Why Invest in French Digital Tools?

Used by 74% of French workers¹, digital tools are key to accelerating digital transformation across all types of organizations — from businesses and local governments to schools and nonprofits. Smoother collaboration, faster communication, stronger team cohesion… The benefits are numerous! However, these tools can also introduce significant security risks. To avoid any data loss or breach, it’s important to invest in secure French digital tools.

But why French tools specifically, rather than American ones? That’s what this article is here to explain.

Putting your data in safe hands

The number one reason to invest in French digital tools is to ensure data security. Unlike GAFAM tools (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft), made in France solutions are not subject to the Cloud Act. This means they are legally required to process your data in compliance with GDPR and to ensure data confidentiality.

What is the Cloud Act? 

Passed in 2018, this extraterritorial law allows the Department of Justice to order any American service provider (including GAFAM) to hand over access to data stored on its servers — whether that data is hosted in the United States or abroad.

According to an Ifop survey from 2021, 72% of French citizens do not want their personal data stored outside the European Union. And 44% trust a French or European organization more to ensure the protection of their data. Choosing local providers therefore helps reassure your clients and partners.

Read also: Why choose a secure digital workplace?

To offer the strongest possible guarantees, a growing number of French publishers are obtaining security certifications — such as ISO 27001 certification and the SecNumCloud qualification, which rank among the most recognized in the market.

These are precisely the certifications that Talkspirit has chosen to pursue, enabling organizations to communicate and collaborate with complete peace of mind.

Discover Talkspirit

Supporting digital sovereignty

Investing in French digital tools is also a strong way to support our digital sovereignty — and keep our data on French soil.

According to OVHCloud, more than 70% of European data is stored outside of Europe (mostly in the United States). That’s a staggering figure. And if we continue relying on American digital tools, that number is only likely to grow — meaning we’ll have less and less control over our data and how it’s handled.

Supporting digital sovereignty is also a significant economic issue. Prioritizing made-in-France tools helps boost the growth of French companies and prevents job losses associated with offshoring.

Using French digital solutions is therefore a responsible investment, one that fits naturally into any organization’s CSR strategy.

PS: Discover our top 10 best sovereign collaborative solutions here.

Getting responsive support that understands your needs

Working with a French publisher also means getting answers to your questions faster. When you contact a local provider, you and your contact are in the same time zone — which means faster, more responsive support than you’d get from an American vendor hours behind. And of course, everything is in French!

Furthermore, a human-scale French publisher’s teams will be more attuned to your needs than those of a US tech giant with far larger clients. You’ll be heard, and in some cases, you may even have a degree of influence over the product roadmap.

At Talkspirit, we take all our customers’ suggestions into account, regardless of their size. These suggestions can lead to improvements on existing features or the creation of entirely new ones — proof that our customers are genuine agents of change!

Getting personalized onboarding and support

Onboarding and training are critical to the success of digital transformation projects. Case in point: fewer than a quarter of French workers feel that using digital tools is “easy”, and 34% actually find it “complicated” or “stressful.”

To overcome these barriers, it’s important to take the time to manage change thoughtfully. A French publisher will be better positioned to support you in a more personalized way than an American one — because they will have a deeper understanding of your challenges and your target audience, as well as the market you operate in.

By choosing a French digital tool, you won’t need to translate training resources and documentation sent your way. Similarly, your employees can reach the support team directly in French — saving you valuable time during rollout and helping accelerate adoption.

Explore our support services

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You now have solid arguments to convince your leadership and/or colleagues to invest in French digital tools.

If data security is a priority for your organization, you may also need additional evidence to make the case to your IT department. Don’t worry — we’ve compiled the essential criteria for evaluating the security level of your digital tools. Download our practical guide to find out:

Access the Checklist

In our checklist “10 questions to evaluate the security of a digital tool”, you’ll find: the security criteria to consider when choosing or replacing your platform, a summary of the main certifications to know, and best practices for raising awareness internally among your employees.

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¹ Le Figaro study on digital skills in the French economy (2022)