IT services company Atos plans to provide private cloud offerings, such as communication and collaboration services, designed for public sector organisations.
The cloud offerings will be built on Microsoft Windows Server and Hyper-V hosted in Atos data centres, said Atos. As a result of the strategic alliance, Atos will include Microsoft cloud technologies in its cloud portfolio, as well as using it for its internal IT.
Atos added that it will get Microsoft’s support in Public Sector Private Cloud sales efforts, including providing sales, marketing and technical development expertise for joint offers with Atos.
The offerings will be developed in a two-stage approach. In the first phase, the companies plan to launch several distinctive offerings for their customers in the Public Sector in France by early 2012. In the second phase, they will extend the Atos offerings to meet customers’ future requirements, and also into other European countries, said the company.
Atos said the benefits of the offering for public sector customers include: compliance with national and government data security standards; hosting in home country; Community Cloud, integrated national and European regulatory compliance and the possibility of additional services such as archiving, encryption and dedicated security rules.
Atos senior vice-president of cloud services Jérôme Brun said the company is committed to deliver cloud services and use Microsoft’s communication and collaboration technologies, including Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync, all of which are in high demand within the public sector.
Microsoft France public sector market director Nathalie Wright said the alliance with Atos will accelerate the adoption of new technologies within public sector organisations.
Wright said, "Our alliance with Atos will draw the outlines for a new generation of communications and collaboration services for the Public Sector that will be able to benefit from cloud computing, while securing the needs in terms of data sovereignty and security. This is an important step forward to accelerate the adoption of new IT technologies within public sector organisations."
