'''Cloudwatt''' was a core initiative of Project Andromède, one of France's periodic attempts at building a local computer industry. Project Andromède was announced in 2009 as a governmental desire for French-controlled cloud computing, with the goal of spending €285 million (US $338 million) in "''cloud souverain''" ("sovereign cloud" in English).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lemondeinformatique.fr/actualites/lire-285-millions-d-euros-pour-andromede-le-cloud-souverain-francais-41990.html|title=285 millions d'euros pour Andromède, le cloud souverain français|date=October 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023154428/https://www.lemondeinformatique.fr/actualites/lire-285-millions-d-euros-pour-andromede-le-cloud-souverain-francais-41990.html|archive-date=2011-10-23}}</ref><ref>"France continues to pursue its own data centre infrastructure, dubbed “le cloud souverain”, despite the closure of some of the businesses initially behind the idea." https://theconversation.com/digital-colonialism-why-some-countries-want-to-take-control-of-their-peoples-data-from-big-tech-123048</ref>
== Overview == The launch of Cloudwatt was a part of the Andromède project initiated in 2009 to promote France in the cloud computing market.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Avril 2012|first=Par Christophe Auffray {{!}} Vendredi 20|title=Cloud Andromède : Orange et Thales se félicitent et se disent prêts à démarrer|url=https://www.zdnet.fr/actualites/cloud-andromede-orange-et-thales-se-felicitent-et-se-disent-prets-a-demarrer-39770969.htm|access-date=2021-07-21|website=ZDNet France|date=20 April 2012 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Franceinfo - Actualités en temps réel et info en direct|url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/|access-date=2021-07-21|website=Franceinfo|language=fr}}</ref>
Cloudwatt was established on September 6, 2012 as a subsidiary of Orange S.A., with the government of France and French military contractor Thales as secondary shareholders.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cloud souverain : Orange et Thalès lancent Cloudwatt - Le Monde Informatique|url=https://www.lemondeinformatique.fr/actualites/lire-cloud-souverain-orange-et-thales-lancent-cloudwatt-50317.html|access-date=2021-07-21|website=LeMondeInformatique|date=6 September 2012 |language=fr}}</ref> Patrick Starck became the CEO of the company.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Gr|first1=Yves|last2=montagne|date=2013-07-22|title=Où en est Cloudwatt ? avec Raphaël Ferreira de eNovance|url=https://www.silicon.fr/ou-en-est-cloudwatt-avec-raphael-ferreira-de-enovance-87958.html|access-date=2021-07-21|website=Silicon|language=fr-FR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Cloudwatt : des offres naissantes misant sur l'Open Source|url=https://www.journaldunet.com/solutions/cloud-computing/1109655-cloudwatt-et-numergy-forces-et-faiblesses-des-clouds-souverains/1109657-cloudwatt|access-date=2021-07-21|website=www.journaldunet.com|language=fr}}</ref>
In 2013, Cloudwatt chose US-based Juniper Networks as a supplier to ensure French data sovereignty.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alex Scroxton |title=Cloudwatt deploys SDN to orchestrate public cloud service |url=https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240225580/Cloudwatt-deploys-SDN-to-orchestrate-public-cloud-service |accessdate=19 October 2020 |date=28 July 2014 |quote=The Paris-based business picked Juniper Networks’ OpenContrail – an open source project initiated by the network supplier in autumn 2013 – to improve network operation efficiency and safeguard data sovereignty}}</ref> Commercial sales began in 2014,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cio.com/article/2867733/orange-looks-to-take-over-struggling-french-cloud.html|title=Orange looks to take over struggling French cloud|first=Mikael|last=Ricknäs|date=January 12, 2015|website=CIO}}</ref> and were expected to reach €500 million per year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.myce.com/news/cloudwatt-announces-complete-halt-on-its-services-come-feb-2020-88357/|title=Cloudwatt Announces Complete Halt on Its Services Come Feb 2020|first=Maricar|last=Sze|date=August 5, 2019|website=Myce.com}}</ref> The company developed a Dropbox-like storage service targeting small businesses and organizations, which was advertised on TV in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gigaom.com/2013/11/18/a-guide-to-the-french-national-clouds/|title=A guide to the French national cloud(s)|first=David|last=Meyer|date=November 18, 2013|website=gigaom.com|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019202557/https://gigaom.com/2013/11/18/a-guide-to-the-french-national-clouds/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
On March 20, 2015, Orange bought the company out the other investors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://telecoms.com/410802/orange-confirms-cloudwatt-acquisition/|title=Orange confirms Cloudwatt acquisition|date=March 20, 2015|website=Telecoms.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Orange prend le contrôle de la totalité de Cloudwatt|url=https://www.usine-digitale.fr/article/orange-prend-le-controle-de-la-totalite-de-cloudwatt.N320234|access-date=2021-07-21|website=usine-digitale.fr |date=20 March 2015 }}</ref> On January 1, 2016, Cloudwatt merged with Orange Business Services through its subsidiary Orange Cloud for Business.
Despite government subsidies of €75 million, after two years, the project had revenues of just €6 million. At the end of July 2019, the platform announced to its customers the cessation of its activity, scheduled for January 31, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cloudwatt : arrêt définitif de service en février 2020 - Le Monde Informatique|url=https://www.lemondeinformatique.fr/actualites/lire-cloudwatt-arret-definitif-de-service-en-fevrier-2020-76055.html|access-date=2021-07-21|website=LeMondeInformatique|date=31 July 2019 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Orange to close down Cloudwatt in France|url=https://www.telecompaper.com/news/orange-to-close-down-cloudwatt-in-france--1303271|access-date=2021-09-06|website=www.telecompaper.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-07-31|title=Orange enterre définitivement Cloudwatt|url=https://www.channelnews.fr/orange-enterre-definitivement-cloudwatt-90779|access-date=2021-09-06|website=ChannelNews|language=fr-FR}}</ref> The users were advised to switch to the Flexible Engine public cloud platform.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Flexible Engine, le Cloud public fiable et sécurisé d'Orange|url=https://cloud.orange-business.com/offres/infrastructure-iaas/flexible-engine/|access-date=2021-07-21|website=Cloud - Orange Business Services|language=fr-FR}}</ref> On February 1, 2020, all services were terminated and clients were advised that their data was deleted.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rudebaguette.com/2019/08/cloudwatt-orange-cloud-souverain-fin/|title=Cloudwatt : vie et mort du premier « cloud souverain » de la France|first=La|last=rédaction|date=August 29, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nextinpact.com/lebrief/39672/9427-orange-enterre-cloudwatt--qui-fermera-ses-portes-le-31-janvier-2020|title=Orange enterre Cloudwatt, qui fermera ses portes le 31 janvier 2020|date=August 30, 2019|website=www.nextinpact.com|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=October 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024055155/https://www.nextinpact.com/lebrief/39672/9427-orange-enterre-cloudwatt--qui-fermera-ses-portes-le-31-janvier-2020|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |date=2020-01-31|title=Adieu le cloud souverain, Orange ferme aujourd'hui Cloudwatt|url=https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/adieu-le-cloud-souverain-orange-ferme-aujourd-hui-cloudwatt.N925104|language=fr}}</ref>
== Assets == Cloudwatt had a capital of 225 million euros with the distribution of funds as follows: 44.4% for Orange, 22.2% for Thales, 33.3% for Caisse des Dépôts.
On January 13, 2015, Orange and its subsidiary Orange cloud for business announced the intention to buy back all of Cloudwatt.<ref>{{Cite web|title=En voulant racheter Cloudwatt, Orange défie Atos dans le cloud français|url=https://www.usine-digitale.fr/editorial/en-voulant-racheter-cloudwatt-orange-defie-atos-dans-le-cloud-francais.N307277|access-date=2021-07-21|website=usine-digitale.fr |date=13 January 2015 }}</ref>
Since March 2015, Orange held 100% of the capital of Cloudwatt.
==See also== * Dirigisme * Plan Calcul * Minitel * Quaero
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * [https://www.cloudwatt.com/ Official website]
Category:French companies established in 2012 Category:French companies disestablished in 2020 Category:Defunct software companies of France
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