Kick-off 2024 : It’s a done deal !

From Paris to Milan, via Madrid, Brussels, Utrecht, London and Frankfurt – the Group’s 2024 kick-off season is closed.

These enthusiastic but also (very) festive gatherings were an opportunity to celebrate the successes of 2023 and to launch a new vision for the future through the new strategic plan, One Econocom, with communicative energy. We’ll guide you through a good part of the 2024 kick-offs. You can find a series of posts from the LinkedIn country pages (NL, Belux, UK, Spain and Germany).

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2023 RESULTS MAKE HEADLINES IN THE BELGIAN MEDIA OUTLET DE TIJD

2023 Results. What the take of the press ?

The financial and technology media, such as Distributique, Le Monde Informatique and Channel News, gave extensive coverage to the Group’s 2023 results, with articles of a generally positive tone. They emphasise organic growth, demonstrating the robustness of the diversified businesses. The solid performance of the Products & Solutions division, the 11.2% growth in the financing of technology assets, and the increase in sales of services were also praised.

This is the percentage of the Group’s employees who have received ethics training in the past year. Mainly taken online via ad hoc modules, these training courses focus on integrity, respect for the law and professional ethics – all key concerns at Econocom. To find out more, visit the dedicated web page.

At ISE 2024 (Integrated Systems Europe, Europe’s largest trade fair dedicated to audiovisual technologies), which was held in Barcelona at the end of January, the Group made its mark with a delegation of over 60 representatives from 8 countries. The event provided Econocom with a concentration of 850 exhibitors: perfect ground for exploring the latest cutting-edge audiovisual innovations. To discover more, read our full article on the subject on Onelink.

The article, published in Le Parisien / Aujourd’hui en France, the leading daily newspaper for the general public, highlights the importance of choosing a refurbished smartphone wisely. While the refurbished smartphone market is growing in popularity, the paper points out that the choice is not limited to price alone. It advises taking into account factors such as the battery, cosmetic and functional condition, and the warranty.

To facilitate access to internal resources, the Group has decided from March 19th to make ONELINK the homepage when users open their sessions via Microsoft Edge. ONELINK is thus becoming the central hub for employees, offering quick and intuitive access to essential tools and information. That’s all the more reason not to miss out on any of the Group’s news !

VALERIE PLASSE, HR DIRECTOR FRANCE

After studying law, Valérie developed a passion for human resources and themes of transformation. Appointed HR Director France at the end of summer 2023, she tells us about her career, her first steps at Econocom and shares her views on current developments in the job market.

AI: A $120BN MARKET BY 2030

The world of data is evolving rapidly, with a tenfold increase in the amount of data collected between 2016 and 2025. Digitalisation is everywhere, and new technologies are the first signs of future disruptions. We take a look back at a talk given by consultants from BCG (Boston Consulting Group) on Octobre 2nd 2023 at our head office in Puteaux in order to provide an update on these developments and also on the challenges facing companies in integrating this new way of thinking.

BDS Observatory : The new era of AI-powered PCs

BDS Observatory provides a fascinating insight into the global adoption curve of intelligent computers powered by artificial intelligence (AI). In this article we explore the predicted trajectory, the priorities of our key partners, the conceptual evolution and the impact of this technological revolution on our business.

Global adoption curve for AI-powered smart PCs

According to our analysis, intelligent computers with AI capabilities are expected to become the norm by 2025. We estimate that two out of three PCs will be equipped with this technology by 2027. In 2024 we’re already observing a 19% adoption rate of intelligent PCs!

Priorities for our partners

As a market leader and influencer, Microsoft is focusing its strategy on hybrids as an evolutionary model. There are indications that Microsoft is collaborating with PC manufacturers to design products with over 40 TOPS of performance to meet the requirements of the next-gen CoPilot system on Windows, potentially setting a new standard for AI-PCs in the Windows ecosystem.

Lenovo identifies opportunities in excess of €500 million in the field of AI across the EMEA region. With its visionary message « Imagine 2023, » HP is announcing that new PCs will showcase their expanded capabilities thanks to the integration of AI.

Conceptual evolution

Dedicated chips to accelerate AI are currently the norm. In the medium term, NPU (Neural Processing Unit) performance of 10 TOPS is anticipated and in the long term, the generation of text and images with language models of up to 13 billion is envisaged!

What are the potential impacts for Econocom and our sector?

Premiumisation: Advanced hardware specifications and productivity-enhancing capabilities will result in smart PCs being priced 10% to 15% higher than similar commercial models without embedded AI.

Faster renewal cycles: The rapid development of internal and external AI tools coupled with more frequent hardware upgrades will drive organizations to seek out the best experiences for smart PC deployments.

Associated AI services: Smart PCs will act as another point to deliver holistic AI services and solutions, playing a crucial role without mitigating the security and privacy concerns associated with running AI workloads on potentially sensitive enterprise data.