Gérson Schmitt analyzes the software market in a lecture at Bovespa

Gérson Schmitt, president of the Board of ABES participated in the Perspectives Seminar for the IT Sector, on June 26, at BM&FBovespa, in São Paulo. The meeting aimed to bring together the main representatives of the sector to exchange experiences and discuss the perspectives of the IT market.
 
In his lecture, Schmitt questioned: "How is it possible that a proposal of purchase preference for free software that has nothing to do with national software is being discussed in Congress? There is conflict. We want to have national software with the same evidence and preference that is given to free software". IDC data show that of the approximately US$ 9.5 million in revenue from the software market in Brazil, only US$ 2 million refer to national solutions.
 
"Brazilian companies participate with 8% in software. Assessing this scenario, the bad news is that we are small. And, the good news is that there is the possibility of gigantic growth. The curve is ascending", he evaluates.
 
Schmitt also pointed out the difficulty of including national software in the Public Software Portal, which only accepts free software. "With that, the government excludes 96% from the market because free software has less than 4% from the Brazilian market. It is up to the government to prefer the lowest project cost and not the initial purchase cost. We are defending this because the current model harms the national industry and not the international one.
 
Regarding the national software certification model (CERTICs), the chairman of the board raised the issue of the amount to be paid by companies for certifications: "We want to understand how far small and medium-sized companies will manage to pay these amounts, because that it's by company, but by processes". According to him, the cost of certification can range from R$ 5,000 to R$ 45,000.