Atos signs key contract with the European Space Agency

Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, has been selected by ESA, the European Space Agency, to deliver and operate Copernicus Data and Information Access Services (DIAS). The DIAS will combine real-time geo data from Copernicus, the world’s largest single Earth Observation program, with data from multiple sources and turn it into information products for companies in sectors such as manufacturing, insurance, utilities, agriculture, forestry, urbanism and emergency services.

For example, it can help:

• Scientists understand the impact of climate change,
• Governments and cities better manage and anticipate urban development,
• Oil and gas companies evaluate and manage risk,
• Farmers better manage their crops and yield.

Open platform for innovation

On behalf of the European Commission and the European Space Agency, Atos will lead a newly-created consortium, composed of DLR, e-Geos, EOX, GAF, Sinergise, Spacemetric, Thales Alenia Space and T-Systems.

Atos will be responsible for integrating, delivering and operating the Cloud platform which will integrate specialized data sources. This new platform will make the data from the European Union constellation of Sentinel satellites and from data providers, more accessible. This will make it possible for third parties (industrial players, institutions such as national space agencies, SMEs and start-ups) to build innovative business services based on satellite data. Atos, with its partners, will build and commercialize the new services.

Atos’ technology and expertise combined with those of its partners will bring speed, flexibility and robustness to the platform which is capable of handling vast amounts of data in different formats.

The Atos Codex portfolio of data services will provide DIAS with analytics and cognitive capabilities to turn raw satellite data into valuable insights for several industries.

Key value for society

Providing new services that integrate accurate and real-time information from satellites offers the following major advantages:

• Greater understanding of how our planet functions– key earth observation and remote sensing data is increasingly valuable to understand the functioning of our planet and ecosystems.
• Faster prediction– combining and processing large volumes of complex data from multiple sources can produce unique insights in near real-time.
• Improved decision-making– organizations can now easily integrate earth observation data into their business value chains providing insights that have not previously been within reach.

Stéphane Janichewski, Head of Defence & Aerospace Market at Atos concludes: “We have spent several years investing in this offering in order to help scientific organizations, public organizations and enterprises of all sizes benefit from combining large volumes of Earth Observation data with third party data sources. We see immense opportunities to address some of society’s greatest challenges such as wildlife protection, climate change or resource scarcity.”

According to the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC), which brings together professionals in the sector, the market for services based on Earth observation data is expected to grow by 10% to 15% over the next few years, with multiplication of innovative services in many areas.

The platform will be available to customers worldwide in June 2018.