Paris, 3 December 2015 – Atos, an international leader in digital services, today reveals how digitalisation is rapidly  transforming the world we live and work in, and acting as an enabler for advantage and growth in its latest thought leadership title – Ascent^[2]– Views from our digital future. 

The magazine explores how digital is touching all areas of our life from its potential influence in boardroom decisions through to making our cities safer and even saving lives by reducing the time and cost of bringing new drugs to market. It also shows how digital is transforming the way we communicate, connect and work. It includes a feature on the 5 digital apps you might never have thought of - such as “Edible tech” - and a column on the tech terms - that are or soon could be infiltrating our everyday language, for example,  sensoration for putting sensors in things.

Thierry Breton, Chairman and CEO of Atos, commented: “In our new Ascent magazine, we take a compelling digital journey into the future to share our vision on emerging trends and importantly to help our clients respond positively to the powerful and inspirational shifts they bring. Now that we live in a world in which almost everything can be joined up at a technological level, the possibilities for growth are limited only by our imagination.”

Highlighted below are two of the topics explored by the magazine to illustrate how digital is transforming all aspects of our lives.

Semantic technology to influence boardroom decisions within 5 years

Semantic techniques bridge the gap between information and knowledge.  Atos illustrates the potential benefits of semantic technology through two exclusive short stories by Flinn Mack, US bestselling author of technology thriller Qubit. Both stories are set in the year 2020. In ‘Glitch?’ a company is struggling to understand how it has been outwitted by a rival with the use of semantic technology. In ‘Sunshine!’ we meet a second company as they celebrate a game changing insight.

Commenting on the short stories Guy Lidbetter, member of the Atos Scientific Community, explains: “While the stories are fictional, they illustrate the ways in which we believe Semantics will increasingly be applied. With the rise of Big Data, the Internet of Everything and web-scale computing, it is very possible to envisage companies using semantic techniques and technologies for strategic decision making by 2020.”

How virtual reality will save your life?

It can currently take up to 10 years to bring a new medicine to market. Digitalisation could help speed up the process, enabling a faster response to crises such as the major Ebola outbreak that struck West Africa in 2014.

Markus Fuchslocher, Head of Pharmaceutical Industry at Atos, explains: “‘By taking advantage of Big Data analysis, pharmaceutical companies can become more innovative and efficient, especially through the clinical trials process. They can learn from the retail and banking sectors about engaging more effectively digitally with the end-user. And by using technology to set up virtual trials and pressing for more open data to be available, they can unblock stagnant pipelines.’

The magazine is one of the Ascent initiatives that are designed to share with our partners and customers innovation and thought leadership on emerging trends in many areas. Supported by illustrations, the magazine addresses the four dimensions of Digital Transformation that Atos has prioritized to accompany its clients on the journey to digital in order to help them reinvent their businesses whilst maintaining security and compliance and improving operations.

    [2] Ascent program is designed to share innovation and thought leadership on emerging trends across the business technology spectrum.

The Ascent magazine is a collaborative forum. It blends key insights from our Atos business technologists with the views of a broad spectrum of experts from industry and academia.