The Brazilian Association of Software Companies – ABES understands that the main focus of the TI Maior Plan should be a policy for the development of a new, more competitive sectoral model that encourages national software and innovation. The implementation of a certification, as proposed by CERTICs, dissociated from this movement, should only increase the Brazil cost, with one more certificate, bureaucracy with new procedures, costs and loss of time for IT companies, without adding any value to national software.
By Gérson Schmitt, president of ABES
There is a magnificent opportunity for Brazil to become a benchmark for high productivity through the use of information technology as a competitive advantage. But to take ownership of this situation, it is necessary to overcome the problems of the current sectorial model and the misalignment of the government's role with the performance of companies in the software sector.
ABES understands that the TI Maior Plan initiative amplifies this opportunity for the country to take a sustainable leap in development based on productivity gains and innovation generated from the differentiated domain of world-class information technology. But only the union of software companies and the Brazilian Government under the same vision and purposes will be able to build this new frontier of national development.
For a better understanding of the dichotomy between this great opportunity and the diametrically opposed reality between market growth and the weaknesses of the current sectorial model, the main points of this context are highlighted:
1. The Brazilian economy needs IT to continue to gain productivity and be increasingly competitive;
2. The software and service segment, which represents more than USD 21 billion, has been growing at an average of 20% per year for the last eight years, and is expected to triple this market by the end of the decade;
3. At the same time, the sector's trade balance is increasingly negative, with a deficit exceeding USD 3.0 billion in 2011;
4. About 100,000 professionals are lacking in the market due to the lack of quality in education in the country. There is still insufficiently qualified manpower while the country needs more intelligence and higher education technicians, postgraduates and doctors;
5. Even so, the sectorial model continues to be directed towards the provision of services to order, surpassing the 70% of market share, increasing the collapse of specialized labor and commoditizing the main asset of the sector, which is the knowledge of qualified people which continues to be sold at the most competitive man-hour cost;
6. In this scenario, the national software remains with only 7% of participation in the country's service and there is no relevant Brazilian application in the international scenario;
7. At the same time, the Government, the main consumer of software and services, continues with a strong policy of self-service that reaches about 2/3 of its estimated demand in 30% of the market, assuming the role of largest entrepreneur, employer and competitor in the sector. ;
8. Its choice and preference for free software, which corresponds to less than 4% of the entire market, with 70% generated by government purchases in this irrelevant segment, and the preference for buying services instead of software, further discourages the strengthening of national software, expands the labor gap, the trade balance deficit and wastes its purchasing power to transform the strong demand that will continue to grow in the coming years into strengthening the IBSS – Brazilian Industry of Software and IT Services;
9. According to IDC research, the productivity of a company that uses free software, which on average lasts less than a year in Brazil, is 34% lower than its proprietary software counterparts, further compromising the use of the scarce supply of specialized technicians;
10. On the other hand, never have so many Brazilian IT companies had their share capital traded. In this market scenario with growing demand, the few biggest and best Brazilian companies have been systematically internationalized, resulting in four years of leadership in KPMG's mergers and acquisitions ranking.
Recently, the government launched the Strategic Program for Information Technology Software and Services (Plano TI Maior). Highlighting this program was the proposal for a methodology for certification of software and associated services, CERTICS, necessary for companies to have preferences provided for by law in public procurement.
If analyzed in isolation, the certification proposal focuses and gives importance to a solution created without an exact definition of its objective: the strengthening of the IBSS - Brazilian Software Industry and the promotion of national software by supporting innovation, attraction and market freedom for technologies and world class companies, which bring value to the sectorial chain and productivity to the country.
The central issue is that there is no objective and clear definition of what “National Software” would be, a premise to determine access to the benefit described in paragraph 5 of art. 3, of Law 8.666/93, to later receive the certificate in the category "software with technological development and innovation carried out in the Country", thus starting to also enjoy the additional preference margin (§ 7 of article 3, of Law 8.666 /93).
A certification methodology should not necessarily add value or evolution to any of the above objectives, especially if it is not aimed at meeting the supposed objectives. CERTICs without an adequate policy only increases the Brazil cost for companies without adding any value to the national software.
It also means to say that, in addition to certification and other actions associated with the aforementioned strategic program, already reported by the MCTI - Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, some activities and courageous and innovative political decisions need to be implemented so that the desired result with the program Greater TI is achieved and, with that, contribute to the vaunted Strategic Program achieve its objective, which must be a Policy Destined to Strengthening the BISS and the National Software integrated to the market and global IT standards, consistent with complementary policy proposals that can effectively promote the sector and increase the quality and participation of the National Software in serving the domestic market and exports.
In order to improve the CERTICs proposal, observing the other recommendations to strengthen the TI Maior plan, ABES participated together with other sectoral entities in the formulation of a more evolved proposal for this process, so that it fully complied with the legislation and made certification and benefits viable. the preference for government purchases for the vast majority of the SME segment – Micro and Small Companies that should be unable to meet the requirements and procedures of the original proposal. This document was delivered on 12/12/2012 to the MCTI by representatives of the FNTI (ABES, ASSESPRO, FENAINFO and SOFTEX)
In addition to the central issue described above, ABES highlights other issues and problems for the implementation of the TI Maior Program, which require the Government's position:
• There is no objective and clear definition of what “National Software” would be;
• The resources and form of incentives for start-ups are not proportional or sufficient or even representative to promote the market;
• The project does not clarify whether the government will give preference to National Software, to the detriment of the 10 years of insistence on preference to Free Software;
• It does not define a new role and universality of access and dissemination of the National Software on the Public Software Portal. Will the legitimate national proprietary software continue to be prevented from having access to the Public Software Portal?
• Danger of superficial commitments to innovation and development of companies and national technology or National Software, when it comes to attracting international platform R&D centers, necessary for the insertion of national software in the global chain of software suppliers;
• It is unclear whether TI Maior and its plans will in fact be aligned with the promotion of National Software, seeking more balance between a market based on solutions and services, to enhance Brazilian knowledge of information technology;
• Insufficient and sometimes insignificant allocation of resources to achieve the announced objectives.
To enhance the effects and intention of the larger IT plan, ABES proposes some suggestions and complementary actions to the Strategic Program for Software and Information Technology Services:
• Reduction of the IRPF (Individual Income Tax) and CSSL (Social Contribution on Net Income) calculation basis of 100% of resources invested as venture capital in start-up projects registered with the MCTI or competent entity;
• Direct incentive to the commercialization and innovation of the National Software by exempting from federal taxes on revenue from perpetual licenses or temporary licenses to use subscriptions to software sold as a service via the internet;
• Accept National Software registered with the INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property) and/or contracts for the sale of licenses to use and associated services as a loan guarantee or securitization of financing receivables for the sector at competitive rates in the international standard (Libor);
• Link grant programs to commitments to generate intellectual property registrations and commitments to sell up to three times the amount taken within five years of project completion.
ABES defends that the best market environment is a competitive one, which encourages good ideas and competent companies, without preferences and privileges. However, if in order to comply with the country's legislation and promotion policies, preferences must be established, that these are exclusively directed to national software and innovation, considering the possible and necessary combinations of applications with cutting-edge technologies and companies in the global scenario of IT, regardless of proprietary or open platforms.
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