2015 was marked by the accumulation of crises in Brazil: economic, political, institutional, leadership and corruption. Certainly, this whirlwind of events affected all sectors of the economy, including Information Technology. Fortunately, as it has the privilege of being an aggregator both in times of expansion and in periods of downturn, it is expected that the segment will find solutions to be less impacted in 2016.
Due to the moment of digital transformation in which the market finds itself, IT companies have opportunities for growth based on trends such as Big Data, Analytics, Cloud Computing, Mobility and Social Networks. This scenario has provided the emergence of new businesses and different ways of interacting with consumers in different areas, such as telephony, with Whatsapp; in mobility, with Uber; and in entertainment, with Netflix, just to name a few examples. The success of these new businesses demonstrates that the digital transformation must advance to new levels and be increasingly present in the routine of companies and consumers.
Of course, the political-economic moment ends up interfering in the investment decision. Last year, even with the need to improve, some companies chose to be more cautious in this regard, postponing projects or developing work smaller than they would like.
In addition, the sector was also impacted by the revocation of the benefits of the Lei do Bem, which can bring back informality to the segment, as well as the re-encumbrance of the Payroll, the end of a benefit that, during the three years in which was in force, allowed the creation of 87 thousand jobs.
With the increase in the Social Security Contribution rate from 2% to 4.5%, generated by this tax, the formalization of employment and investment in specialization could be harmed. The increase in the unemployment rate in Brazil has reduced the pressure of unfilled vacancies in the IT segment, but the challenge for entrepreneurs remains to be able to train a specialized workforce to meet market demand targets with qualified professionals.
With an unstable economic situation and the withdrawal of benefits that have already proven to be advantageous for the country, an adverse environment is created for this sector, composed mostly of micro and small companies and complex enough for a new enterprise to manage to survive, even if offer innovative services, considered adherent to the market.
Even so, at the beginning of 2015, the expected growth of the Brazilian IT Market for the year was 7.3%, against 6.7% achieved in 2014. And despite the numbers for the period, comparing Brazil with the world market , not yet closed by ABES and IDC, it is possible that the sector will reach the estimate or even be able to surpass it due to the increase of the dollar. If confirmed, Brazil will remain among the countries with the highest growth rate in the world.
For these reasons, and due to a scenario still troubled by the political and economic crises that should extend this year, the sector needs to keep trying to adapt to the new moment, benefiting from the trends of digital transformation, but still with moderate growth and recovery of ascension only in 2017.
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