#interview Jura-based Geosatis aims to become world leader in electronic surveillance
The company
Geosatis is a Swiss company based in Noirmont, in the canton of Jura. A spin-off from EPFL, it was founded in 2011 by José Demétrio.
The project
Geosatis has developed a global electronic surveillance solution that can be adapted to the specific needs of each customer, enabling short-term sentences to be carried out under electronic surveillance. The company has designed a high-security electronic geolocation bracelet, capable of resisting or detecting almost any radio attack, as well as any attempt to remove or tamper with the device's electronic components.
Development
Since its creation, the Jura-based company has rapidly evolved from start-up to SME, with the acceleration of its activities, the deployment of its international market, and the explosion in the number of partnerships and employees. An opportunity for Alp ICT to take stock of their projects. Many thanks to Guillaume Gagnier, Head of Corporate Development at Geosatis, for granting us this interview from New York.
The interview
Alp ICT: Congratulations on the CHF 2 million in contracts signed since the start of 2017. Can you tell us a little more about these partnerships?
José Demétrio: Our electronic bracelet is currently being tested in the cantons of Jura, Neuchâtel and Fribourg. The stakes are high, because in January 2018, all French-speaking cantons will be required to have an electronic monitoring solution.
Ticino is already using our bracelet officially, and we're in talks with a number of cantons in German-speaking Switzerland.
In order to meet the numerous demands, we passed the 40-strong mark a month ago, the majority of whom are engineers working in a wide range of skills.
Alp ICT: How do you explain the success of your solution abroad?
José Demétrio: The market is fairly straightforward in our field. There are only about 5 companies, mainly American or Israeli, so Geosatis is the main European player. What's more, the Swiss image is very important in this sector, as a lot of data is collected by the wristband, and the guarantee of security is paramount.
This has enabled us to actively develop the European market. These countries are particularly interested in the fact that our solution enables the use of several satellite constellation systems, not just GPS. We also have a lot of developments underway in South America, and we're actively working in North Africa.
Alp ICT: South Africa adopted your monitoring system a few years ago. What is the feedback?
José Demétrio: This was our very first deployment, which is always a great challenge as you move from theoretical to real-life use. We were responsive to the customer's requests, and the solution is now working very well.
If the customer requires further development, we are ready to provide it, because our solution is not set in stone - quite the contrary. Legal systems are specific to each country, so we have to adapt to them. We now have real expertise in adapting the solution to each legal system, which is a real added value.
Alp ICT: How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors?
José Demétrio: Our approach is the opposite of that of our competitors, who seem to associate the size of the product with its degree of security. Our aim is to have a discreet, lightweight, easy-to-install, secure and comfortable object. Our bracelet goes unnoticed under the pants and thus facilitates social reintegration by enabling certain prisoners to stay at home under the control of the justice system.
The project is also a real concentrate of high technology, preventing false alarms and unnecessary police movements.
Alp ICT: How do you manage the rapid evolution of your company from start-up to SME?
José Demétrio: With fewer than 30 employees, team management can be horizontal. Today, this is no longer the case at Geosatis, and we are in the midst of an organizational transition, with the implementation of processes and a hierarchy, if only for internal communication. The management team has decided to structure itself in the image of a large company, with a fairly strict quality approach to meet incoming demand. We have structured ourselves with anticipation, so as to be ready for the acceleration of our activities.
The advantage is that our management has both experience in large corporations and an entrepreneurial background, which makes it easier to manage this evolution. It's worth noting that we received Quality Management Certification with fewer than 10 employees, demonstrating our anticipation of structuring to manage the development we are experiencing today. Our objective is to expand globally to meet the many demands of today, by recruiting and soon launching a new fund-raising campaign.
Alp ICT: What's your vision of the IoT?
José Demétrio: The bracelet we propose is in itself a connected object which depends on its environment, draws information from it, which then leads to decision-making. We have an analytics department to further process this data and integrate it into the environment. Pooling information can lead to a very wide range of applications, and Geosatis is keen to move forward in this direction. We also have good experience in security, since all data is encrypted. Geosatis is also very interested in the exploitation of the data collected.
Our company has built up a wealth of in-house expertise in connected objects since it was founded in 2011, enabling us to look ahead and imagine the development of other connected products. We're developing a number of in-house projects in this field, including the tracking of connected containers, which is another market that's set to grow in importance over the next few years. And we're open to any proposal.
