelligence), EP (Enterprise Portal), QM (Quality Management)for more information please get in touch with Uday (uday.shiradibaba@atos.net), Gaurav (gaurav.shukla@atos.net) and Raju (parasurama.raju@atos.net).
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Atos is the recipient of a 2012 SAP Pinnacle award

Atos, an international IT services company, today announced it is the recipient of a 2012 SAP® Pinnacle award as the Sustainability Partner of the Year. f a 2012 SAP® Pinnacle award as the Sustainability Partner of the Year. SAP Pinnacle awards are presented annually to the top SAP partners that have excelled in developing and growing their partnership with SAP (NYSE: SAP) and driving customer success. Winners were selected based on over 150 nominations in 22 categories received from partners and SAP employees.

The SAP Pinnacle awards recognize the leading SAP partners across a wide variety of categories, including resellers, OEMs, sustainability, technology, support, services and outsourcing. They underscore SAP's commitment to a sound ecosystem strategy, which SAP recognizes as a key driver in delivering unmatched value to customers and enabling SAP to reach its business goals.

ATOS acquires Paris-based online communities vendor blueKiwi

blueKiwi, the small French provider of SaaS-based online community solutions, has been acquired by ATOS for an undisclosed amount. BlueKiwi has a staff of 30 and is thought to have turned over around EUR 5 million last year. BlueKiwi has over 100 corporate clients, including BNP Paribas, SFR and Dassault Systemes, who use its software to set up a collaborative platform linked to external communities. Dassault invested USD 5.2 million in the start-up, and Soffinnova Patners USD 6.5 million. The companies and BlueKiwi founders Carlos Diaz and Christophe Routieau sold 100 percent of the company to Atos. The acquisition is part of the group's strategy to focus on future means of enterprise communications. Atos CEO Thierry Breton last year announced the objective of eliminating all in-house e-mail within three years in favour of instant messaging and collaboration software.

Atos is awarded the '2012 Innovative Payments Trophy'

Paris, 22 March 2012 - Atos Worldline, which brings together Atos core expertise in hi-tech transactional services, has been awarded the 2012 Innovative Payments Trophy in the "Customer Experience" category at the PayForum trade fair in Paris for its innovative 'Cross Channel Payment' solution. Developed by Atos Worldline, this R&D concept provides a single mobile payment experience regardless of the initial payment channel - web, mobile, connected TV, IVS or call centre. Atos Worldline improves the purchasing process and continuity between channels through innovation.

Depending on the original transaction channel, payment interfaces and interactions are often different. Cross Channel Payment lets users transform their smartphones into "Personal Payment Terminals". Cross Channel Payment's innovative power lies in interrupting the channel while ensuring an unbroken user experience.

The advantages of Cross Channel Payment:

• The solution provides banks, online retailers and other payment service providers with a simple and secure payment process which is standardised across all channels so as to increase the conversion rate.
• An innovation in payment methods strengthens image and support and increases the number of transactions processed.
• It allows users to feel secure, confident and reassured in their payment experiences regardless of the transaction channel.
• Creation of new functionalities, for example, delegating the purchasing act to a third party without having to pass on bank details.

The solution may be offered to banks, merchants and payment service providers who are seeking to innovate and streamline their customer experience.

Denis Faivre, Director of Innovation at Atos Worldline: "This R&D project forms part of Atos Worldline's commitment to continued development of innovations in the payment field. We are proud to have won this trophy as it highlights this capacity for innovation. Users will experience many benefits which are designed to make daily life considerably easier with regard to payments."
Atos Worldline is present at PayForum, the annual gathering for payment professionals, held at the Étoile Saint-Honoré in Paris on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 March 2012. Experts on the Atos Worldline stand will be speaking about innovative solutions including: Simple and strong authentication for sensitive online transactions, thanks to the Smartphone Sea on mobile application, the centralised electronic payment solution, the Central Acceptance solution, which complies with PCI-DSS requirements and independent and centralised payment terminals.
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Atos launches university-accredited information management course

Course covers technical and personal skills

Read more: http://www.computerworlduk.com/#ixzz1qrKDyUhq