Report
on
the
CSTI
plenary
working
meeting,
30
March
2005
Mr
Jean-Michel
Hubert,
Deputy
Chairman,
called
this
meeting
of
the
Strategic
Advisory
Board
on
Information
Technologies
(CSTI)
at
Hôtel
Matignon.
The
purpose
of
these
minutes
is
not
to
give
the
complete
text
of
the
proceedings
but
to
describe
the
discussions
sparked
by
this
debate
and
their
conclusions.
The
following
members
attended
the
Board
meeting:
Mr
Jean
François
Abramatic;
Mr
Alain
Bravo;
Mr
Patrick
Cocquet;
Mr
Jean
Pierre
Corniou;
Mr
Michel
Dahan;
Mr
Michel
Didier;
Mr
Claude
Guéguen;
Mr
Yves
Guillemot;
Mrs
Simone
Halberstadt
Harari;
Mr
Daniel
Kaplan;
Mr
Philippe
Lemoine;
Mrs
Colette
Lewiner;
Mr
Joël
Monnier;
Mr
Grégoire
Olivier;
Mrs
Isabelle
Parize;
Mr
Gilles
Pélisson;
Mr
François
Henri
Pinault;
Mr
Denis
Ranque;
Mr
Gérard
Roucairol;
Mr
Claude
Satinet;
Mr
Serge
Tchuruk.
The
following
members
were
excused
:
Mr
Thierry
Breton;
Mr
Jean-Charles
Hourcade;
Mr
Gilles
Kahn;
Mr
Arnaud
Lagardère;
Mr
André
Lévy
Lang;
Mr
Patrick
Le
Lay;
Mrs
Colette
Lewiner;
Mr
Jean
Mounet;
Mr
Jacques
Stern.
Guest
:
M.
Didier
Lombard.
THE
PLENARY
WORKING
MEETING
Information
technologies
and
competitiveness
The
report
prepared
by
five
Board
members
was
presented.
This
report
remains
wholly
topical,
particularly
the
sector-driven
approach
it
describes.
The
fabric
of
SMEs
and
SMIs
remains
inadequately
developed
even
though
it
forms
the
natural
ecosystem
of
large
corporations.
The
report's
recommendations
would
permit
the
launch
of
a two-pronged
approach
at
both
sectoral
and
territorial
level.
This
momentum
remains
to
be
generated
and
would
require
IT
investments
by
SMEs
and
SMIs.
The
report
offers
practical
and
operational
proposals
designed
to
forward
the
Prime
Minister's
objective.
It
is
desirable
to
disseminate
this
report
as
widely
as
possible,
particularly
among
the
general
public,
since
widespread
distribution
would
expedite
and
facilitate
the
decision-making
process
in
respect
of
both
its
research
and
innovation
recommendations.
The
usage-based
approach,
expressed
in
a sector-oriented
recommendation,
is
specifically
designed
for
public
dissemination.
During
the
discussions
it
was
argued
that
a top-down
approach
would
be
counterproductive
since
manufacturers
need
to
originate
their
own
usages.
This
viewpoint
was
not
shared
by
other
members,
who
stressed
the
importance
of
this
recommendation
to
boost
France's
IT
performance.
The
urgency
and
seriousness
of
the
situation
was
repeatedly
stressed
and
thus
the
need
to
publish
this
report
as
broadly
as
possible.
The
idea
is
to
counter
the
impression
that
the
Board
is
rehashing
old
ICT
issues.
The
Board
decided
unanimously
to
adopt
this
report
and
to
send
an
additional
memorandum
to
the
Prime
Minister
in
order
to
keep
the
Board
debate
as
transparently
as
possible.
The
Board
also
expressed
the
wish
to
have
the
report
published
as
broadly
as
possible.
Recent
public
initiatives
:
a)
National
Research
Agency
(Agence
Nationale
de
la
Recherche),
b)
National
Innovation
Agency
(Agence
Nationale
de
l'Innovation),
c)
Competitiveness
nubs,
d)
European
Initiatives,
Framework
Programme
for
Research
and
Technological
Development
...
proposals
for
the
ICT
sector,
complementary
features
and
perspective.
a)
The
Agency
for
Industrial
Innovation
(Agence
pour
l'Innovation
Industrielle
- AII)
was
set
up
to
help
build
technology
companies,
given
that
a "public
sector
only"
approach
no
longer
works.
The
principle
is
to
propose
5 to
10-year
incentive
programmes
financed
for
at
least
50%
by
an
industrial
company.
Such
programmes
would
be
subject
to
the
following
criteria:
innovation,
an
existing
or
potential
market
(i.e.
no
public
procurement),
a significant
market
share
(i.e.
this
measure
is
not
intended
for
SMEs
but
for
major
groups),
economic
criteria
of
the
company
itself
and
role
of
the
public
authorities.
The
creation
of
the
AII
will
require
the
adoption
of
a law,
since
it
will
be
an
Établissement
Public
Administratif
(public
establishment
of
an
administrative
nature).
This
is
the
subject
of
the
mission
assigned
to
Mr
Beffa.
The
general
message
of
the
report
is
that
more
and
more
collaborative
projects
are
necessary
instead
of
scattered
industrial
initiatives;
industrial
competition
causes
loss
of
efficiency
and
generates
added
costs.
b)
The
National
Research
Agency
(Agence
Nationale
de
la
Recherche
A.N.R.)
will
earmark
appropriations
for
successful
tenders;
it
will
not
provide
recurrent
finance.
The
research
community
is
concerned
about
the
allocation
of
such
appropriations
and
about
selection
criteria:
will
such
funds
be
earmarked
for
research
targets
or
according
to
sectoral
or
geographical
criteria?
The
ANR
is
a public
interest
grouping
with
very
large
research
resources
and
the
question
of
coordination
with
the
AII
was
raised.
The
ANR
budget
is
not
expected
to
exceed
the
combined
budgets
of
Fonds
National
de
la
Science,
the
national
science
fund,
and
Fonds
pour
la
Recherche
Technologique,
the
technological
research
fund,
which
it
replaces.
The
share
of
ICT
research
is
hard
to
measure
since
"open-ended"
research
(i.e.
not
limited
to
one
theme)
accounts
for
a high
and
growing
proportion
as
the
outline
is
becoming
clearer.
Part
of
open-ended
research
remains
available
for
ICT
themes.
c)
As
regards
the
competitiveness
hubs,
the
idea
is
to
bring
together
players
in
the
same
geographical
zone.
This
overlaps
with
public
research
questions.
So
far,
105
competitiveness
hubs
have
been
proposed,
including
17
ICT
hubs
covering
11
regions.
A
few
ICT
hub
projects
:
* a
hub
in
Île-de-France
for
the
development
of
models
for
complex
systems,
based
in
Orsay;
* a
hub
in
Grenobles
for
micro-
and
nanotechnologies;
* a
multi-media
content
hub
in
Paris;
* a
hub
for
onboard
systems
applications
in
Bordeaux
and
Toulouse.
In
the
ICT
sector,
three
cross-functional
themes
have
emerged:
interoperability,
security
and
adaptability
to
usage.
ICTs
need
to
have
a larger
input
in
competitiveness
hubs,
which
otherwise
will
not
come
into
their
own
in
terms
of
economic
weight
and
importance
for
the
momentum
of
the
economy
in
general.
d)
The
recently
terminated
6th
Framework
Programme
for
Research
and
Technological
Development
had
a telecommunications
budget
of
EUR
150
million
p.a.,
i.e.
less
than
10%
of
the
global
R&D
budget
of
Alcatel
alone.
There
is
therefore
a major
shortfall
at
European
level,
not
just
in
France.
The
EU
will
at
least
need
to
double
its
telecommunications
budget
to
EUR
300
million
p.a..
However,
according
to
an
informal
admission
by
the
Commission,
the
7th
FPR
seems
to
have
an
even
smaller
ICT
budget
than
the
6th
FPR.
This
FPR
may
not
be
the
key
to
the
system,
explaining
the
importance
of
national
programmes.
This
makes
it
necessary
to
promote
usage-driven
projects
(e.g.
Galileo,
which
could
be
one
of
the
first
of
a series
of
this
type
of
project).
The
Board
needs
to
showcase
one
or
two
key
programmes
with
a strong
impact
on
society
(e.g.
human
health).
During
the
discussions
it
was
pointed
out
that
commitments
should
be
short
term
in
order
to
involve
politicians
and
consumers
effectively.
Technology
is
often
far
in
advance
of
applications,
which
tend
to
lag
behind.
Such
commitments
should
therefore
not
be
linked
to
research
and
development.
It
was
also
stressed
that
the
research
law
is
a source
of
concern
since
it
only
concerns
research,
not
innovation.
Consequently,
there
is
a real
danger
that
this
law
will
only
be
targeting
research.
The
concerns
connected
with
the
whole
range
of
ICTs,
including
applications
and
services,
should
be
presented
to
the
Committee
or
Board
which
will
be
overseeing
the
National
Research
Agency
(ANR).
It
is
nevertheless
to
be
feared
and
expected
that
the
ANR
will
not
concern
itself
with
innovation
but
almost
only
with
research.
Two
concerns
with
regard
to
these
public
initiatives
were
tabled
:
-
the
"cursor's
position"
in
respect
of
ICTs;
- the
general
purpose
and
its
extent,
particularly
at
European
level.
The
definition
of
cross-functional
programmes
to
be
forwarded
by
businesses
could
provide
a cross
functional
solution
to
realise
the
full
potential
of
these
initiatives.
Proposals
for
a timetable
are
welcome
while
the
timetable
of
neither
the
AII
or
the
ANR
has
yet
been
finalised.
The
importance
of
key
programmes
including
associated
usages
(such
as
the
"the
communicating
home"
and
the
"communicating
car")
was
stressed.
Attention
was
drawn
to
the
ISTAG
report
published
in
July
2004,
entitled
"11
key
issues".
It
is,
moreover,
vital
to
appeal
more
to
the
consumer
society's
imagination
since
this
link
between
services
and
the
corresponding
usages
is
often
rather
paradoxical
in
the
ICT
sector.
Innovative
SMEs
need
to
get
involved
with
major
programmes.
To
do
so,
it
is
necessary
to
select
subjects
and
themes
expressed
in
sufficiently
vague
and
general
terms.
EU
banks
invest
almost
EUR
50
billion
in
EU
ventures,
including
EUR
15
to
20
billion
in
technologies,
divided
evenly
between
life
sciences
and
other
technologies.
However,
some
of
the
available
finance
is
not
invested
in
ICTs.
Although
the
capital
is
available,
the
technical
and
cultural
incentive
is
lacking.
It
was
agreed
to
determine
over
the
next
two
months
more
closely
what
such
key
programmes
could
be
in
order
to
propose
contributions
in
this
area
to
the
Prime
Minister.
Such
projects
could
be
connected
with
health,
education,
security
or
the
communicating
home.
Internet
and
the
information
society:
repercussions
of
technological
innovations
for
applications
and
contents
ICT
developments
and
deployments
generally
occur
simultaneously,
resulting
in
a situation
which
is
very
difficult
to
reverse.
Internet-related
innovations,
generally
underpinned
at
first
by
software,
tend
to
be
disseminated
very
broadly
and
rapidly
without
prior
validation
or
efforts
to
achieve
compatibility
with
existing
applications
in
general.
The
changes
brought
about
by
IPV6,
including
infrastructure
adjustments,
were
underscored.
Internet
driven
innovations
(due
to
communicating
objects)
are
ahead.
The
problem
nevertheless
remains
the
need
to
"package
IPV6"
in
order
to
turn
it
into
a society
issue.
Attention
was
drawn
to
the
Cernet
II
project,
which
connects
IPV6-driven
machines
in
China,
since
it
shows
that
the
next
movement,
which
will
revolutionise
the
domain
name
system
and
the
prefixes,
will
be
led
by
Asia.
One
of
the
EU's
competitive
edges
could
be
the
capacity
to
manage
highly
complex
structures,
in
which
the
US
sometimes
appears
to
be
less
skilled.
It
was
pointed
out
that
the
Global
Summit
on
the
Information
Society
has
highlighted
three
strategic
aspects
of
the
information
society:
security,
health
and
governance.
IPV6
can
be
expected
to
have
a considerable
impact
on
these
three
areas.
Development
of
business
usages
for
information
technologies
: need
for
a sector-based
approach
IT
growth
is
driven
for
one-third
by
technology
itself
but
for
two-thirds
by
usages.
Thus,
we
must
focus
primarily
on
ICT-user
companies.
User
companies
have
built
genuine
IT
strategies
and
are
changing
their
business
models
accordingly.
For
example,
they
are
implementing
competitiveness
mechanisms
based
upon
deadlines,
cross
functional
services
or
returns
on
investment
(qualified
by
the
speed
of
turnover
of
the
capital).
Sector-based
processes
need
to
be
strengthened
to
provide
these
mechanism
with
relevant
support.
For
instance,
a study
of
Gencode,
initially
a bar
code
manufacturer
whose
system
now
has
28,000
members,
could
provide
valuable
information.
The
rising
spiral
expected
from
ICTs
for
the
EU
economy
is
not
taking
place.
Applications
for
research
raise
a particular
problem.
It
would
be
relevant
to
propose
a project
which
can
have
the
impact
and
the
symbolic
value
of
the
"Palace
of
Industry
of
the
Universal
Exhibition
of
1900",
which
would
include
a public
exhibition
on
ICTs.
To
achieve
this,
current
R&D
appropriations
need
to
be
used
but
existing
provisions
are
not
intended
for
this
purpose...
The
vital
importance
of
training
adults
was
also
stressed.
