Raritan France grew at Paris Levallois
Office Space news by BURO Club

News of the 08/11/2016

Bought in 2015 by the French electrical equipment maker Legrand, the American company Raritan has been developing in France for the past fourteen years. Its sector of activity concerns power management solutions, serial consoles and KVM-over-IP switching technology for data centers of all sizes. At the head of Raritan’s French subsidiary since its inception in 2002: François Rose, regional sales manager in France and Southern Europe. He directs deals from BURO Club Paris Levallois business center.

How did you decide to rent an office in a BURO Club center?

Raritan's European headquarters, located in the Netherlands, asked me to open a Raritan office in France in 2002. On my own, I did not want to work from home. I needed to have schedules, to get dressed each morning in order to have a framework. I don’t want to mix work and private life, and at home, I don’t have any dedicated room for my activity. On the other hand, at that time, I did not know how my activity would change by short and medium terms. Would I have to stay at the same place or would I have to hire somebody? That was what made me turn to the flexibility and value-quality ratio of BURO Club business centers.

Why did you choose Paris Levallois center as your office space solution in Paris?

It was the closest to home. And its location is interesting. It is 200 meters from Paris, very close to the subway, the train station and the ring road.

What did your manager think about this solution?

I explained to my Dutch manager at the time that this was the best for us. Renting a typical office would have meant to define a surface, to purchase furniture and equipment accordingly to that place, to take care of the mail and pay water and electricity bills... We would have been stifled by administrative tasks and it was not our goal. As long as you do not exceed a certain number of employees, a business center is the most interesting solution. We don’t have to manage things I’ve just quoted before. We enjoy administrative support and only pay a single global bill at the end of the month. Moreover, subsidiaries in Germany and England work the same way.

What is your mission for Raritan/Legrand?

Our job is to promote Raritan IT solutions in France but also in Portugal, Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus since 2012. We play a role of support and advice with our partners and our final customers. It requires us to be very available. Once we have prescribed them the best solutions regarding their needs, they place their order to the European headquarters in the Netherlands.

You say “our job”. How many people do you work with in Paris?

We are three. I was quickly able to surround myself with a person dedicated to the commercial side and a second as technical support. We rent two serviced offices plus an additional room in which we store our demonstration equipment. We do a lot of exhibitions and receive a great quantity of products we keep in here. We also benefit from the meeting rooms when we organize Raritan/Legrand corporate meetings or breakfasts with customers.

How are your relationships with BURO Club Levallois center’s staff?

We do appreciate each other with Laurence Dathy (commercial director of BURO Club Paris Levallois and Paris République business centers, and BURO Club Paris Levallois business center co-associate). She is really efficient and proactive. As for people who work at the reception, they have an important position as they represent BURO Club. They have to be likable while keeping some professional distance with clients, and everything is going very well on this side as well.