Econocom

Econocom Group SE
Euronext Brussels since 1986
IndustryIT Services
Founded1974 (1974)
FounderJean-Louis Bouchard
Headquarters
Brussels
,
Belgium
Revenue € 1.77 billion € (2013)[1]
€ 44.1 million € (2013)[1]
Number of employees
8,300
WebsiteEconocom.com

Econocom Group SE is a European business-to-business (B2B) digital services provider[2] founded in 1974[3] by Jean-Louis Bouchard, the former Chairman of Informatiques Inter Écoles.[4] The company was initially known as Europe Computer Systèmes (ECS).

The group operates across multiple European countries and is listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange.[5][6]

History

Inception and early years

Jean-Louis Bouchard founded the group in France in 1974 as Europe Computer Systèmes (ECS).[7] In 1986, he sold his stake in ECS France to Société Générale but reacquired all foreign subordinate companies to merge them with Econocom, an American company he had recently acquired. The subsidiaries and the group were renamed Econocom. That same year, Econocom Belgium was listed on the secondary market of the Brussels Stock Exchange. Econocom Distribution acquired Asystel Belgium in 1993, adding IT distribution operations in the Benelux region.[8]

International expansion

Econocom was listed on the primary market of the Brussels Stock Exchange in 1996.[9] Four years later, it was listed on the secondary market of the Paris Stock Exchange.[10] The group established Econocom Telecom[11] and made an offer for InfoPoint.[12] By 2001, the group employed 2,000 people.[13]

In 2002, Econocom acquired Comdisco-Promo data[14] in France, which focused on administrative and financial IT asset management. This was followed two years later by the acquisition of Signal Service France.[15] By 2005, the group operated in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy.[16] Econocom later sold its Swiss subsidiary and closed its financing operations in the United States.

The company entered the telecommunications sector in 2006 by acquiring Avenir Telecom's business division.[17] The following year, Econocom expanded this division by acquiring the business division of Carphone Warehouse France.[18] It also acquired Tecnolease,[19] an Italian IT leasing company. In 2008, it acquired Data bail,[20] a French IT infrastructure funding company. The next year, it opened a nearshore remote service facility in Rabat, Morocco, employing 300 people.[21]

In October 2010, Société Générale sold ECS.[22] Jean-Louis Bouchard, who had founded ECS in 1974, purchased the company and merged it with Econocom. That same year, the group launched "7 Remote Services,"[23] a service for migrating IT infrastructure to Microsoft operating systems.

In 2011, Véronique di Benedetto, former Deputy Managing Director of ECS, was appointed Deputy Managing Director of the new group and Managing Director of Econocom France.[24] Di Benedetto, an ESCP Business School graduate who began her career at IBM, joined the management board alongside Jean-Louis Bouchard, Jean-Philippe Roesch,[25] and Bruno Lemaistre.[26]

Econocom expanded its virtualisation and cloud computing operations in 2012 by acquiring Ermestel in Spain,[27] as well as a stake in the Belgian company Centix.[28] That same year, the group acquired Tactem,[29] a telecom expense management provider, and France Systèmes,[30] an Apple reseller for the education and research sectors. It also acquired Cap Synergy,[31] a French systems integrator focused on network and IT security.

In 2013, Econocom acquired the French systems integrator Exaprobe[32] and announced its "MUTATION 2013 – 2017" strategic plan.[33] In September, the group finalised the acquisition of a majority stake in Osiatis, an infrastructure service provider. This transaction created a digital services entity with about 8,000 employees and €2 billion in revenue.[34] Following the acquisition, Jean-Maurice Fritsch and Bruno Grossi joined the Econocom Executive Board.[35] By November, Econocom had finalised the purchase of the entire share capital of Osiatis.[36]

On 6 January 2014, Georges Croix and Econocom founded Digital Dimension, a cloud and digital services provider.[37] In 2017, the group invested in the venture capital firm Educapital.[38] That same year, they partnered with Microsoft to distribute HoloLens in the European market.[39]

Robert Bouchard became CEO of the Econocom Group in 2018,[40] and Louise Beveridge was appointed Head of Brand.[41] In 2018 Econocom also acquired a majority stake in Altabox, a Spanish omnichannel marketing firm,[42] and introduced "e-vigilante," a robot allegedly used for monitoring industrial sites.[43]

  • Econocom logo (1999)
  • Econocom logo (2003)
  • Econocom logo (2007)
  • Econocom logo (2011)
  • Econocom logo (2013-present)

Today

Econocom had 8,597 employees as of December 31, 2024.[44] The group manages 7 million digital assets.[45] It expanded into the "smart solutions"[46] sector in late 2012 by launching a joint research and development program with Istituto Superiore Mario Boella in Turin, Italy.[47]

Business sectors

The group's three areas of business are:

  • Technology Management & Financing
  • IT & Telecom Services
  • Products and Solutions

International operations

Econocom operates in 16 countries. In 2013,[48] the group's main markets were:

  • Northern and Eastern Europe: 10% of total revenue
  • France: 51% of total revenue
  • Benelux: 19% of total revenue
  • Southern Europe: 20% of total revenue

References

  1. ^ a b "Econocom - 2013 Full-year results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  2. ^ "Econocom: confirme ses objectifs annuels 2012. - Votre Argent". Votreargent.lexpress.fr. 2012-07-24. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  3. ^ "Europe Computer Systèmes SA: Private Company Information - Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. 2010-10-28. Retrieved 2013-10-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  4. ^ "2016 annual report | Econocom". www.econocom.com. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  5. ^ Ferretti, Paul. "'The UK is our rising star': Israel Garcia on Econocom's strategic ambitions". www.channelweb.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2025-07-08. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  6. ^ "Two more Econocom acquisitions grow UK&I business | AV Magazine". Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  7. ^ Michel Lombard. "L'Annuaire des décideurs d'entreprises, administrations et collectivités locales". Annuaire-decideur.com. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  8. ^ "Econocom Group – Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Econocom Group. Econocom Group SE. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  9. ^ "Les loueurs informatiques épargnés par la crise". 01net.com. 2012-01-01. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  10. ^ "Infopoint rejoint le groupe Econocom. | L'Atelier: Disruptive innovation". Atelier.net. 2000-05-25. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  11. ^ "Econocom rachète Tactem et son expertise dans la gestion des factures télécoms". Distributique. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  12. ^ "Econocom et Infopoint : nouveau grand en Europe". 01net.com. 2012-01-01. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  13. ^ Annual report
  14. ^ "Econocom progresse de 24 % au premier semestre" (in French). Itrnews.com. 2013-09-25. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  15. ^ "Econocom Group : acquisition de la société Signal Service". Boursier.com. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  16. ^ "Groupe Econocom: Résultats définitifs 2005". Boursorama (in French). Boursorama.com. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  17. ^ "Econocom reprend l'activité entreprises d'Avenir Telecom". Distributique. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  18. ^ "Econocom absorbe le pôle entreprise de The Phone House" (in French). Itrmanager.com. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  19. ^ "Econocom rachète Tecnolease et se renforce en Italie - JDN Web & Tech" (in French). Journaldunet.com. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  20. ^ "Ouverture de filiale et rachat de Databail par Econocom - JDN Web & Tech" (in French). Journaldunet.com. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  21. ^ "Annual Report" (PDF). econocom.com. 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  22. ^ Reynald Fléchaux. "En mettant la main sur ECS, Econocom prend du poids dans les services aux infrastructures". LeMagIT (in French). Lemagit.fr. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  23. ^ "Econocom lance sa 5eme solution d'entreprise". iTPro.fr. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  24. ^ "ECONOCOM : Véronique di Benedetto nommée Directrice Générale Adjointe du groupe Econocom et Directrice Générale d'Econocom France". Boursorama (in French). Boursorama.com. 2011-04-13. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  25. ^ "Jean-Philippe Roesch, Directeur Général d'Econocom". Boursier.com. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  26. ^ "Nomination de Bruno Lemaistre de Econocom". Express.be: le portail belge d'affaires (in French). Express.be. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  27. ^ "ECONOCOM GROUP : se renforce sur le marché de la virtualisation en Espagne". Zone bourse. 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  28. ^ "Econocom investit dans Centix, spécialiste belge du cloud - Le Monde Informatique". Lemondeinformatique.fr. 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  29. ^ "Econocom: rachète la société Tactem. - Indices & Actions - Le Figaro Bourse". Bourse (in French). Bourse.lefigaro.fr. 2012-05-30. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  30. ^ "Econocom rachète France Systèmes, le 1er revendeur Apple en France pour l'éducation". Distributique. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  31. ^ http://www.boursorama.com/actualites/econocom-acquiert-cap-synergy-2ddf1060b4fc877ac64ecaa7744d3032
  32. ^ "BT". Lemondeinformatique.fr. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  33. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2014-03-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  34. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2014-03-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  35. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2014-03-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  36. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2014-03-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  37. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2014-03-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  38. ^ "Econocom invests in Educapital". Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  39. ^ "Econocom and Microsoft announce a partnership to distribute the Hololens in europe". Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  40. ^ "Robert Bouchard takes over as CEO of Econocom group". www.econocom.com. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
  41. ^ "Louise Beveridge joins Econocom as Head of Brand". www.econocom.com. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
  42. ^ "Econocom strengthens its Retail offering by acquiring a majority stake in Altabox, a spanish leader in the development of omnichannel marketing strategies". www.econocom.com. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
  43. ^ PAOLIN, Bruno (2018-04-09). "Surveillance des sites industriels : l'e-vigilante reprend du service grâce à Econocom". Infoprotection (in French). Retrieved 2026-03-10.
  44. ^ "Econocom Group SE (EBR:ECONB) Number of Employees". StockAnalysis. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
  45. ^ "Econocom". Datananas. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  46. ^ "Econocom : crée un programme de R&D (solutions intelligentes)". Zone bourse. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  47. ^ "ECONOCOM GROUP : 16/10/2012. Econocom Group sets up an R&D programme for smart solutions | MarketScreener". MarketScreener. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  48. ^ "Résultats Annuels - 2013 Réunion financière du 5 mars 2014" [2013 Annual Results - Financial meeting of March 5, 2014] (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
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