Atos Origin, a leading global IT services company, is gearing up for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games where it will manage a vast information technology (IT) system.

But for the French company, IT partner and TOP (top Olympic partner) sponsor of Olympic Games, there is one ambition behind the Olympic mission - breaking into the vast Asia-Pacific market - especially China, the next Olympic host, and India.

"We have started our work for Beijing," said Bernard Bourigeaud, the group's chief executive officer and chairman of the management board.

As the Athens Games' curtain fell on August 29, the group has already put the Beijing mission on its schedule, sending a professional IT team within a few days to set up the IT framework needed for the Beijing Games.

Major preparatory work will start after the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games, its next service target, but Bourigeaud said the work will begin as early as possible.

In December 1998, the company, originally as SchlumbergerSema, signed the largest sports IT-related contract ever, covering the Games for more than eight years including the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, the 2004 Athens Summer Games, the 2006 Turin Winter Games and the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.

Earlier this year, Atos Origin completed the acquisition of SchlumbergerSema, creating one of the leading IT companies in the world with combined annual revenues of more than 5 billion euros (US$6.04 billion) and about 50,000 staff workers in more than 50 countries. It also simultaneously took over the baton from SchlumbergerSema of sponsoring the Olympic Games.

With its coverage of Beijing Olympic Games, the company has set its sights on the Asian market which is seen as its next target.

"We hope we can expand our business in China and India through sponsoring the Olympic Games," said Bourigeaud.

The company, with a focus on business consulting, systems integration and managed operation, has achieved strong momentum in key European markets, as marked by the acquisition of SchlumbergerSema and before that, of KPAG Consulting in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Its presence in the Asia-Pacific is relatively weak, with only 5,000 employees.

"We plan to grow on the Chinese market through acquisition and merger," said Bourigeaud, a veteran in this field with a successful record of managing the merger of Atos and Origin in 2000 and then the acquisition of SchlumbergerSema early this year.

However, for Bourigeaud, better preparation for the Beijing Games is more urgent than the business extension plan.

"We are even more involved in the Beijing Games than before," he said. "We will use the event as a showcase for our technology."

(China Daily September 4, 2004)