By Francisco Camargo, President of ABES
It is undeniable that the current recession that Brazil is going through affects all sectors of the economy. Closing of companies, dismissal of employees and negotiations to reduce the workload are some of the reflections of the economic situation in which the country finds itself, generated by political instability. Faced with this scenario, companies and investors are being forced to think of new strategies to try to circumvent the reflexes of this period in their business.
However, an example outside the curve is the Information Technology area, which, like few others, has penetration in all sectors of the economy. Unlike most, this market reached an increase of 9.2% in Brazil last year, as found in the Brazilian Software and Services Market Study, carried out by the Brazilian Association of Software Companies (ABES), in partnership with IDC (International Data Corporation).
Conducted in several countries, this research becomes essential to follow the evolution of this market in Brazil and in the world. The favorable behavior of the IT sector can be explained by its strategic impact on organizations, which is clearer precisely in times of crisis, pointing out methods and technological innovations that can optimize work processes, improving the quality of products and services offered . And this occurs in all segments, whether in the industry or services. All sectors are undergoing major changes due to the increasing use of Information Technology.
In this way, we realize that many efforts are being made to overcome this period of cooling the economy. In 2015, an increase in IT investments was observed in regions that were previously little explored, such as the North and Northeast of the country. This is due to the investment of companies in the sector in expanding their national coverage through new regional offices and partnerships that are not limited to the Southeast region. Today, the North and Northeast correspond to 15% of purchases of hardware, software and services in the country. But, even so, the Southeast continues to represent a large part of this market, with 60,44% of distribution.
Another interesting point of this study is that without the need for major investments in infrastructure, cloud computing allowed the expansion of IT investments last year. In order to have an idea of the good acceptance of the cloud concept in the country, it is expected that this segment will grow above 20% per year until the end of the decade.
In this delicate moment of the economy, this is a technology that presents two essential gains for business: reduction of initial investments and low operating cost, which allows companies to increase their competitiveness.
This decentralization of spending is a positive phenomenon that shows that other regions of the country are developing. In addition, this concern with companies' investments is entirely linked to the narrowing of the relationship between IT and the business areas. The first migration from Analog to Digital is almost complete as well. Today, companies are already migrating from Digital to Real Time.
The consumption of new technologies also stands out in this period. Despite recent declines, sales of technological devices will remain high. It is estimated that in Brazil 40 million mobile phones, 6 million computers and 5 million tablets will be acquired this year. The report points out that 54% of medium and large companies in Brazil will make investments in the so-called Digital Transformation (DX) in 2016.
Despite all the challenges that Brazil must face to recover, it will still have an ICT sector with growth comparable to the countries that will experience the highest growth rates in these investments. A strong ICT sector will be essential to bring the necessary conditions to Brazil in order to gain productivity, competitiveness and efficiency.
* Francisco Camargo is President of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies - and member of the entity since 2007. Graduated in Production Engineering and Advertising and Marketing from the University of São Paulo (USP) and with a specialization from Harvard University, Francisco is also a Founder from CLM Software, a company focused on the areas of Information Security, Specialized Infrastructure and Analytics.
However, an example outside the curve is the Information Technology area, which, like few others, has penetration in all sectors of the economy. Unlike most, this market reached an increase of 9.2% in Brazil last year, as found in the Brazilian Software and Services Market Study, carried out by the Brazilian Association of Software Companies (ABES), in partnership with IDC (International Data Corporation).
Conducted in several countries, this research becomes essential to follow the evolution of this market in Brazil and in the world. The favorable behavior of the IT sector can be explained by its strategic impact on organizations, which is clearer precisely in times of crisis, pointing out methods and technological innovations that can optimize work processes, improving the quality of products and services offered . And this occurs in all segments, whether in the industry or services. All sectors are undergoing major changes due to the increasing use of Information Technology.
In this way, we realize that many efforts are being made to overcome this period of cooling the economy. In 2015, an increase in IT investments was observed in regions that were previously little explored, such as the North and Northeast of the country. This is due to the investment of companies in the sector in expanding their national coverage through new regional offices and partnerships that are not limited to the Southeast region. Today, the North and Northeast correspond to 15% of purchases of hardware, software and services in the country. But, even so, the Southeast continues to represent a large part of this market, with 60,44% of distribution.
Another interesting point of this study is that without the need for major investments in infrastructure, cloud computing allowed the expansion of IT investments last year. In order to have an idea of the good acceptance of the cloud concept in the country, it is expected that this segment will grow above 20% per year until the end of the decade.
In this delicate moment of the economy, this is a technology that presents two essential gains for business: reduction of initial investments and low operating cost, which allows companies to increase their competitiveness.
This decentralization of spending is a positive phenomenon that shows that other regions of the country are developing. In addition, this concern with companies' investments is entirely linked to the narrowing of the relationship between IT and the business areas. The first migration from Analog to Digital is almost complete as well. Today, companies are already migrating from Digital to Real Time.
The consumption of new technologies also stands out in this period. Despite recent declines, sales of technological devices will remain high. It is estimated that in Brazil 40 million mobile phones, 6 million computers and 5 million tablets will be acquired this year. The report points out that 54% of medium and large companies in Brazil will make investments in the so-called Digital Transformation (DX) in 2016.
Despite all the challenges that Brazil must face to recover, it will still have an ICT sector with growth comparable to the countries that will experience the highest growth rates in these investments. A strong ICT sector will be essential to bring the necessary conditions to Brazil in order to gain productivity, competitiveness and efficiency.
* Francisco Camargo is President of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies - and member of the entity since 2007. Graduated in Production Engineering and Advertising and Marketing from the University of São Paulo (USP) and with a specialization from Harvard University, Francisco is also a Founder from CLM Software, a company focused on the areas of Information Security, Specialized Infrastructure and Analytics.
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