Customer Spotlight: The French Presidency of the Republic

The Elysee is home to the Presidency of the French Republic, which supports the President’s actions.Staff members at an extremely busy, active office help run the French Presidency of the Republic.

The eXo Product Team had the opportunity to discuss the whys and hows of the Elysée’s adoption of the eXo Social Intranet with Arnaud Mazier, the Elysée’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), and his assistant, Didier Calizzano.

Mazier said the French Republic Presidency, along with its office, absorbs and generates a tremendous amount of information. He added that traditional tools, such as email messaging and shared directories, were overused and quite limited. Furthermore, in order to allow the staff to work much more effectively, it was necessary to give all these information exchanges a foothold. Thus, a collaborative, social intranet seemed to be an appropriate solution. The adoption of such a solution was intended to reduce emails, foster digitization, help keep records of electronic data files, and facilitate and value information exchanges and internal interconnections.

We offered Mazier a solution suited for an ambitious team. Tailored for cross-functional working groups, the solution is complete, integrated yet open, modern, and user-friendly. The eXo Platform provides valuable assets that fully meet the specific needs of the French Presidency.

“eXo is here to help us control the Presidency’s information and knowledge assets, which can be compared to those at a mid-sized company and which are at the heart of the government’s decision-making processes.” —Arnaud Mazier, Elysée CIO

Mazier explained to us that the office’s efforts were primarily focused on desktops and directory integration so staff could deliver user experiences with the highest standards.
eXo’s offers the following core functionalities: document management, content management, wikis, social networking, collaborative workspaces, calendars, and instant messaging.
After a quick pilot test, the project team adopted an iterative approach by incorporating all services, one by one. This approach included support designed for each department, which helped ensure the success of the product’s adoption, Mazier said.

Callizzano told us about the platform’s positive effect on team bonding and collective efficiency.

“Many of our users who are constantly on the move in France or abroad can now access and benefit from all the collaborative functions through the eXo mobile application which was one of the key element in our adoption of the eXo Platform.” —Didier Callizzano, assistant to the CIO at the Elysée

The Presidency’s 800 employees, who often work long hours, enjoy a soothing atmosphere that reinforces their engagement and feeling of belonging.

When preparing presidential events outside of the Elysee Palace, members of the staff and security teams survey the area to ensure that events run smoothly. Now, information that used to be exchanged chaotically (e.g., via SMS or email) is now sent through collaboration spaces.
The efficiencyand security gains the office has seen are very significant.

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Brahim Jaouane

I am a Digital Marketing specialist specialized in SEO at eXo Platform. Passionate about new technologies and Digital Marketing. With 10 years' experience, I support companies in their digital communication strategies and implement the tools necessary for their success. My approach combines the use of different traffic acquisition levers and an optimization of the user experience to convert visitors into customers. After various digital experiences in communication agencies as well as in B2B company, I have a wide range of skills and I am able to manage the digital marketing strategy of small and medium-sized companies.