The crisis phases
“At IDC, we have seen this moment of crisis as a period of transition to a new reality. There are some phases that are happening in a linked way. We had the shock, a lot of tribulation for the companies to understand the stage they were in. We move on to the transition, organization and definition of business continuity plans. Now, companies are in the realignment and adjustment phase to reach the 'new normal', with companies in a greater stage of digital transformation ”, explained Luciano Ramos, Research and Consultancy Manager for the Enterprise segment at IDC Brasil, encompassing practices Infrastructure, Software and IT Services, focusing on the Brazilian market.
According to the executive, the adjusted forecast for 2020 points out that investments in the IT market are expected to fall 5.5% in Brazil, with US$ 5.1 billion going to be spent this year, but with a forecast of resumption of growth in 2021. and the need to monitor the movement of the dollar very closely. By IT market segment, Luciano commented that the software should maintain a positive market performance, as well as the cloud, since cloud solutions were perceived as strong allies to overcome the challenges in this adverse moment, be it IaaS, SaaS and PaaS. Other segments that Covid-19 will positively impact in the medium and long term are software and communication tools, virtualization, collaboration and information security solutions, in addition to Big Data, Analytics, IoT and Artificial Intelligence.
Market has resources
“I think that this pandemic will make us reflect on a series of situations and we will divide our history between before and after Covid-19. We are experiencing a public health crisis, which is different from all others that we have experienced recently, as they were of economic origin. Today, we continue to have a lot of resources in the market and, as soon as we have a light at the end of the tunnel, this money will be invested again and growth will resume in 2021 ”, evaluated Jorge Sukarie, president of Brasoftware Informática and vice president of ABES Council.
Jorge pointed out changes in consumer behavior that should favor the IT industry, such as systems aimed at online and offline retail, distance education and health. “Technology has a horizontal penetration in all sectors of the economy. My recommendation is that IT companies try to identify their niche market and the opportunities it offers ”, he concluded.
New paradigms
Gérson Schmitt, founder and Chairman of the Board of Paradigma, advisor to ABES and ACATE (SC), recognizes that Covid-19 acted as an accelerator of the digital transformation of business, driven by necessity. "I identify that retail must have a big change, because both small stores and large chains still do not know if sales will return to a scale that pays for the structure that existed". The same lack of definition applies to aviation, car rental, hotels and public transportation. On the other hand, in Gérson's assessment, there are people moving to meet new demands in logistics, in e-commerce, among other areas. The new scenario, however, is still undefined.
In his assessment, people do not yet know how they will return to companies, as there is a questioning of operational models. But, the fact is that the changes have already arrived. “I believe that we will have a new paradigm to define what success is. The million-dollar question is "what's next now?" I believe that it is not worth looking into the future with the same KPIs as the past. We need to look ahead in a new way. Let's think about the new one, because the bridge exploded. Whoever stayed on one side, will have to learn to swim to get through this game. Whoever stayed in the other one will need to run, because people are coming after him ”, he pondered.
Process Automation
“As you have already commented, there is no model for dealing with this crisis. The projections change very frequently and we still have little consistency in the forecasts ”, said Juliano Tubino, Vice President of New Business at TOTVS. "What we have seen in the industries is an acceleration, because the companies that already used technologies, intensified the use and, who still did not use it, had to adopt it", he completed. The agribusiness sector, for example, will need blockchain to guarantee the origin of inputs along its chain. Emerging technologies, such as virtual reality, must emerge in this scenario of digital transformation to change the format of lives, for example. “The point is that companies that are able to analyze and improve the automation of existing processes will be differentiated, maintaining productivity and reducing costs. Many companies can come out of this crisis smaller, but I believe they will come out better ”, he evaluated.
Pill x vitamin
João Porto, CEO and founder of the startup TrackerUp, addressed the creation of new businesses and the concept of “vitamin or pill”. “I will set a real example. I am a diabetic, insulin is a pill for me, as there may be a crisis, I will continue to buy insulin. But, there is effervescent vitamin C, which I take every morning. This vitamin in a crisis, I will cut consumption. Thus, when your company resolves the pain and someone, it is more difficult for your customer to stop consuming you, ”he explained.
João highlighted the importance of entrepreneurs identifying churn - a metric that indicates how much a company has lost revenue or customers in this crisis. In his opinion, the market has money and Venture Capital's staff is keeping an eye on the companies that have done better at the moment. “How will consumers behave? It will depend on whether we have a cure or treatment for Covid-19 in the short term, which no one can yet answer. If in 6 months, we still have only one treatment, I believe that some businesses, such as Starbucks and other physical stores, will still be more empty. But, if the cure comes, it may be that people want to have the experience of physical contact again and the digital one is affected ”, he concluded.
To watch the full webinar, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaCys5CMdKE
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