About us

Team Members

Historical

Cicom Organisation was created in 1995 to manage and run the Advanced International Communication Centre (CICA) in Sophia Antipolis, for the account of a regional administration following a European call for proposal. Cicom Organisation successfully managed this centre between 1995 and 2000. The number of companies accommodated at CICA during this period rose from 9 in 1995 to 60 in 2000, and the number of jobs created rose from 80 to 640.

Cicom Organisation is a private company that combines French, European and world leaders in the sectors of facilities management and state of the art information technology:

o ANTIPOLIS, an innovation centre managing company.

o CORUS, a service and consulting company in the following sectors: information technology, programme and scientific animation in the Information and Communication Technology Sector (ICT).

With 10 international experts in information technology and telecommunications, holder of an award in the Internet field (Best European Business Award for its employment web site in 1996), Cicom Organisation deploys its knowledge and skills in France, Europe and the United States and participates in numerous European Projects.

Cicom Organisation ensures a high quality of services: scientific operations, legal, business and financial advice relating to businesses or technopoles in France and abroad, to develop job opportunities in regions.

To support this activity, Cicom Organisation has a network of international capital risk companies and business angels, all ready to invest in start-ups.

2. Historical

In 1998, Cicom Organisation was named a member of the European Business and Innovation Centre Network. It received the label 'BIC' (Business and Innovation Centre) conforming with the 18 quality criteria for incubators (advice on: setting up a company, financial issues, transfer of technology, internalisation, access to finance …). Today this network has more than 160 BICs in 21 countries around Europe.

Cicom Organisation has received numerous European awards for its work in the development of innovative companies: special prize of "EUROLEADER" from the jury in 2000 and Champion of Europe in Innovation by the European Commission in 2000 and 2002.

Since 2001, Cicom Organisation has been managing the European Telecom Innovation Center (ETIC) in partnership with Lucent Technologies. This 2300m² centre specialises in mobile communications. Since 2000, Cicom Organisation has been also managing the incubator, Antipolis Internet Campus, in Sophia Antipolis. In 8 years, Cicom Organisation has accompanied more than 150 companies.

Finally in 2002, Cicom Organisation became a member of the European Space Incubator Network (ESINET), the leading European network in the field of aerospace. The aim of ESINET is to transfer technology and knowledge from the space industry into other economic sectors, thus stimulating the creation of new profitable SMEs in Europe.

3. Cicom Organisation's activities

==> Incubator

The aim of Cicom Organisation is to contribute to the development of information and telecommunication technology in France and abroad.

Its main activity is to support the creation of innovative companies by identifying business plans with high potential, and by providing entrepreneurs with the following services:

- Project and SME diagnosis
- Project evaluation
- Complete assistance and integration of innovative projects (assistance with business plans)
- Advice and assistance with financial aspects of projects
- Advice and assistance with marketing
- Advice in Human Resources
- Advice and assistance with technological aspects
- Assistance with technology transfer
- Access to public and private finance
- Set up and accommodation of companies
- Logistical services
- Assistance after initial phase, advice to SMEs after the 'start-up' phase
- Organisation of inter-company co-operation (clustering)
- Organisation of international and cross-border co-operation.
- Etc.

==> Consulting in the Development of Technoparks

Cicom also participates in the development and enhancement of numerous parks, technopoles and incubation centres in France and abroad.

- France: Installation and headquarters of the Multimedia World Trade Center in Sophia Antipolis in 1996, Urban Community of Lyon in 1998, The Russian Technopark Project in 1999, The DIGIPORT project in Lille in 2002…
Cicom Organisation has also been named official representative of the Provence, Alpes Côte d'Azur region for the 5th PCRD programme "Innovation and SME."

- Abroad: Participation in the creation of the Budapest - Hungary Business Park in 1995, in the Beirut Incubator (Lebanon) in 1996, the development of the International Communication Center in Zurich in 1998, participation in the creation and launch of the Casablanca Information Technology Center (CITC), the largest incubator in the EMEA zone (29 000 m², 110 companies).

==> European Projects

As a Business and Innovation Centre, Cicom Organisation has participated in numerous European projects from the European Commission to support the enhancement and innovation of SMEs in Europe.

among other, Cicom Organisation has participated in the following projects:

"SMARTS" a project from the ACTS programme, DGXIII (96-97), aimed at introducing SMEs to Information and Communication Technologies, advising them on the use of technology to improve their productivity and competitiveness.

"SEMPER" a project from the ACTS programme, DGXIII (97-98), Cicom Organisation participated in the development of a platform for demonstrating E-business, along with IBM.

"INTERPRISE ELECTRONIC COMMERCE" a project from the INTERPRISE programme, DGXXIII (99), aimed at promoting co-operation between European SMEs and facilitating their internationalisation through adapted and long term business partnerships.

"ENTRAIN-NET" a project from Leonardo (2000) to crate a remote training programme aimed at encouraging entrepreneurial spirit on the basis of experience and expertise acquired at the CEEI.

"ETI: Economic and Technological Intelligence" (2000). This project was aimed at promoting innovation, identifying SMEs needs in terms of innovation and encouraging them to participate in European R&D programmes.

"PAXIS: Pilot Action of Excellence for Innovative Start-up" (2000). This project was aimed at collecting, analysing and exchanging best practices in terms of incubation in 5 given regions of excellence (Sophia Antipolis, Helsinki, Southern Sweden, Torino and Berlin) and the creation of a model of best practices in the incubation sector.