Atos and Google open London-based digital innovation centre to boost enterprise adoption of AI

Atos and Google Cloud are reinforcing their joint commitment to helping enterprises digitally transform through the opening of their first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab in London.

The lab is intended to provide private and public sector organisations from across Europe with access to AI experts, so they can collaborate and create new use cases for the technology, including industry-specific applications.

The latter will be underpinned by Atos’s own Codex Industry Solutions data analytics suite, combined with Google’s machine learning and AI portfolio of tools, as the pair work together on getting more enterprises to move to the Google public cloud platform.

The lab is due to open on Monday 15 October, with digital minister Margot James set to attend, who earlier this month talked up the potential for AI technologies to boost the productivity of the NHS.

In a statement, released ahead of the launch event, James expanded her view on this point, talking up the potential benefits the adoption of AI could bring to the UK economy as a whole.

“The UK is leading the way when it comes to expertise in artificial intelligence, and the new Atos lab will help to develop this exciting area of technology further,” she said.

“Through our modern Industrial Strategy and near £1bn Sector Deal, we’re putting AI at the forefront of our plans to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business.”  

The Atos AI facility is the first of several planned, with further labs scheduled to open in Paris, France, and Dallas, Texas, in due course as part of a global push by Atos and Google to support enterprises on their digital transformation journeys, which began in earnest back in April 2018.

At the time, Atos publicly declared plans to work with Google to support enterprises looking to adopt hybrid cloud technologies, machine learning and data analytics, and migrate over to the search giant’s G-Suite portfolio of online productivity tools.

The creation of the company’s joint AI Labs was also foreshadowed around this time, with the pair claiming the move will pave the way for enterprises to enjoy a “fast and smooth adoption of AI for enterprises”.

Adrian Gregory, CEO of Atos UK and Ireland, hailed the UK lab’s opening as marking the start of a new era in enterprise transformation initiatives.

“In combining the advanced capabilities of Atos and Google Cloud AI technology, organisations will have access to compelling solutions acting as a springboard to growth in an evolving, digitally focused marketplace,” he said.