Atento’s Innovation Hub Launches Startup Accelerator Program and Open Innovation Platform

Atento S.A., the largest customer relationship management and business process outsourcing services provider in Latin America, and among the top five companies globally, announced the launch of two programs within the Company’s Innovation Hub that are intended to accelerate the search for innovative ideas, one a startup accelerator and the other an open innovation platform. Both programs stem from the ISO 56002 certification for innovation management that Atento was awarded in 2020.

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As part of the startup accelerator program, called Atento Next, the Company has established a partnership with Liga Ventures (“Liga”), a pioneer accelerator dedicated to connecting large corporates with startups, with more than 250 accelerated startups and more than 450 projects launched during the last five years. The Atento Next program is currently searching for startups that are pursuing disruptive technologies focused on improving the Customer Experience (CX), while also driving performance and results for its corporate clients. Under the program, projects must be related to CXM (Customer Experience Management) ecosystems, automation, new technologies related to customer interaction, artificial intelligence, cognitive technologies, and data science. Initially, four startups will be selected for Atento Next. A Pitch Day will happen in December 2020 and the program is scheduled to start in January 2021.

Atento’s open innovation platform utilizes a gaming model to engage employees in contributing ideas. From idea generation to evaluation and implementation, employees receive points at every stage that can be exchanged for awards. The initial launch involved 500 employees and generated 38 ideas during the first 15 days.

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Carlos López-Abadía, Atento’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “Under our Three Horizon Plan, we have been successfully accelerating Atento’s digital transformation. This year alone, over 10% of sales have come from completely new services developed by our Innovation Hub. We have always emphasized that innovation is not a linear process, that it requires a certain form of thinking and approaches, and must remain integral to our company’s culture. The launch of the two innovation programs will allow Atento to source and integrate external and internal ideas that can strengthen our ability to lead innovation in the Customer Experience market.”

Mauricio Castro, Atento’s Director of Innovation, added, “Innovation is not about technology alone. In the CX market, it’s also about the challenge of humanizing the digital. With that in mind, we have leveraged Atento’s ISO 56002 certification and launched the startup accelerator and open innovation platform to optimize our ability to capture the best ideas and more effectively develop them into new services and technologies, be it from employees or collaborating entrepreneurs, to deliver the most valuable experiences to our clients’ customers. We believe that integrating different viewpoints, ideas, and approaches and getting the best out of each is what drives market-leading innovation and differentiated CX solutions.”

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