Following the French President's announcement that the sovereign cloud is lagging behind, 8 key players in the industry, representing more than 3 million users, have announced that they now have a solid, operational alternative to the Microsoft 365 suite, which was recently declared "non-compliant" by the Interministerial Director of Digital Affairs.

Atolia, Jalios, Jamespot, Netframe, Talkspirit, Twake, Whaller and WIMI announce that they are now in a position to offer a credible alternative to the software suite offered by Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365).

These French digital companies, all of whom already work for the public sector (administrations, local authorities), are marketing alternatives to the full range of services provided by Microsoft: messaging, word processing, chat, videoconferencing, document storage, etc.

According to Alain Garnier, Chairman of Jamespot and spokesman for the group: "The 'Cloud at the centre' doctrine can be implemented very quickly, in a very simple way: buy French solutions rather than American ones. These solutions exist and are operational today. We've been hearing speeches about the importance of creating a sovereign cloud for almost a year now. Now it's time to put our money where our mouth is."

According to these players, the software suites supplied by the French champions of the digital workplace have three decisive advantages:

Firstly, they guarantee that the data is 100% sovereign data. Not only do they comply with the RGPD, but even better, they are not subject to any extraterritorial legislation, including the notorious Cloud Act. In fact, these solutions are all hosted by European players, with no need for American or Chinese clouds. These solutions are also all eligible to be integrated into SecNumCloud-certified infrastructures, thereby complying with the most stringent government requirements in terms of security.

Secondly, they are 100% French companies, whose managers have a local presence and can work together with their customers and the public sector to build long-term partnerships. These companies create jobs mainly in France and Europe, and generate financial flows that play an active part in the French economy.

Finally, they offer solutions that are 100% compliant with the State's new "Cloud at the centre" doctrine. In addition, the older companies have chosen to favour a development model that favours their capital independence, and are therefore trusted partners for the State in the development of its own Sovereignty.

The public authorities therefore have an opportunity to measure and develop the strength of these players, who on a daily basis take on more than 3 million users on their platforms.

In its capacity as a strategic State, and with the help of the DGE and the BPI (Plan d'Investissement d'Avenir, JEI, Crédit d'Impôt Recherche, etc.), the State has participated in the technological development of most of these 8 Digital Workplace solutions. DINUM's decision represents a unique opportunity for the State to follow in the footsteps of the State as an investor. According to a study by Markess, the digital workplace market in France is expected to reach 2 billion by 2023. (source: ITRNews)

State employees can therefore now choose these dynamic players to achieve their digital transformation in the shortest possible timeframe, in line with the challenge imposed by the Cloud doctrine at the centre.

The leaders of these 8 French champions of the Digital Workplace are fully aware of the stakes involved, and are ready to develop new technological and strategic partnerships aimed at accelerating the adoption of their technologies. Finally, it's an advantage to be able to rely on local players.

This announcement follows a series of similar initiatives by French digital players: PlayFrance.Digital and IT50plus, which are calling for 50% of public sector purchases to be guaranteed to be made by French or European companies; Solainn, which is offering a marketplace of digital solutions from France; and EFEL Power, which is committed to the international success of French software publishers.

About the 8 players

About Atolia :

Atolia, is the agile, secure workspace that simplifies day-to-day collaboration for over 15,000 teams. Available on PC and mobile, this made-in-France application brings together all the features you need to communicate and work effectively, whether in the office or remotely.

About Jalios :

Founded in 2001, Jalios has more than 1.8 million identified users. Its Jalios Workplace Liberty offering is a sovereign solution that stands out for its functional richness and meets government security requirements.

About Jamespot :

Founded in 2005, Jamespot publishes a sovereign collaborative platform that is 100% customisable to its customers' internal communication and collaboration needs. Part intranet, part corporate social network and part digital workplace, the Jamespot solution is now used by more than 400 customers and 400,000 users across France and around the world.

About Netframe :

Since 2018, Netframe is a collaborative platform for public and private organisations designed and hosted in France. Communication and productivity technology tailored to your needs and accessible to all users.

About Talkspirit :

Created in 2008, Talkspirit is a 100% made-in-France collaborative platform that simplifies information sharing, boosts your internal exchanges and makes your teams' work flow more smoothly. Rated the No. 1 collaborative tool by GetApp in 2020, the software brings together all the features you need to communicate and work more productively.

About Twake :

Twake is the Open Source alternative to Teams that provides a complete, secure and fully RGPD-compliant Open Digital Workplace. Twake is available in SaaS and on premise mode.

About Whaller :

A secure social and collaborative platform, Whaller is a simple, comprehensive solution that enables organisations to communicate and collaborate in complete security, and supports them in their digital transformation.

About Wimi :

Wimi  offers public and private organisations a comprehensive collaborative suite that will soon be awarded the SecNumCloud and Cloud de confiance labels. Wimi Workplace is unique in that it combines the communication/social dimension (communities) with project-based working (workspaces).