Atos Origin selected by the IGN for the technical management of the 1st national Geoportal in Europe

Paris, 11 December 2006 - Atos Worldline, an Atos Origin Company, announced today that it has signed a 4 year contract with the IGN (The French National Geographical Institute) for the second phase of the Géoportail project, the 1st portal providing unique access to French geographical information. As part of this ambitious project, Atos Worldline, in partnership with technical expertise from GeoConcept, EEE-i.g.o and Sequoia, is carrying out the development and enhancement of the Géoportail, its operation, the new graphical charter and the portal’s ergonomics, as well as the overhaul of the institutional website at www.ign.fr.

Géoportail is the reference portal for access to all French state and private sector geographical data, intended for the general public as well as professionals. The www.geoportail.fr service, the first national geoportal in Europe, has been online since June 23rd, 2006. In just a few clicks, and in 3D from 2007, 400,000 aerial photos can be viewed, showing the commune or area of your choice and covering the whole of France, down to a resolution of 50cm. The service will also offer access to a large quantity of local geographical data, as well as a number of significant value added services.

Under the aegis of the Direction Générale de la Modernisation de l’Etat (DGME - The State Modernisation Directorate), the IGN, managing the project along with the BRGM (French Geological and Mineral Research Agency), is establishing itself as the leader of the French geographical field.
The IGN has assigned technical management of the second phase of the project to Atos Worldline. This entails its technical overhaul, the design of the new graphical interface and the portal’s ergonomics, management and hosting on a dedicated industrial platform, as well as the overhaul of its institutional site at www.ign.fr.

Atos Worldline called upon the expertise and innovative solutions of French partners for this project:

* GeoConcept, bringing its expertise and technology to supply the Geographical Information System (GIS) which will manage the data warehouse and its web distribution,
* EEE-i.g.o, for the high added value integration of Skyline solution, which will enable future navigation of the IGN’s mapping information in 3D,
* The Sequoia agency, for editorial support and the translation of the content of the website.

The future Géoportail, which will go live in 2007, will differ through its collaborative and partnership dimension: as a reference portal, it will give access to all geographical data, both from the state and private sectors. All parties who want to distribute their content or offer value added services will therefore be able to use Géoportail to do so, since the service guarantees data interoperability.

This interoperability will enable layers of very different types of geographical data to be superimposed on one another with accuracy, which implies that standards and strict geographical principles must be respected during the development phase. IGN partners and content providers will therefore have access to a collaborative tool which will enable georeferencing and allow their data and geographical services to be displayed in the Géoportail.

“We chose Atos Worldline following a competitive tender process,” declared Patrick Leboeuf, IGN’s Géoportail Project Leader. “We hope that Atos Worldline’s responsiveness and their team investments, as well as successful co-operation with our Public Sector technical teams, will allow us to offer the general public and professionals a high value added online geographical information service.”.

“We are very proud to have been selected by the IGN to manage the technical part of this complex project. The development of the first national geoportal in Europe is an ambitious challenge requiring a great deal of flexibility in its approach, strong technical discipline and detailed management of deadlines. Thanks to our proven experience in the operation and hosting of large sites with very high volume traffic, we are ready for this challenge.” declared Didier Dhennin, President of Atos Worldline.

This new ambitious contract strengthens the Atos Origin Group and Atos Worldline’s position and visibility in the public sector.
Atos Origin has gained more than 20 years experience of consulting and public sector knowledge and nearly 10,000 consultants and IT staff are working to modernise the public sector in Europe, taking part in key public sector reform projects in the leading countries. This unique pool of knowledge enables the large state authorities to benefit from a significant return on experience.

About the IGN (Institut Géographique National - the French National Geographical Institute)
www.ign.fr

About Atos Origin
Atos Origin is an international information technology services company. Its business is turning client vision into results through the application of consulting, systems integration and managed operations. The company’s annual revenues are EUR 5,5 billion and it employs over 47,000 people in 40 countries. Atos Origin is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic Games and has a client base of international blue-chip companies across all sectors. Atos Origin is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market and trades as Atos Origin, Atos Euronext Market Solutions, Atos Worldline and Atos Consulting.

Atos Worldline, an Atos Origin company
Atos Worldline is a major European player in the processing of large-volume electronic exchanges, specialising in electronic payment services, CRM and e-services (internet, voice and mobile services). With the focus on technological innovation, Atos Worldline implements its solutions in processing or integration mode. On December 7th 2006, Atos Origin announced the acquisition of Banksys and Bank Card Company (BCC), creating a European leader in Payment Services, with combined pro forma 2006 revenues of EUR 630 million and 4,200 employees.

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