Engineering & Services Division
Growing agility
In terms of economic symbiosis, the Engineering & Services Division encapsulates ESTER’s networking mindset to a tee. It brings consultancy firms, development support and financing structures together alongside tech companies and digital leaders, to work together in synergy and share with each other the means to create and develop innovation.
Driving forward innovation
At ESTER, innovation is on a constant upward trend. Very hi-tech businesses work daily with other companies equipped with key expertise, such as accountancy and HR firms and banks. Their interaction within the Science Park is powering a growth momentum which everyone can benefit from. Startups are thus able to tap into various stakeholders’ expertise to plan ahead and shape their strategy. Take FACIL’iti, a spin-off of the agency ITI Communication, for instance. This startup perfectly exemplifies these synergies as it was able to take full advantage of the collective intelligence at ESTER Science Park to innovate. It now provides economic stakeholders worldwide with a digital solution to improve user experience on their websites for people with sensory disabilities.
ALIPTIC, a dedicated cluster
With 800-plus stakeholders in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, digital technology represents a major ecosystem. Around the Limousin area, ALIPTIC (Limousin Association of Information and Communication Technology Professionals), which has been based at ESTER since 2013, is the sector’s leading cluster. It currently has more than 150 members representing all of the sector’s business lines (including telecom operators, web agencies and software publishers among others) and all types of company (from freelance, startup or micro-business to SME, midcap and major corporation). It also supports the French Tech Limousin Community.
ALIPTIC dedicates its expertise to pragmatically coordinating the region’s digital ecosystem through events, conferences and networking sessions. By helping to connect its companies with the other activity sectors, the association plays an active part in the traditional economy’s digital transition. In conjunction with a vast network of public and private partners (Regional Directorate for the Economy, Employment, Labor and Solidarity/DIRECCTE, Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, University of Limoges, Engineering School 3IL, OPCO ATLAS, Pôle Emploi (public employment service), the executive employment association APEC, etc.), ALIPTIC also assists the sector with training and recruitment.
Flagship companies and corporate champions
Right from the outset, ESTER Technopole has hosted businesses at the forefront of innovation – businesses like Emakina and hosted services operator Adista.
As a consultancy and integration firm, Emakina helps companies to better understand and use digital technology to develop their business and branch out. Its areas of expertise encompass Unified Commerce (e-commerce, omnichannel, retail clienteling app, digital in-store) and Customer Intelligence (data analysis, CRM, Single Customer View, loyalty program). As Europe’s number one independent group of digital agencies (RECMA rankings), Emakina currently brings together over 900 multidisciplinary experts working across 19 agencies in 12 countries.
In the space of just a few years, hosted services operator Adista has risen to become the French specialist in IT services for companies and local authorities on high-speed broadband networks. Its strengths lie in its ability to combine skill sets as a host, telecom operator and corporate IT specialist to deliver a new vision of the information system. In this way it is transforming technological innovation into economic value.
