The head of a massive French IT firm is proposing to do away with internal email within 18 months, leaving his 80,000 employees to communicate only via telephone, text message, Instant Message (IM) and social network-style tools.

Thierry Breton, CEO of Atos, says only 20 out of 200 emails received by his staff each day turn out to be important.

However, the time it takes to read each email, delete it and re-focus on the task at hand can take an enormous amount of resources when added up over a day.

"The email is no longer the appropriate tool,” Breton told the Daily Mail.

"It is time to think differently.

Breton also cites the need for employees to sort through piles of emails after hours just to keep their inboxes under control as another reason to scrap the system.

The CEO himself hasn't sent a work email in three years.

"If people want to talk to me, they can come and visit me, call or send me a text message.

"Emails cannot replace the spoken word.

What do you think of Breton's bold move? Could your business run without email?