Sophia the closure of Kanbay France

It's over for Kanbay France which officially closed down late last week. This American-Indian company founded in 1987, set up in June 1999 at the CICA in Sophia Antipolis. Focused on the e-business, the company from Sophia Antipolis was dealing with three acitivties : electronic business with the creation of e-business plat-forms, telecom applications (customer service, billing, etc) and electronic payment systems (see article 'Les ambitions de Kanbay France'). At the beginning, a relatively quick rise in popularity was scheduled : 10 people late 1999, from 20 to 30 late 2000, with possibilities then to open a real R&D center on the research park.

Jean-Marc Bournazel, the manager of Kanbay France, has never got the means to achieve such an ambition from the parent-company. The Kanbay France's staff has never been over 5 people (only three people were remaining early March 2001). But today's problem doesn't come form there. The collapse of the Kanbay group (1.300 people) in the United-States, after the slow-down of the American economy is the reason for this closure of the French subsidiary, after those of other ones in the world as in Singapore. After the closure of Health Center, a new result on the research park, of the bad winds which are blowing over the US high tech industry.