History of Asterop

• Asterop’s pioneering leadership in Business GeoIntelligence is built upon years of technology innovation and product vision, and a proven history of making strategic business moves to build and grow our company.
• Founded in 1999 through research work with INRIA (French National Institute for Research in Computer Sciences), we developed the first prototype of our Business GeoIntelligence technology in December of that same year, and launched the first commercial version of the Asterop GeoIntelligence solution into the retail and distribution industries in late 2000. Over the years, Asterop has continued to grow its impressive list of reference clients in the banking, insurance, retail, and distribution sectors. Moreover, ASTEROP rapidly started its international expansion in Japan through a strategic partnership with a local major player in the Business Intelligence field.
• 2001 was a pivotal year for the advancement of our GeoIntelligence technology, with the creation of the Asterop Scientific Committee chaired by Gilles Celeux, Director of Research at INRIA. Later that same year, Asterop was awarded the Trophy for Convergence by INRIA. Asterop launched its first suite of sector-based solutions in 2002, including Asterop GeoIntelligence Retail™, Asterop GeoIntelligence Merchandising™, Asterop GeoIntelligence Financial Services™, and Asterop GeoIntelligence Automotive™. These important product introductions led to Asterop’s further recognition as an industry pioneer and innovator — including our hosting of the inaugural GeoIntelligence Technology Forum, held each year in France. In 2002, Asterop also created the world’s first consumer database that pinpointed household consumption levels according to 900 discrete areas of consumption.
• In 2003, Asterop and TNS Sofres created a new database of household consumption potentials based on the Metascope panel. Asterop also introduced the first database compiling the theoretical spheres of influence of 12,000 large and medium-sized sales outlets. In 2004, the French retail group the Groupement des Mousquetaires selected Asterop for the largest decisional geomarketing project to date, supporting over 3,000 member users. We launched a new interlinked network optimization solution for the banking industry, and a specialized Distribution Focus Atlas for Home Equipment, in partnership with LSA. Also in 2004, Asterop and TNS Secodip created the first database compiling consumption potentials per store and per product category for large and medium-sized sales outlets.
• Thanks to its innovative Business Intelligence solutions, ASTEROP quickly established itself as a leader in its field in the French market. A milestone in our history came in 2005 when Asterop SA acquired US-based Market Insite Group and formed Asterop to address the North American market. This major operation represents an important step in the growth of ASTEROP and sets the stage for us to bring our innovative solutions into the biggest information technology market in the world.
• Where do we go from here? Stay tuned… because we are committed to continuing to develop and grow our family of GeoIntelligence solutions to help our customers optimize their sales, marketing, and development strategies and exploit new markets and growth potentials.