Profile of Atos Group and Atos Consulting

In response to changing market dynamics and internal challenges, Atos announced a major restructuring plan in 2022 to split its operations into two distinct entities – tentatively named Eviden and Tech Foundations. This strategic move is one of the most significant in Atos’s corporate history, aiming to sharpen the focus of each new unit and unlock value. Below is an overview of this restructuring and its expected impact on Atos’s operations and strategy:

• Rationale for the Split: By 2021-2022, Atos was grappling with diverging performance in its business lines. Its traditional IT outsourcing and infrastructure management services were experiencing stagnation or decline (due to factors like clients moving to cloud providers and increased competition in legacy services), while its digital, cloud, and security services showed promise of growth and higher margins. Additionally, Atos had accumulated debt from past acquisitions and faced some investor pressure after a period of stock underperformance. The company determined that a one-size-fits-all strategy was not optimal for its diverse portfolio. Thus, splitting into two companies would allow each to pursue tailored strategies: one focusing on high-growth, innovation-driven segments, and the other on stabilizing and efficiently running legacy operations. This kind of separation was also seen as a way to make each business more attractive to different types of investors or partners (for example, a high-tech investor might be keen on the digital arm, whereas an efficiency-focused operator might see value in turning around the infrastructure arm).
• Eviden – The Digital, Big Data & Security Entity: Eviden (a name meaning “evidence” or “obvious” in some languages, chosen to signal clarity and focus) is the brand launched for Atos’s more advanced technology businesses. Under Eviden, Atos is grouping all units related to digital transformation, cloud solutions, data analytics, advanced computing, and cybersecurity – essentially the growth engines of the company. This includes Atos’s consulting and professional services teams, its cloud migration and development teams, the Big Data & Cybersecurity division (which comprises the HPC business, cybersecurity products and services), and other innovative offerings (like digital decarbonization services, AI and IoT solutions). Eviden as a standalone company would be positioned as a “digital pure-play”, unburdened by the slower businesses. It is intended to have a more agile culture, be able to invest heavily in R&D and acquisitions in cutting-edge areas, and command higher valuation multiples akin to digital services firms. As per announcements, Eviden would operate in 50+ countries with roughly ~30,000–40,000 employees (drawn from the current Atos workforce) and approximately €5 billion in annual revenue. The strategic vision for Eviden is to be among the global leaders in cloud, cybersecurity, and advanced computing. In terms of management, the existing leadership for digital and BDS (like Philippe Oliva and others) are heading Eviden, and it’s expected to have its own board post-separation. The Atos Group planned to rename itself Eviden SE once the separation is complete, essentially making Eviden the continuing publicly listed company.
• Tech Foundations – The Legacy IT Services Entity: Tech Foundations is the working name for the spun-off entity that would encompass Atos’s legacy or traditional managed services. This includes data center and hosting services, infrastructure management, digital workplace outsourcing, IT support services, and business process outsourcing contracts – essentially, many of the long-term IT outsourcing contracts Atos had accumulated (including those from the Siemens relationship, from clients like airlines, banks, and manufacturing companies who outsourced IT operations). It also covers the unified communications business (Unify) and other older parts of Atos that are stable but low-growth. Tech Foundations is characterized by a large workforce (tens of thousands of employees, many in the delivery centers like those in India, Poland, etc.) and a focus on operational efficiency and cost control. In 2022, this part of Atos’s business was experiencing revenue declines and needed restructuring to improve profitability. The plan for Tech Foundations as a separate unit is to give it the mandate to turn around independently – for example, by streamlining its organization, potentially exiting or renegotiating loss-making contracts, modernizing its delivery through automation and partnerships, and focusing on key industries where it can still grow (like perhaps public sector outsourcing or specific industry deals). As a standalone entity, Tech Foundations would have about ~50,000+ employees and around €6 billion in revenue (these numbers are approximate, illustrating it as slightly larger in revenue but lower margin than Eviden). The expectation is that Tech Foundations could become a more cash-generative business once restructured, even if not growing fast, and could either remain independent (possibly under a different brand, since the “Atos” name was planned to go with Eviden) or be sold to a strategic or financial investor who specializes in turnarounds of infrastructure service companies.
• Separation Process: The split is complex and was planned in phases. Initially, Atos internally separated the divisions (creating separate reporting segments and leadership for Eviden and Tech Foundations in 2022). It then worked on carving out the necessary legal entities. The original plan announced in mid-2022 envisioned completing the separation by 2023 – possibly via a demerger that would give existing Atos shareholders shares in the new spin-off. However, because of Atos’s financial difficulties, management also considered external investments or sales. In mid-2023, Atos entered negotiations to sell a 100% stake in Tech Foundations to a consortium led by a Czech investor (Daniel Křetínský’s EP Equity Investment fund). That deal, announced in principle in August 2023, would have injected some cash and transferred a large portion of Atos’s debt along with Tech Foundations to the new owner, thereby immediately deleveraging Eviden. The plan was that after such a sale, Atos SE (the public company) would essentially become Eviden (and be renamed accordingly), focusing solely on the digital and security business. However, by early 2024, these negotiations proved challenging. In February 2024, the exclusive talks with EPEI for Tech Foundations were called off by mutual agreement, meaning Atos did not finalize the sale at that time. Similarly, parallel discussions to potentially sell a stake in the Eviden cybersecurity business to Airbus (which was rumored to be interested in a minority stake to bolster Europe’s cyber industry) did not materialize as of March 2024. As a result, the separation timeline has extended. Atos affirmed that even without an immediate sale, it would continue with the separation internally – effectively running Eviden and Tech Foundations as two distinct divisions with their own strategies – and would keep exploring options (including possibly revisiting a spin-off via listing Tech Foundations separately or finding new investors).
• Impact on Operations: Operationally, the separation means that Atos has been reallocating employees, contracts, and assets to one of the two buckets. Teams and contracts that are cloud/digital/security-focused are now under the Eviden umbrella, whereas those dealing with traditional infrastructure outsourcing or legacy IT support are under Tech Foundations. Clients have been informed of the changes, with assurances that existing service delivery will continue uninterrupted. In many cases, the same people will keep serving the clients, just reporting via a different organizational entity. However, each new entity can now optimize differently: Eviden, for example, may invest in hiring more consultants or R&D engineers, open more innovation labs, and pursue acquisitions in, say, cybersecurity. Tech Foundations, in contrast, might consolidate delivery centers, implement more aggressive cost-saving technologies (like AI for IT operations), and focus on renewing key contracts to maintain revenue. Culturally, employees in Eviden might see a shift toward a more agile, product-and-services innovation culture, whereas Tech Foundations will likely emphasize service excellence, reliability, and cost-efficiency.
• Impact on Strategy: Strategically, the split allows differentiated branding and market positioning. Eviden will be positioned as a market-leading digital transformation partner, potentially comparable to agile tech firms or specialized cybersecurity providers. It can approach clients with the message of innovation and growth. Tech Foundations will pitch itself as a dependable IT operations specialist, ensuring clients’ mission-critical systems run smoothly in a cost-effective manner. This could help in winning business too – for example, some clients who may have been hesitant to sign a long-term legacy IT contract with Atos (seeing Atos as trying to exit that space) might be more willing to do so with Tech Foundations if it’s solely focused there. On the other side, Eviden might better attract partnerships (like with cloud hyperscalers or software companies) since it doesn’t carry the baggage of an outsourcing arm.

Financially, Atos aimed for the separation to unlock shareholder value: the idea being that combined Atos’s value wasn’t reflective of its parts, whereas separate, the sum of parts would be higher. If Eviden achieves higher growth and margins, its stock (if traded independently) could be valued more like a digital services company, and Tech Foundations could be valued on steady cash flows by perhaps private investors. The restructuring plan also included tackling debt – for instance, Atos announced in mid-2024 a plan to convert a large portion of its debt into equity and raise new equity, which is easier to justify if the promising business (Eviden) is the focus for equity investors, while other liabilities might be isolated with Tech Foundations.

• Challenges and Future Outlook: The execution of this separation is not without challenges. As of the end of 2024, Atos had to navigate complex negotiations and was facing “the biggest French corporate restructuring in years” according to media. The French government even showed interest in ensuring strategic parts (like Atos’s supercomputing and defense-related business) remain in safe hands – exemplified by an offer in late 2024 for the French state to acquire Atos’s sovereign tech assets (HPC, presumably) to protect them. This underscores that the splitting process must balance commercial outcomes with national interests (given Atos’s importance in France’s tech sector). Atos’s share price suffered during these uncertainties, and internally, morale had to be managed due to job security concerns.

That said, the expected impact on operations and strategy going forward is cautiously optimistic: By separating, Atos (as Eviden) can concentrate on strategic growth markets – cloud, cybersecurity, advanced digital solutions – potentially leading to a leaner, more innovative company that can regain market momentum. Tech Foundations, freed from the expectations of high growth, can undertake a multi-year turnaround to stabilize and perhaps find a sustainable niche (for example, being a European champion in managed infrastructure for public sector and certain industries). Clients should benefit as each new entity provides more focused attention – Eviden clients get a partner who invests in new capabilities, Tech Foundations clients get a provider committed to efficiency and continuity.

From a branding perspective, Atos will effectively cease to exist as a single unified brand if the plan completes: the Atos name is expected to remain with Tech Foundations (the plan was that the spun-off entity would keep the legacy brand “Atos” for continuity in outsourcing contracts), while the parent company rebrands fully to Eviden for the high-tech business. This is a bit unusual – it means the long-standing Atos brand might transition into a different context (potentially a privately held outsourcing firm’s name), whereas Eviden becomes the new face on the stock market.