Firm1 is a European IT services and consulting company, providing management consultancy, systems integration, outsourcing and training solutions to major corporations. Firm1 is the fourth provider of management consultancy in France; it employs over 8000 consultants in autonomous business units across Europe. The recent bringing together between Firm1 and a German group gives rise to a major European actor in IT consultancy and systems integration. With a sales turnover of more than 3.5 billion euros, the group employs more than 30 000 people spread in 36 different countries.
However, since its creation, Firm1 has done little in offshoring other than their nearshore move to Morocco. The project of the implementation in Morocco was launched in 2003. After a market study, a services centre was born in Rabat from a joint-venture with a major Moroccan company specialized in data-processing outsourcing.
I interviewed a senior operation manager in Paris who is in charge of the coordination between Paris and Rabat teams. He described his company’s activities as follows:
« Our mission is to understand the true expectations of each client and to assess their challenges and issues, in order to build long-lasting solutions. In practice, this means active listening, creativity and respect for the human and cultural uniqueness of each company. »
The IT centre of Firm1 in Rabat disposes of an infrastructure together with a high-tech development platform: networks, broadband connections, safety system and solution of shared work. And when talking about this first offshoring experience of the company in Morocco, The manager said:
« For our European clients, the IT centre of Rabat constitutes a nearshore platform for their Information Systems development and maintenance. At only three hours from Paris, having a good knowledge of the culture of European companies, Rabat brings an alternative to distant subcontracting. Moreover, this offer is particularly attractive in a context of costs reduction, since potential savings are substantial, with the guarantee of a successful project management. »