B2B/B2G high-tech companies share many common features, regardless of the sector of activity. Firstly, they are all “engineering companies” with a strong technical culture that is reflected in their management and leadership. They also have to manage permanent and vital innovation, long, costly and sometimes technically and/or economically risky product developments, sometimes complex market ecosystems, international competition, long-lived products and large projects. These elements are reflected in their organisations, processes, the way of managing the technical sphere and how they balance technical and market/customer competition spheres. 

Service or “works” companies thatalso have a technical culture and provide valuable feedback on products are also part of the B2B high tech world, even if they are not in charge of engineering or design . The line between “design companies” and “service companies” is sometimes blurred, as the same service can be provided either internally or externally.

From a market perspective, the perimeters or “trades” in which companies operate are sometimes described by a major “activity” such as space, aeronautics, defence, logistics or construction. They can also be described by an application such as cybersecurity, simulation or mobility, or by a technology such as artificial intelligence or robotics. However, these are just names for communication purposes, often at the institutional level, as the different market perimeters used for operational action and competition are very precisely defined in the context of market segmentation and targeting.

The “products” of the B2B high-tech sector can be physical products (whether materials, components or finished products), services, “systems” or complete solutions that combine the above categories to varying degrees. Some of the products or services are standard and marketed in the traditional way through distributors or various networks, but a significant proportion are sold in adapted or totally customised form in the context of invitations to tender or collaboration with a client. In this particular type of “project” (or “business”) trade, the amounts per project can be extremely large in the case of “large contracts”. Success will require consultation, bidding often without knowing the competitors and their prices, winning the project and delivering it profitably.

This section explores and illustrates the characteristics of B2B/B2G high-tech companies, markets and “products”.