In the world where digitalization is a synonymous with competitiveness, it is essential to review the working methods. The good old couple "file server and emails" are no longer able to respond to new user practices, accelerated by the health crisis. In their digital transformation process, companies equip themselves with all kinds of tools, sometimes without real efficiency. The American giants share the market, but under what conditions? Lack of sovereignty and data control, exorbitant prices, unavailable supports… Created in 2011, the French software publisher CEO-Vision designed the GoFAST collaborative work platform, with a unique approach that has received very positive feedback. Christopher Potter, former CIO of Crédit Agricole's online brokerage platforms and founding President of CEO-Vision, presents the strategy of the company which is positioned against Office365-SharePoint-Teams!
Who is GoFAST for?
In less than 10 years, the GoFAST platform has been deployed by key customers, mid-sized companies, administrations, including local authorities and ministries. Our first customer was Botanic, and it was from 2015 that we turned to the public market, starting with the Belgian Federal Agency Enabel, the AIFE (Ministry of Finance), the Occitanie Region, etc. These structures quickly understood the value of Open Source, a real key to sovereignty. However, GoFAST deals with issues of digitization, teleworking, collaboration, etc. so widespread that the platform is suitable for any type of organization, all sectors.
What is GoFAST Digital Workplace used for?
With GoFAST it is possible to federate documentary collaborative work from template to e-signature, in a unified digital environment, at the office, teleworking or on the move. The solution responds to a large number of use cases, with document sharing and management, office co-editing, tasks and processes, electronic signature, web conferencing and chat rooms, etc.
To maintain their activity during the Covid crisis, many companies have acquired disparate software. But today, they have thousands of applications that communicate little or poorly with each other. GoFAST eliminates these "silos" of information, duplicates, version errors and wasted time.
There are more and more collaborative solutions… how is GoFAST different?
We have an innovative "Document-Centric" concept: the document is at the heart of the collaboration. This may sound obvious, but no market solution is so integrated. Substantial work is necessary to offer a simple and fast-to-use interface with such rich functionality. We achieve this thanks to our proximity with users.
GoFAST is the symbiosis of Open Source technologies the most recognized for their reliability and durability, with over 7000 man-days of Research and Development. It is a proven solution, following technological standards and with large communities. The Open Source license provides independence from publishers, the ability of auditing the code, keeping the solution even if the maintenance contract is broken, etc.
Our model allows us to offer very high quality services at extremely competitive prices. Each customer has his own dedicated platform, but benefits from the services that are normally only found in "shared SaaS Cloud" offers.
For example, after having "locked" their customers in the "Cloud Office365", Microsoft announces a nearly 20% increase of their prices as of March 2022. By comparison, for 1500 users, the GoFAST subscription is from € 2.60 / user / month, saving up to € 296,000 over 3 years compared to "Office365 E1".
Ransomwares, GDPR, sovereignty… Data security is crucial. How does CEO-Vision ensure this protection?
Safety is a vast subject because it is not only a technological issue, but also the best practice. Our platform is more secure than traditional means of document sharing and helps prevent leaks. We carry out regular intrusion tests and guarantee all component security updates. Some of our customers process sensitive data, so it is essential to ensure optimal security.
The GoFAST solution is "Cloud Act free" unlike GAFAM: our capital is 100% French and GoFAST is hosted either "On-premise", that is to say in the customer's infrastructure, or with a partner in France or in Europe. As a reminder, the Cloud Act is an extraterritorial law that authorizes a US judge to requisition data as part of an investigation for "serious crime", the scope is not clearly defined.
DINUM has just published a note "Cloud au Centre et offre Office365" which recalls the prohibition for Ministries to migrate to the Microsoft Cloud, because it does not comply with the Prime Minister's circular "Cloud au Centre" 6282 / SG of July 5, 2021.
We also have a "SecNumCloud" Offer with 3DS Outscale from Dassault Systèmes. This is a certification from ANSSI (In French: Agence Nationale de la Sécurité des Systèmes d'Information - National Agency for the Information Systems Security) for the public sector.
In short, GoFAST gives the ability of recovering the digital sovereignty with a very high level of data confidentiality.
What kinds of challenges await us for the years to come?
Competition comes down to the hegemonic position of GAFAM, which is increasingly contested. We intend to become a key player in digital transformation not just in France, but also internationally, including conquering the American market. With the GoFAST solution, we already have the means to achieve our ambitions! We are among the 70% of software publishers that are self-financing and have an annual growth of almost 50%. Our biggest concerns today revolve around recruitments. In the coming years, we will accelerate financing (new fundraising, IPO, ...) to accelerate growth.