ACATE survey shows results above the industry average, even with a drop in the volume of public funds raised to promote R&D
A survey carried out by the Santa Catarina Association of Technology Companies (ACATE) and released this Tuesday (10/1) showed that 55 companies participating in the entity's Business Verticals recorded growth of 32.9% in revenue (which added up to R$ 542.9 million) in 2012 compared to the previous year. The result is above the average of the IT sector in Santa Catarina, which grows at the rate of 20% per year, explains the president of ACATE, Guilherme Bernard. “Companies that are grouped by affinities have a tendency towards open innovation, are concerned with the associative movement and, consequently, expand the network. All of this amplifies the ability to generate business”, reinforces Bernard.
The survey also indicates that the number of employees in these companies increased by 40% from one year to another – there were 2.9 thousand in 2011 and rose to 4 thousand in 2012 – and private investment in research, development and innovation (RD&I) increased from R$ 28.1m in 2011 to R$ 34.7m last year (23% growth). On the other hand, ACATE's research showed a sharp drop in the raising of public funds to encourage research, development and innovation – there were R$ 10.5 million in 2011 and only R$ 3.5 million in 2012 (-66.11%) – and in the revenues from exports, which decreased by 26% (from R$ 37.2 million/2011 to R$ 27.4 million/2013). In the assessment of the president of ACATE, a result that shows a loss of external competitiveness of the country, since in the internal scope the growth in the same period was considered satisfactory. “Companies withheld investments in RD&I due to the reduced supply of resources. We haven't felt the impact this year yet, but in the short term we may feel reflections of the lack of greater investment in innovation”, emphasizes Bernard.
The Business Verticals model was born in 2009 and currently has 12 Verticals, in the areas of Sustainability, Energy, Cloud Computing, Education, Games, Government, Manufacturing, Health, Security, Telecom, Agribusiness and Textiles. Together, they account for 164 companies, but not all of them participated in the first survey, carried out in 2011, which shows the evolution of the associates. The research also pointed out that 55% of the companies indicated improvement in the visibility before the market and the public power due to the verticals and 35% affirmed to have done business or internal partnerships thanks to this model.
Entity presents digital portfolio of vertical companies
At the meeting, held at the Hotel Maria do Mar, in Florianópolis, the organization also launched the digital portfolio of verticalized companies, which aims to highlight the complementarities and overlapping of existing solutions, in addition to giving visibility to the competences of companies, promoting business opportunities and attracting investors, national and international. “Companies will be able to show customers what they are looking for, but also something more. It is a complete offer, which can be explored through different forms of access”, said the project coordinator, Dennis Kerr Coelho.
The initiative was made possible through a research project submitted to FAPESC, with the support of Univali and Palmsoft – a Vertical Games company, and allows consulting the solutions developed by Verticalized companies. Searches can be carried out by vertical, by technological pole of the State, by company, by solutions (taxonomy of vertical solutions) and by scenarios (ludic). The tool also includes an institutional video of each Vertical. The tool already has a web version, which is already available on the Android and iOS mobile platforms.
Number of employees
YEAR 2011 – 2,920
YEAR 2012 – 4,099
Result: 40.4 %
Public funds raised as incentives for RD&I
YEAR 2011 - R$ 10,568,305.16
YEAR 2012 - R$ 3,581,984.28
Result: (- 66.11%)
Investments made in RD&I
YEAR 2011 - R$ 28,179,379.13
YEAR 2012 - R$ 34,768,147.07
Result: 23.38%
Exporting companies = 33% of the total
Revenue from exports
YEAR 2011 - R$ 37,254,662.41
YEAR 2012 - R$ 27,453,216.81
Result: (- 26.31%)
Other information
· 55% of the companies indicated an improvement in the company's visibility in the market and public authorities due to Verticals.
· 35% of the companies indicated that they carried out internal business or partnerships in Verticals
· 24% of companies indicated doing business or external partnerships due to Verticals
EN 
PT 
