Antycip, expert provider of simulation, analysis, display and virtual reality solutions, is celebrating twenty three years in business.
The French-based company, which also has offices in the UK and Italy, has been at the forefront of bringing new technology to the attention of its customers ever since it secured its first customer for Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) simulation back in 1996.
At that time, the high end image generation and manipulation market was dominated by Silicon Graphics Inc. and their Onyx computers. Antycip, which had started out in 1984 as a small French distributor of automatic test equipment and embedded electronics, had just been acquired by Convergie who had put a 35 year old Michel Pronier in charge. Pronier discovered that Antycip had a small project team looking into the nascent PC-based COTS simulation industry. Recognising the potential, Pronier led Antycip, as it was then called, to win its first customer; French missile manufacturer, Matra Defense.
The win proved to be the start of a significant shift in the industry and the first example of Antycip’s expertise in anticipating opportunities for new technology.
According to Pronier, now chief executive officer of Antycip, the biggest challenge was in convincing customers of the benefits of a COTS solution, “In those days, development was invariably done in-house; nobody had tried to sell COTS to the defence industry before, so persuading the customer that COTS was a viable substitute was not easy and required a great leap of faith from the customer”.
Since then, the Antycip business has grown steadily in a market that now recognises the value of COTS solutions. As well as serving many of Europe’s biggest names in defence, transportation, automotive racing, retail and universities, it has also grown geographically and now supports customers across the globe.
While COTS simulation is still a core part of the business, Antycip has broadened its expertise to include analysis, display and virtual reality, identifying technological developments that enhance its service to customers and ensure its continuing success in the market.
Pronier comments, “For Antycip to still be at the forefront of developing solutions – not only in simulation but also in new areas – after 20 years is very exciting for us. It is our customers, partners and, of course, our team, that have made it all possible. We look forward to the next 20 years”.
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Since 1996, ST Engineering Antycip (formerly Antycip Simulation) has supported customers across the globe, in defence, academia, commerce and industry, to become better at what they do. As an expert provider of simulation, analysis, modelling, display and virtual reality solutions, ST Engineering Antycip combines its in-house technical expertise with an unrivalled range of products from software and hardware providers. ST Engineering Antycip is a subsidiary of ST Engineering’s electronics sector. For more information, visit https://steantycip.com.
