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The interest in Cloud Computing shown by outsourcing and BPO giants can be seen in the push being made by Atos Origin with its Atos Sphere Cloud Services solution.

Atos Sphere is a combination of the firm's consulting, technology-based transactional services, systems integration and managed operations services. The offering is broken into a number of categories:

• Consulting support to understand what is at stake in their specific situation, design a roadmap and manage their Cloud programme. 
• Cloud Infrastructure Services hosted in Atos Origin’s data centres where clients can choose between Private Cloud and Shared Cloud options.
• A range of functional services, including advanced SAP testing services, data migration services, product lifecycle management services, and Atos-in-a-Box, a pay-per-use on-line workplace solution.

“Cloud Computing represents a major shift in business approach for the IT industry, as well as to our clients,” comments Thierry Breton, CEO at Atos Origin. “Atos Origin can help its customers in their journey and accompany them all the way to transfer to Cloud Services, as we are able to create transformation solutions customised with our client needs. We anticipate that Atos Sphere will be integrated into our customers’ existing environment and considered within their overall strategy. We predict that our new services are the cornerstone of new ‘after crisis’ growth models not only to companies but also for the public sector.”

But will it work?

But while Atos is clearly sincere in its ambitions, at least one analyst firm is unconvinced that Cloud Computing will fundamentally change the way that Atos or other outsourcers engage contractually with enterprise clients and advises that services vendors will need to speak the language of Cloud to appeal to enterprises.

“Cloud potentially represents a positive outcome from the collision of business needs with technological enablement,” comments Ian Brown of research house Ovum. “Technology in the shape of industry-standard infrastructure, virtualization, and automation promises the scalability, elasticity, and web-based access to a pool of remote, often federated resources that can flex up and down to meet business needs and budgets - in theory, at least. Not surprisingly, Atos believes that as a service provider it is well placed to deliver this new model of service-based IT.”

Elements of this do resonate with Ovum. “It's the Atos Sphere Private Cloud and Shared Cloud that we initially find most interesting,” reveals Brown. “That's because Atos Sphere already has a sort of private cloud in the shape of its Worldline transaction-processing systems and is already delivering shared, multi-tenant services to a few clients as part of this. Atos Sphere has the on-shore data centers and the near-/offshore management and service centers to provide such services globally.”

But  of course other IT service providers can offer the same thing, but don't appear to be rushing to offer Private Cloud solutions. “The cloud, with its consumption-based payment model, threatens the contractual surety and guaranteed, annualized revenues that outsourcers rely on,” notes Brown. “Why would they swap a guaranteed fixed-price contract for unpredictability and something that's prey to a fickle, price-sensitive market? Clearly, Atos Sphere is relying on its experience with the transaction-based Worldline and the ability to charge per transaction.

“But not all infrastructure outsourcing engagements are like that: where's the transaction element in test and development? Or mail and messaging? Or HR? For many Cloud adopters, these will be the low-hanging fruit initially most suited to cloud infrastructure deployments. And for many Cloud providers, these present a challenge for client retention and margins.”

In conclusion, Ovum sees opportunity in the Cloud for Atos, but possibly not in exactly the way that Atos has extrapolated. “We believe that, like most infrastructure outsourcers, Atos will increasingly apply the Private Cloud epithet to many of its existing transaction-processing deals and to hybrid managed services deals where there's a fixed term and baseline contract,” argued Brown. “However, the bulk of on-demand temporary Cloud usage is likely to come from incremental ancillary services - test, data migration, PLM, etc. - delivered to existing Atos Origin outsourcing customers. We don't see Atos Origin becoming a public, 'volume' services Cloud provider any time soon.

“The chief opportunity for Atos Sphere, like other classic IT service providers, remains with private cloud, consulting opportunities around Private Cloud, and the integration of Public Cloud for standard, commodity services such as test and development. In Ovum's opinion, it's data centre transformation by another name.”