Capgemini and Orange have jointly announced that their collaborative venture, Bleu, is now in the process of engaging with select French public and private organizations. The purpose of this engagement is to ensure their readiness for migration, as the first services on the platform are slated to go live by the end of 2024. Bleu is striving to attain the SecNumCloud 3.2 qualification by 2025 for its services, aiming to offer a “cloud de confiance” based on Microsoft technology.
The creation of Bleu stems from a strategic partnership between Capgemini and Orange with Microsoft. This partnership is designed to cater to the specific cloud requirements of the French State, public agencies, hospitals, regional authorities, Vital Importance Operators (OIVs), and Essential Service Operators (OSEs). The objective is to provide them with access to Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure services in a manner unique to the French market, utilizing technology developed by Microsoft. This exclusive offering is expected to empower clients to accelerate their digital initiatives while leveraging the full capabilities of Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure services.
Having received validation from the European Commission in 2023, Bleu is now embarking on its commercial activities. Led by CEO Jean Coumaros, the Bleu team is actively engaging with public organizations and private companies interested in the upcoming “cloud de confiance” services and the future ecosystem of partners. The next few months will be dedicated to preparing organizations for migration, conducting tests and pilots with clients, and ensuring a successful onboarding process onto the Bleu platform. The Bleu cloud platform will be launched through a network of geographically distributed data centers across France, adhering to high standards of resilience and availability.
Aiman Ezzat, Chief Executive Officer of the Capgemini Group, expressed pride in the collaboration, stating, “I’m proud of the work done by the Capgemini, Orange, and Microsoft teams to realize our shared ambition of being able to offer, through Bleu, a solution that will enable clients to leverage the full power of Microsoft cloud services in a ‘cloud de confiance’.” Ezzat emphasized Bleu’s unique combination of security and service benefits, highlighting its potential to accelerate the digital ambitions of French organizations.
Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange, shared her excitement about the joint venture, stating, “Together with our partner Capgemini, we are very pleased to announce today the launch of activities of our joint venture Bleu.” Heydemann expressed confidence in Bleu’s ability to meet specific challenges related to data protection and sovereignty for critical infrastructure operators and public institutions. She affirmed that Bleu, aligning with French authorities’ standards in its “trusted cloud” doctrine, is fully operational and actively collaborating with future customers to facilitate their migration to the platform.
Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Microsoft, echoed the sentiments of pride and support for France’s digital transformation efforts through the strategic partnership. Althoff expressed Microsoft’s commitment to enabling efficient and modern services by bringing Microsoft 365 productivity solutions and Azure services to Bleu’s forthcoming “cloud de confiance” platform.
