BT and Atos create a new computer vision partnership
BT has teamed up with French IT services giant Atos to develop Digital Vision, a new computer vision solution that the companies claim will help ‘revolutionise’ industries, including manufacturing and logistics among others.
The partnership comes after BT recently announced it was investing almost £100mn over the next three years in its ‘Division X’ unit to accelerate the development of customer solutions which integrate emerging technologies like 5G, IoT, Edge Compute, Cloud and AI.
Marc Overton, Managing Director for Division X, part of BT’s Enterprise unit, said: “This partnership with Atos gives us access to the Computer Vision market for the first time, providing us the opportunity to play an even bigger role in the digital transformation of businesses around the world.
“Working together, we have been able to combine our skill sets to create an innovative platform that provides a host of potential use cases for facilities such as smart ports and transport hubs, to retail and fuel forecourts, to manufacturers. Utilising cutting edge technologies such as 5G, AI and edge computing, this new platform is linked to our wide partnership with Atos and we see huge potential for growth in this space over the next few years.
Providing customers with an AI-based analytics tool
BT and Atos already have a relationship, with an outsourcing agreement signed in 2013 and extended in March 2022 until 2026.
Earlier this year, the companies expanded their relationship to co-develop solutions with a focus on sustainability that will combine BT’s capabilities in secure connectivity and infrastructure, including private 5G and edge computing, with Atos’ digital expertise in sectors such as manufacturing.
This new solution will combine BT’s digital connectivity with Atos’s Computer Vision Platform, a scalable end-to-end solution, providing pre-trained & customisable AI models.
AI video and image analysis is used industry-wide in applications such as transport safety and traffic monitoring, quality control in manufacturing, and location tracking. The joint BT-Atos solution will improve security and monitoring for customers by enabling effective, real-time use of video and image data.
Jean-Claude Geha, Global Head of Telecom, Media & Technology at Atos commented: “As our clients are going through their digital transformation, they need the right and best digital services to accelerate the next step of their journey. As a global leader in digital transformation, Atos plays an essential role in co-developing innovative use cases with CSP (Communications Services Provider) for real-time businesses, thanks to its extensive knowledge of Edge and AI technologies and its deep expertise in system integration. We are excited to work, once again, with BT to unlock new capabilities for the Enterprise market where BT is seeking to offer much needed Vertical Digital use cases to increase efficiency, boost productivity, and to improve business opportunities and customer experience.”
