PUTEAUX: Econocom, Europe’s first digital general contractor, has announced that its satellite Alter Way, an emblematic player in open source in France, will be joining the Smile group, which seeks to bolster its role as Europe’s open-source leader. Alter Way will remain a special business partner to Econocom in open-source services.

Jean-Louis Bouchard, Econocom’s founder and chairman, said, ‘After Alter Way’s six fruitful years in our group, I’m delighted about its merger with Smile, which creates a new way for us to partner with each other. Econocom’s model of satellites has once again proved its worth in helping cutting-edge firms develop through support from our group’s expertise and client portfolio.’

Véronique Torner and Philippe Montargès, co-founders and chairs of Alter Way, added, ‘After an exciting entrepreneurial journey in the Econocom galaxy, which helped us successfully develop our Build for Run plan and grow quickly, we’re proud to help create Europe’s future champion in open source and in responsible digital technology alongside Marc Palazon (CEO of Smile) and his talented senior management team.’

The operation will take effect in the coming weeks once the final administrative formalities are completed.