Prospects for IT sector growth remain strong
WELL CONNECTED BRAZIL LEADS LATIN AMERICA IN GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS IN THE IT INDUSTRY, AND DEMAND FOR APPLICATIONS AND SERVICES CONTINUES TO RISE. ONE OF THE LEADING COMPANIES, CIMCORP, ANTICIPATES A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THE INDUSTRY

BRAZIL is the most advanced country in information technology in Latin America and has the largest infrastructure of installed networks, overtaking both Argentina and Mexico.
In just one year, it has streaked ahead in the IT industry and now leads its Latin American neighbors, according to the World Bank. Both the Bank and a UN survey rank Brazil in eighth position worldwide.
The country has the ninth largest number of users connected to the internet in the world. Last year, internet use grew 26 percent. By 2005, analysts forecast that 77 million Brazilians will be connected.
Online spending is projected to grow to $4.26 billion by 2005. And with 40 percent of the e-commerce market share in Latin America, the demand for applications and services in Brazil is on the rise.

Prospects for the IT sector remain strong, says a recent report from the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), despite the global economic downturn. Software is one of the most rapidly expanding sectors, and there are more than 20,000 independent software vendors in Brazil.
Brazilian e-commerce grew by 144 percent last year, most of it in broadband via cable-modem and multichannel multipoint distribution systems (MMDS). Revenues from e-commerce this year are estimated at $255 million and this sector continues to receive significant investments.

TADEU VANI FUCCI President of Cimcorp

One of the most successful IT companies to emerge in Brazil is Cimcorp, based in São Paulo. “We started from zero 14 years ago and today we are among the top 100 high technology companies in the country,” says Tadeu Vani Fucci, the firm’s President.
The company has enjoyed an annual growth rate of between 50 and 55 percent for several years. Even with the global downturn last year after 9/11, it achieved growth of between 17 and 20 percent—a result Mr. Fucci describes as “respectable.”
Established in 1988, Cimcorp offers a wide range of products and services to business. It has a particularly strong presence in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia and the south of Brazil. In the past two years the company has picked up a number of awards for quality and service.

With an injection of capital from ABN AMRO Bank and the Bank of Boston, Cimcorp has set about consolidating its image and structure. “Throughout the year, we have been reinforcing the objectives of our business and services in order to develop a strong and competent structure, and to carve ourselves a distinguished place in the market,” says Mr. Fucci.
“We are intent on building strong partnerships with our customers in order to achieve the services they demand. This includes reduction in costs and greater efficiency.

“Cimcorp is therefore spending more time as an outsource company. We look at every level of an application and its evolution in the structure of the client company to obtain a precise solution.
“The aim is to consolidate delivery processes and increase the quality of service in order to take the customer to a more developed high technology solution and a higher level of efficiency.”

The company has built up excellent working relationships with the big players in IT, including Cisco, EMC, Sun and Oracle. It has also extended its expertise in security, which is a rapidly growing area in IT in Brazil.
“We are able to provide excellent solutions regarding security and confidentiality,” says Mr. Fucci. “These range from the protection of personal data files to restrictive systems between different users to avoid any leaks. We are also able to resolve disaster recovery systems and other contingencies.”

Plans for the future include expansion into the north and northwest of the country. “There is a lot of room to grow, but it depends on the different business sectors we become involved with,” adds Mr. Fucci.
“We aim to obtain more capital for development. Our progress will have to be backed up not only by foreign investors but also our own profits. The company has always grown by reinvesting its gains.”