Innovation was the central theme of ABES SOFTWARE CONFERENCE 2013, which brought together more than 150 businessmen, researchers, representatives of government agencies and directors of ABES, on the morning of this Wednesday, August 21, at the Hotel Caesar Business – Paulista.
Jorge Sukarie, president of ABES
The qualified and interested public filled the auditorium and watched the opening, held by Jorge Sukarie, president of the entity, who highlighted the importance of the meeting and all the changes in the world ICT market.
“Opportunities and Challenges for Brazilian IT” was the topic that spurred the conference's first panel. Guilherme Bernard, from Reason Tecnologia, started the round of lectures and presented some paths for growth based on innovation. The executive highlighted the importance of establishing a culture of innovation, involving all employees in search of excellence in providing solutions to customers.
Guilherme Bernard, from Reason Tecnologia
Reason is a winning company, which won the Finep Innovation award in 2011, having consolidated itself as a supplier in the area of oscillography, power quality and temporal synchronization for the electrical and industrial sectors. Since 2008, the company has been going through an internationalization process, with an industrial branch located in Germany. "We currently grow around 20% per year and are committed to investing at least 10% of revenue in R&D”, he informed.
José Henrique Dieguez Barreiro represented the Information Technology Policy Secretariat of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). In a very detailed presentation, the speaker spoke of the importance of the ministry having assumed the role of manager and promoter of innovation in Brazil approximately two years ago. "This decision led to a change of attitude, has contributed to the development of public policies and to the creation of a long-term vision. Brazil has the potential to be a relevant international player, but we need to think about where we want to be in 15 years” he explained.
José Henrique Dieguez Barreiro, Secretary of Information Technology Policies at MCTI
The Startup Brasil program, which is part of the TI Maior Plan, was cited as one of the effective projects of the MCTI, which promoted the union of government, the private sector, academia, entrepreneurs and the capital market. "We were positively surprised as we received more applications from startups and incubators than we anticipated”, added José Henrique.
This first panel also had the participation of Eduardo Costa, consultant, professor and general director of ÁgoraLab, whose theme of the presentation was Smart Cities and Innovation. In the expert's assessment, there is already a consensus in the market that innovation is important – what is needed is to put theory into practice. "The urbanization process is a reality. By 2030, the projection is that more than 75% of people will be living in cities and not in the countryside. How to manage this so that a metropolis, like São Paulo, does not stop with chaotic traffic?”.
Eduardo Costa, consultant, professor and general director of ÁgoraLab
In the expert's opinion, solving problems involves a deep understanding of people's needs – technology should be put at the service of human beings. "In some cases, too much emphasis is placed on the digital city, without due attention to citizens”. For software and IT companies, Eduardo listed several business opportunities that the construction of smart cities offers: monitoring, sensors, operation centers, electronic governance, big data, mobile apps and MOCCs – massive online open course (distance learning and open).
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