corporate
2021/02/03
 
3 Feb, 2021 | 3 min read

WSO2’s French Connection

  • Jonathan Marsh
  • Vice President - Strategy - WSO2

We’re pleased to announce a major step in helping customers in France, with the launch of a French distributorship.

Value Added Reseller SMILE has been a key WSO2 partner in the region for many years and has built a strong team that provides expert WSO2 services to marquee customers such as La Poste, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, and Système U. SMILE specializes in open source solutions for a range of digital projects and has found that WSO2’s best-in-class solutions for API management, integration, identity management, and open banking have been received very well among their clients. We are enthusiastic about SMILE’s record, their capabilities, and their enthusiasm for bringing WSO2-based solutions to more French customers. Accordingly, we have awarded an exclusive distributorship for WSO2 products to SMILE.

What does this mean for our French customers?

A large portion of our French customer base already have had successful interactions with SMILE as a Value Added Reseller – nothing will change for these customers. You will continue to purchase WSO2 subscriptions and explore service options through SMILE. For SMILE’s customers outside France, Monaco, and French territories, SMILE’s increased investment in WSO2 will also benefit customers in their practices in Belgium, Switzerland, and Morocco. SMILE continues to be a Value Added Reseller active in these countries.

For customers that have worked with us directly, we would like the opportunity to introduce you to SMILE, for a conversation about how they might help you achieve your next set of goals. We aren’t forcing an automatic transition to procure through SMILE but can work with each customer on a sensible and smooth transition plan.

For customers that are working with a different Value Added Reseller, we will coordinate with that partner to process the subscriptions through SMILE with the least possible disruption – in some cases, this could be nearly invisible to you.

What does this mean for our French partners?

SMILE will be our exclusive reseller in France, so we will phase out our other reseller arrangements in the region, and won’t sign up new resale partners. However, we don’t want to limit customer choice for service providers or limit the reach of WSO2 products. Our Integration Partner and Certified Integration Partner programs will still apply in the region, supporting services based on WSO2. Subscription sales generated by these partners will henceforth be processed through SMILE instead of directly through WSO2, which in many cases will simplify procurement. All the benefits of these partner programs will stay intact. In addition, SMILE is authorized to enter into sub-reseller arrangements and we’d be happy to facilitate conversations about becoming a SMILE authorized reseller of WSO2 subscriptions.

What does this mean for WSO2?

One of the keys to our continued success has been the global demand for our products. Open source software knows no borders and our growth continues to occur worldwide based on the strength of our technology and commercial services. However, we have found that while the products have global appeal, there is no substitute for local presence to promote and procure value-added services. We will continue to invest in local presence in the coming years – more local offices, a broader network of local partnerships, and select distributorships.

France represents a sweet spot for distributorship for us – language, custom, and local regulation make a local office difficult. Yet the appetite both for digital transformation technologies and open source, in particular, is strong. Our broadening partnership with SMILE helps us deepen our connections with and usage in the French market.

Join us in thanking SMILE for their trust in WSO2 as a key part of their portfolio. Or better yet, if you are able, raise a glass of French wine with me, to many project successes!

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