Case Study
Smile: Enabling sustainable digital transformation across the value chain
Smile is a European digital services company specializing in open-source technologies and sustainable digital transformation. Operating at the intersection of technology, user experience, and sustainability, Smile enables organizations to design, build, and operate digital solutions that are inclusive, compliant and resource efficient. Responsible digital practices are integrated across the full lifecycle of digital products, allowing clients to improve performance while reducing their environmental footprint.
Aligned with:
09
Industry, Innovation
and Infrastructure
10
Reduced
inequalities
12
Responsible consumption
and production
Certifications & recognitions
”Our role within our clients’ value chains is to ensure that every digital solution we deliver is inherently efficient, inclusive, and resilient. Smile acts as a strategic enabler of responsible digital transformation, helping organizations not only meet rising expectations, but also reshape how value is created across their entire ecosystem.
Marc PalazonGroup Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Smile Group
Inclusive, compliant, and
ecosystem-wide platforms
Smile’s “IT for Human” approach ensures that digital services are designed to be inclusive, removing barriers to accessibility and affordability. At scale, this contributes to more equitable digital ecosystems and reinforces the role of technology as a driver of social and societal value.
Scaling accessibility across digital services:
Smile delivers digital services accessible to all users, including people with disabilities, combining compliant platforms with clear, inclusive content. Smile has audited 50+ private and public websites and applications including major government platforms, and supported Suez to develop integrated accessible writing practices that simplify user journeys and widen reach across critical services.
Extending impact through open-source:
Smile develops and supports open-source solutions that go beyond individual client needs, enabling reuse, collaboration, and long-term scalability. Smile supported the open-sourcing of an AI subtitle solution for France Télévisions, enabling wider adoption, improved accessibility, and shared innovation across the broadcasting ecosystem.
Embedding trust through data compliance:
Smile integrates GDPR principles directly into digital services, ensuring data collection and usage are transparent, secure, and aligned with regulation. Across multiple projects, Smile has implemented data minimization, consent management, and compliance frameworks that meet strict regulatory standards at scale.
Transformation aligned with operational efficiency
Smile represents a critical enabler of digital transformation within the value chain, embedding sustainability directly into the design, development, and operation of digital products.
01
Functional sobriety
by design
Smile reduces digital weight at the design phase by scoping only essential features. For La caisse des Dépôts, Smile built a responsible digital ecosystem around core user needs, delivering a platform tagged Sustainable ICT with simplified journeys and reduced resource consumption.
02
Green code
and lean architecture
Smile applies concrete green code practices: caching, request minimization, log deactivation, and code simplification, combined with modular and lightweight architectures that directly reduce server calls, data exchanged, and processing load.
03
GreenOps cloud
and hosting
Smile embeds GreenOps practices to right-size cloud infrastructure. Teams rationalize consumption, select efficient instances, and align resources to actual needs rather than over-provisioning, lowering cost and footprint while maintaining performance.
Highlights…
64%
reduction in website carbon footprint
for a specific client
Up to 68%
reduction in hosting/cloud environmental impact through GreenOps and optimization
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