Customer story Government Meet & collaborate securely

How the French Development Agency (AFD) solved critical sovereignty, interoperability, and bandwidth issues in video conferencing

With Pexip, AFD succeeded in:

Eliminating video restrictions

so all users could enjoy HD meetings

Enabling unlimited participant growth

across regions

Achieving easy one-touch joins

between Skype, SIP/H.323 rooms, and browsers

Collaborating in a secure, sovereign

space with full data control

The challenge: To deliver high quality, secure video conferencing without consuming too much bandwidth

To support telework and improve collaboration, AFD hosted an on-premises Skype for Business infrastructure. This Skype infrastructure was heavily relied upon during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, to prevent network saturation, the use of video was intentionally restricted, as Skype consumed significant bandwidth. But as remote work and video meetings continued to increase, AFD realized they needed a new solution to ensure a consistent and high-quality video meeting experience for all users.

Though the Skype for Business service offered flexibility, four key issues prompted the AFD IT Department to reinforce its video infrastructure:

Excessive bandwidth consumption in certain geographical areas
Limited number of participants
Need for seamless interoperability with on-site video meeting rooms (SIP/H323)
Missing functionalities (personalization, event, or webinar mode)

As a result, in 2021, AFD discovered Pexip’s secure meeting solution.

Pexip offered AFD the security, sovereignty, quality, and interoperability they needed

The team conducted a feasibility study to identify potential solutions and evaluate different scenarios.

Then, AFD conducted a full proof of concept (PoC) for the selected options. During this testing phase, the Pexip Infinity solution – also known as Pexip Secure Meetings – proved to be quickly operational and met all of AFD’s requirements, which included: Virtual video meeting service

Preferably sovereign and/or self-hosted secure, with control over call data
Low bandwidth requirements
Outlook integration for easy scheduling
Customizable interface
Flexibility in terms of capacity and deployment
Easy administration for IT and user support teams
Seamless interoperability with Skype (Skype for Business certification)
Open to the outside world via a simple browser to simplify partner connection
Mobile use from a telephone

Challenge

Need to facilitate communication between 6 intercommunal bodies bringing together the territory's 92 communes and their internal & external contacts. Replacement of Bluejeans' video interoperability service in 2023.

Results

Secure, flexible and easy-to-use cloud service. Operational stability and guaranteed quality of service. User satisfaction: easy connections from video meeting rooms and/or Microsoft Teams.

Solution

Pexip interoperability solution with interconnection to Microsoft Teams.

Pexip services used

Pexip Connect standard: with gateway (CVI) to Microsoft Teams.

Top 10 reasons ‘why’ AFD chose Pexip

Ease of implementation
Simple, modern architecture for simplified management
Bandwidth optimization with H.264 High Profile and WebRTC VP9 for reduced network consumption at equal quality
Confidentiality and security thanks to a true On Premise platform
Lobby for external participants
Easy-to-use videoconferencing
Microsoft-certified interoperability with Skype for Business
Single WebRTC client for internal and external use (no client software to install)
Great flexibility in personalizing the experience
Guidance and support provided by Pexip specialists during the study project enabled the AFD teams to test and deploy the solution in the best possible conditions.

Implementation and usage

At the end of the test program (Proof of Concept), the Pexip Infinity On premise solution was implemented:

One Management Node, 12 Transcoding Nodes and 2 Edge Nodes
500 call licenses
Conference booking via Microsoft Outlook add-in
Use of WebRTC Client
Implementation of a pre-production platform to validate evolutions

In 2023, a WebRTC plugin was introduced to streamline interpreter access for multilingual meetings. In these complex scenarios—often requiring multiple simultaneous translations—users can now manage connections independently, without the need for technical support.

In 2024, the Pexip solution was further enhanced with the integration of a macro on Cisco video terminals. This "One Touch Join" feature allows users to join Pexip conferences directly from the terminal’s touchscreen, significantly simplifying the meeting experience.

The result?

With Pexip now in place at AFD, the organization is experiencing high user satisfaction rates – in particular due to the high audio-video quality and ease of booking. In addition, AFD has met their goals of providing a secure, controlled solution for their staff, complete with the technical stability, total redundancy and reasonable network consumption they required.

User feedback:

Today, all the agency's functions and staff regularly use the tool (agents, assistants, project managers, agency directors, etc.).
Growth has been continuous since 2021, with usage rising from 14,600 meetings via Pexip to 24,000 per year in 2024 (rolling year 2023/24).
Around 2,000 videoconferences are organized every month via Pexip's virtual video rooms.

Top 3 benefits:

Video quality for all - in most countries (optimized bandwidth)
User autonomy
Simplified administration for IT with a dynamic evolution roadmap

About Agence Française de Développement

The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is a public agency that finances, supports, and accelerates the transition toward a fairer, more equitable, and more sustainable world. Its teams are involved in over 4,200 projects across 115 countries and the French Overseas Territories, all aimed at promoting global common goods, such as climate, biodiversity, peace, gender equality, education, and health. With a workforce of 3,000 people, including around 1,800 based in Paris, AFD plays a key role in advancing France’s commitment, as well as that of the French people, to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Organization: Agence Française de Développement
Our contact: Deputy CIO - Olivier Moreau

Staff: 3,000 employees