‘We’ll exceed €12m revenue this year’: Easy Service Informatique founder and MD
Frédéric Zouaï reflects on two decades of growth, his passion for IT, and balancing innovation with sustainability
Paris is made up of 20 districts, each with its own identity.
The 12th district is known as the cradle of the French Revolution, the 18th is home to the Moulin Rouge, and France’s most emblematic landmark, the Eiffel Tower, stands in the seventh.
It is in the second district, between the city’s opera and the Louvre, that is Easy Service Informatique, an MSP launched in 2002 by Frédéric Zouaï, with the goal of meeting the IT needs of SMBs.
It has little to envy to the roofs of the Haussmann-style buildings spread across the capital, as the firm expects to attain new heights this year.
For FY25, it intends to exceed €12m revenue, with the firm's latest estimate standing at €12.2m (£10.63m).
The business has grown consistently by 12 to 15 per cent growth each year since its beginning, Zouaï, the company’s founder and MD, tells CRN.
It also experienced a spike in revenue during COVID, driven by the rapid shift to remote work, as well as the need for VPNs and hardware renewals.
As of today, managed IT services account for 40 per cent of the firm’s revenue.
It is followed by cloud and SaaS (20 per cent), cybersecurity (15 per cent), hardware (15 per cent), and telecoms (less than ten per cent).
While the company is now on an upward trajectory, it all began with humble beginnings, explains Zouaï.
“When I started, SMBs were either too small or didn’t have the budget to work with large service providers.
“I’d already been helping people with IT during my studies and had a real passion for it, so I started helping businesses one by one. That’s how Easy Service Informatique was born.”
Since then, the company has grown mainly through word of mouth.
“Our growth has been entirely organic, through trust and client referrals.
“We’ve never done active prospecting; no cold calls, no aggressive sales.”
While the MSP hasn’t made many acquisitions in the past, apart from “a couple of small takeovers years ago,” the founder is considering going down that path, “especially to gain talent, expand geographically, or add complementary services like HR or management solutions.”
Lawyers, bankers, and Parisian customers
While Zouaï claims that Easy Service Informatique is sector agnostic, word-of-mouth recommendations have led the company to work primarily within similar circles, particularly law firms.
“It’s a very dynamic sector,” the founder says.
“Firms merge, split, and grow frequently, and they value trust and reliability, just like when choosing a lawyer.”
It also deals with financial companies, such as portfolio management firms and investment funds.
“Those clients have high compliance requirements, which suits us because we’ve developed strong expertise in that area, particularly around regulatory and IT compliance, like DORA.”
The MSP currently serves around 400 clients.
Most of its customer base is located in Paris and the surrounding area.
Zouaï is also considering expansion to cities such as Lille, Lyon, Nantes, or Bordeaux, before looking beyond France.
Channel network
To generate revenue and serve its customers, the firm works with different vendors across the channel.
Its main partner is Microsoft.
“We’ve been part of their ecosystem for years,” says the MSP leader.
It also deals with Apple and has a technical team that is specialised in the vendor’s products.
In terms of cybersecurity, it works with Sophos and WatchGuard, as well as Riot for user awareness training.
For telecoms, it collaborates with French operator Kissgroup.
Easy Service Informatique also partners with distributors such as ALSO, TD SYNNEX, Ingram Micro, as well as French distie Hermitage.
A technical workforce
The firm currently hires 85 to 90 employees, with roughly 70 per cent of its staff being technical.
Its staff also includes three people in HR, two in marketing, four to five in admin, and around seven to eight account managers, which he refers to as client relationship leads rather than “sale hunters.”
“ Many of our account managers are former technicians; they understand the tech deeply, which makes them credible and trusted by clients.”
Tech and societal changes
The company’s boss sees AI as a big focus point moving forward.
“We’ve been using it internally for a while, and we’re starting to integrate it into client projects, especially through our part-time CIO services.
“Automation is another key area: not just AI, but process automation to improve efficiency.
“We don’t see AI as replacing people, but as helping them work better and faster.”
Beyond technology changes, the firm has also evolved through societal evolutions and economic crises over the last two decades.
While he explains that France’s economy has shielded many companies in the past, especially during COVID, this has led to the country’s soaring public debt, which is now equivalent to 116 per cent of its GDP.
Despite these challenges, Zouaï highlights that Easy Service Informatique’s clients, as well as their clients’ clients, have remained stable.
“Being in IT services helped, since companies can’t function without us,” he adds.
As sustainability represents both a growing challenge and an opportunity, the MD is gradually turning its attention to this space.
“We also pay attention to CSR and sustainability, though we’re realistic; we don’t have the means to go fully carbon-neutral yet.
“We’re taking small steps, like using refurbished hardware and greener practices, but demand from clients on that front is still low for now.”