200 actors, one territory, a shared ambition: this is what unfolded during the last major gathering of the French Digital Team in Brittany. In March 2024, the region opened its doors to this national dynamic, bringing together businesses, institutions, and researchers around a common challenge: making digital technology a driver for local economy and innovation.
Far from grand theoretical statements, discussions highlighted very concrete issues. Among them: the digitalization of territories, the need to train youth, and strong support for emerging talents. While plans are conceived on a national scale, they are tailored here to the economic realities of Brittany, taking into account its identity, historical sectors, and shared ambitions.
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Who are the key players in the French Digital Team in Brittany?
Among the pillars, the Brittany Cyber Alliance brings together partners such as ADN Ouest, Audelor, Bcom, and Brittany Commerce International under its banner. This collaboration facilitates dialogue between businesses, local authorities, and research, injecting energy into every collective project.
ADN Ouest carries significant weight, uniting nearly 800 members, including businesses, schools, and institutions, to voice the sector, defend its interests, and support the evolution of skills across the territory. It also serves as a one-stop shop for those looking to navigate the regional digital offerings.
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Brittany’s technopoles are a unique asset. Since 2014, seven structures—Innôzh, Le Poool, Anticipa, Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Technopole Quimper-Cornouaille, Lorient Technopole, and VIPE Vannes—have supported innovative companies from idea to growth. They manage programs like Emergys Bretagne and EDIH-Bretagne, the European hub that facilitates the digital transition of SMEs.
Research also plays its part. IRISA and the Images and Networks cluster unite a pool of over 15,000 researchers across 56 laboratories, creating bridges between universities, businesses, and scientific centers. Prestigious schools, from Telecom Bretagne to INSA or ENIB, train experts each year who will inject a wave of new skills into the sector. On the ground, young startups like Klaxoon and companies such as Ubisoft stand out, while the platform web2bretagne.org maps initiatives to showcase all the strengths at play.
On the international front, Brittany Commerce International supports around 2,000 Breton companies each year in accessing new markets. In the maritime cybersecurity sector, France Cyber Maritime develops innovative tools to secure port and logistics activities. Among the other faces of the Breton ecosystem are Biotech Santé Bretagne, Digitaleo, Stage 301, and Le Poool x La French Tech Rennes St-Malo, forming a whole archipelago of initiatives that give substance and visibility to the region.
Highlights and recent initiatives transforming the territory
Digital technology comes to life through key dates that mark the local calendar. On the international stage, the CES in Las Vegas allows Breton startups to showcase their innovations to a global audience, while in Rennes, the European Cyber Week gathers experts, researchers, and industry players around issues of cybersecurity, digital sovereignty, and continuous innovation.
The Couvent des Jacobins in Rennes hosts the annual Digital Tech Conference, a direct link between the research world and businesses seeking solutions. The Learning Show questions learning models in the digital age and encourages the invention of new ways to train and support both young and older individuals in digital transformation.
Several structural initiatives deployed on the ground deserve to be highlighted:
- Voluntary investments from the Brittany Region to develop large-scale digital sectors and support local growth.
- The second call for digital innovation projects, favored by many SMEs in the territory, which highlights the initiative and creativity of Breton entrepreneurs.
- Groups led by Cress Bretagne, focused on social innovation and promoting useful digital solutions for all.
- Support from ADEME to foster the circular economy, in synergy with Breton digital players.
Competitiveness clusters, engaged at various levels, serve as a springboard for numerous innovative projects, while the European level and state initiatives push the boundaries of what is possible. Each journey, each entrepreneurial adventure, contributes to strengthening a fertile ground where digital innovation takes root in the local economic and social life.
What structuring projects are shaping the digital future of Brittany?
Breton digital innovation is reflected in a series of concrete initiatives, often relayed by technopoles. On the ground, each project shifts the needle, between industrial transformation, new uses, and the opening up of unprecedented services.
Here is a panel of promising future-oriented experiences:
- Apitour, which mobilizes MMT Survey and the community tourism office of LTC, revolutionizes the discovery of the territory through data and territorial intelligence.
- Calipso, born from the collaboration between Syrlinks and EPC France, brings embedded technologies and secure communications to boost the performance of key infrastructures.
- Domicare, with Tribord Brest and Alliance ADAPA, aims to enhance home monitoring and support, thus facilitating the home care of elderly people.
- Expcueety, developed by Cureety and CHU Rennes, pushes the boundaries of telemedicine through advanced analysis of medical data for patient monitoring.
Other projects like Forêt Vox (Paintitgreen Ecotree, Coat Ar Herno forestry group) or Certificare (Bodemer group) show that the dynamic innovates as much in sustainable resource management as in the automotive industry. Thanks to Mydatacatalogue UE pro tourism (Dawizz and the tourism department of Morbihan), Brittany proves that sharing and valuing data directly benefits the development of territories.
With close support from technopoles, all these initiatives gain visibility and strength. Here, digital transformation is not an abstract formula: it bursts into real life, irrigates activities, reconfigures jobs, and shapes new horizons.
At the crossroads of coasts, cities, and labs, digital Brittany continues to invent, accelerate, and weave connections. In this living laboratory, the next revolution in the sector could well be born sooner than we think, radiating far beyond regional borders.