Introduction
 
This report analyzes the market for the deployment of IT solutions in local government in France. The report focuses on the factors that are influencing market conditions, such as government initiatives and the competitive landscape, and provides advice to vendors in order to better understand the market opportunity and improve their go-to-market approach.
 

 
Scope
 
Forecasts the opportunities for technology solution deployments by authority type, technology type as well as region within France.
 
Outlines the factors that are influencing market conditions, analyzing the drivers and inhibitors for technology adoption within local government.
 
Conceptualizes the French local government opportunity and explains the market's competitor dynamics.
 
Identifies strategic and tactical initiatives for both technology vendors and their channel partners.
 
Highlights
 
One of the overriding themes of the competitor landscape is the dominance of French vendors. It is clearly a necessity for equipment and application vendors to engage in strong partnerships with local French integrators in order to improve their market coverage.
 

 
Potential go-to-market strategies that vendors can adopt to improve traction in French local government include focusing on central government, deploying low-risk solutions, pricing competitively, educating local authorities, recognizing the French preference for local suppliers, and offering consultation services as part of channel support.
 

 
France currently lags behind the UK and Germany in terms of external ICT spending in local government. Datamonitor forecasts that the market will grow at a CAGR of 7% in France between 2003 and 2007, from $1.51 billion in 2003 to $2.02 billion in 2007.
 

 
Reasons to Purchase
 
Quantification of the revenue opportunities to 2007 will enable technology vendors to focus their sales efforts effectively.
 
Insight into effective go-to-market strategies will ensure that vendors and their channel partners gain a competitive advantage.
 
Assessment of various market issues and government initiatives will enable vendors to improve their solution positioning.
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
 
1.1 Profiting from local government in France 3
 
1.2 Market context 3
 
1.3 Customer focus 4
 
1.4 The future decoded 5
 
CHAPTER 2 INTRODUCTION 11
 
2.1 What is this report about? 11
 
2.2 Who is the target reader? 11
 
2.3 How to use this report 11
 
2.4 Forecasts and assumptions 12
 
2.5 Scope of the report 12
 
CHAPTER 3 MARKET CONTEXT 13
 
3.1 Introduction 13
 
3.2 Key findings 13
 
3.3 Modernization of French local government 14
 
3.4 Technology deployments 19
 
3.5 What are the market drivers? 26
 
3.6 Market inhibitors and challenges 28
 
3.7 Competitor dynamics 32
 
CHAPTER 4 CUSTOMER FOCUS 35
 
4.1 Introduction 35
 
4.2 Key findings 35
 
4.3 Defining and identifying the local government opportunity 36
 
4.4 Reference sites 42
 
4.5 Go-to-market approach 43
 
4.6 The importance of ROI and TCO 48
 
CHAPTER 5 THE FUTURE DECODED 50
 
5.1 Introduction 50
 
5.2 Key findings 50
 
5.3 Market development in comparison to the UK and Germany 51
 
5.4 Spending variations by type of authority 53
 
5.5 Regional trends within France 54
 
5.6 Trend by type of IT expenditure 57
 
5.7 Summary 59
 
CHAPTER 6 APPENDIX 60
 
6.1 Research methodology 60
 
6.2 Further readings 61
 
6.3 SPP writing team 61
 
6.4 How to contact experts in your industry 62
 

 

 
LIST OF FIGURES
 
Figure 1: Core technologies and channels in local government in France 4
 
Figure 2: Local government institutions in France by type 5
 
Figure 3: Local government external ICT spending by country, 2003 to 2007 ($ millions) 6
 
Figure 4: Sources of funding for local government in France 17
 
Figure 5: Core technologies and channels in local government in France 19
 
Figure 6: Existing local government ICT infrastructure in France 23
 
Figure 7: Key inhibitors of greater ICT penetration in French local government 29
 
Figure 8: Vendor presence in French local government 33
 
Figure 9: Local government institutions in France by type 36
 
Figure 10: Local government external ICT spending by country, 2003 to 2007 ($ millions) 51
 
Figure 11: French local government external ICT spending by type of institution, 2003 to 2007 ($ millions) 53
 
Figure 12: French local government external ICT spending by region, 2003 to 2007 ($ millions) 54
 
Figure 13: French local government external ICT spending by type of expenditure, 2003 to 2007 ($ millions) 57
 
Figure 14: Datamonitor’s market expertise and research and analysis methodology 60
 

 

 
LIST OF TABLES
 
Table 1: Typical responsibilities of local authorities in France 22
 
Table 2: Local government external ICT spending by country, 2003 to 2007 ($ millions) 51
 
Table 3: French local government external ICT spending by type of institution, 2003 to 2007 ($ millions) 53
 
Table 4: French local government external ICT spending by region, 2003 to 2007 ($ millions) 55
 
Table 5: French local government external ICT spending by type of expenditure, 2003 to 2007 ($ millions) 57