Frost & Sullivan Commends Atos for Offering a Superior Customer Experience with its Flexible PLM Services and Solutions

Based on its recent analysis of the product lifecycle management (PLM) services market in discrete manufacturing, Frost & Sullivan recognises Atos with the 2015 Global Frost & Sullivan Company of the Year Award. Atos is a global leader in providing integrated digital manufacturing solutions and services across the entire product value chain. Its customer-centric approach has resulted in revolutionary solutions that address manufacturers’ immediate needs of improved efficiency, productivity and end-user satisfaction.

The increasing complexity of the product lifecycle has fuelled a need for integrated processes to share data and enable full collaboration across the value chain. Further, to cater to a global market, manufacturers need models that take into account business challenges as well as the impact of IT. As the concept of ‘extended enterprise’ is gaining currency, manufacturers are collaborating not just internally, but with external partners as well.

“Atos embraces a large ecosystem of suppliers with the Supplier Connect, a PLM-based supplier collaboration platform built on Teamcenter software,” said Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Karthik Sundaram. “The aim of this solution is to integrate niche and special suppliers and harmonise the processes between the suppliers and the OEM user. This will allow the end user to deliver innovative products by fast-tracking design and launch cycles, while simultaneously cutting costs and improving ROI.”

Additionally, Atos’s unique cloud-based Dynamic PLM Services, which is ideal for small- and medium-sized businesses, leverages a cloud-based infrastructure to reduce capital expenditures, while raising reliability and quality. What sets this product apart from its peers is its attention to detail regarding product data security. Atos understands the need to secure sensitive data and ensures that Dynamic PLM Services comply with its robust security framework.

The company has leveraged its 20+ years of experience in the PLM space to develop the M4PLM, a process-driven methodology that focuses on best practices, indicators, processes, data, stakeholders’ requirements and functionalities that can dramatically reduce the project timeframe. M4PLM© is fully aligned with the Atos implementation methodology (GDP4PLM) which covers the four stages of:

• Assessment of the requirement
• Development of a suitable solution
• Implementation of the solution built and,
• Sustained improvement of the solution.

Frost & Sullivan notes that the company offers services across each of these stages, thereby considerably enhancing productivity and making the entire process seamless.

“Atos also delivers superior cost value with its application management services such as Right-Fit Application Management,” noted Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Guru Mahesh. “The solution is a novel combination of foundation application management and business-enabling application management, which facilitates effective business processes by optimising the end user’s existing environment. It aids 30–50 percent cost savings on application management, improved flexibility, and greater responsiveness to economic and security changes.”

Apart from staying ahead of the technology curve, Atos has also attempted to relatively insulate itself from economic downturns with strategic three-year plans. Its first three-year plan, which concluded in 2013, yielded revenues of €8.6 billion.

Atos has an internal scientific community comprising thought leaders from various technological backgrounds and industry verticals, who drive visionary Mega Trends in the organisation and are instrumental in developing its value proposition. Overall, this customer-centric approach has been instrumental in the company’s climb to the top in the PLM services market.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in devising a strong growth strategy and robustly implementing it. The recipient has shown strength in terms of innovation in products and technologies, leadership in customer value as well as speed in response to market needs. In short, the award looks at the emerging market players in the industry and recognises their best practices that are positioned for future growth excellence.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.