Overview of TI Maior
Aiming to develop and increase competitiveness of the national IT segment, the Federal Government released the economic package of incentives "TI Maior", which will be fully explained in this article.
Context
The sector of Information Technology (IT) deserves attention in Brazil. According to data released during the Conference Outsourcing & Strategic Partnerships, held in June 2012 in São Paulo, the prospect is that Latin America had a turnover of USD 34 billion and average growth of 9.6% compared to 2011. And those numbers tend to go even higher: the growth trend between 2009 and 2015 is 11%.
In the region, Brazil is the country that stands out the most, being the main destination for investments in IT services, with a market capitalization of USD 14.8 billion - around 45% of the entire Latin American market. The country's good economic performance, with the consolidation of a solid domestic market and foreign investments from Europe, Asia and the United States are the reasons for this favorable projection.
However, as we know, establishing a strong domestic market is not enough for the sector to develop greatly. As in many areas, Brazil lacks improvements in infrastructure and services in the IT field, which must be accompanied by investments in innovation, skilled labor and technology.
In order to help sectors of the national economy that cannot grow only with private investments, president Dilma Roussef’s administration released the Plano Brasil Maior in 2011, a series of economic packages destined to increase the competitiveness of national industries. Among the sectors that gained the attention of the government was IT, which also had the payroll tax relief - a measure to help the national product to compete out there.
The measures are part of a plan to prevent medium and small-sized Brazilian companies to shut down, what have happened to several businesses for the last five years that could not survive the Asian products invasion.
The Brazilian IT market is operated by approximately 8.520 companies that develop, produce and distribute software and provide services related. Of those who operate in the development and production of software 94% are classified as micro and small enterprises.
Understanding the TI Maior
The TI Maior is a Federal government’s program created as part of the Plano Brasil Maior. The project seeks to invest about BRL 500 million in innovation, software development and information technology until 2015. Around BRL 40 million of the budget will be earmarked for start-ups. The program is based on the following pillars:
- Economic and social development
- International positioning
- Entrepreneurship
- Competitiveness
- Research
- Technological development
- Innovation
In order to achieve these goals, the plan will take the following actions:
Strategic program for software and IT services
Program based on research development and innovation that intend to create digital ecosystems, identify areas for strategic technology development and incentive innovation through the programs and instruments existent. The training of human resources is another front: one of the goals of the plan is to promote the training of 50.000 young professionals by 2015. Until 2022, 900.000 professionals will receive training, to join the 1.2 million that already work in the IT field.
Start-up Brasil
In order to accelerate the development of technology-based start-ups, the Start-up Brasil, starts focusing on software and services companies, structure a network of mentors and investors, destine funds to Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I), provide technology consulting and partnerships with universities, research institutes and incubators, joint with large national and international companies, as well as market access programs and procurement of goods and computer services for the federal public administration.
Thus, this action aims to leverage the acceleration of a growing number of start-ups each year, feeding the local and international market with new innovative products and services, connecting technology-based companies in touch with trends and global markets. The goal: accelerate software and IT services of 150 start-ups by 2014. The procurement companies beneficiary of these actions do not need to be Brazilian, but the software produced by them shall be considered national.
Certification of National Software Technology and Services (CERTICs)
This line of action aims at the expansion of the national technology base, by supporting the development of national technology software and services. The instrument - key is based on the development, implementation, monitoring and improvement of a methodology for evaluating software and services with national technology.
It comprehends the development, implementation, monitoring and improvement of the methodology for evaluating software and services with domestic technology, the joint development institutions with the software industry, to use the methodology and support to government institutions for selection of software and national technology services.
Digital Ecosystems
The idea here is to promote the integration between the segment of software and IT services with strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy, such research centers in various areas of knowledge and the best global institutes.
Assessing the economic structure of the country in line with market trends analysis for Brazil and the world, there were prospective studies of potential technological challenges and possibilities of market demand for the following selected sectors: defense and cyber security, education, health, oil and gas, energy, aerospace, major sporting events, agriculture and environment, finance, telecommunications and mining. We also highlight the strategic technologies that have character and can generate large disruptive impacts: cloud computing, mobility, internet and entertainment, super-computing, and free software.
Brasil mais TI
The project "Brasil Mais TI” intend to invest heavily in education and it is divided into three areas of training: Knowledge, Empowerment and Opportunities. Thinking about the opportunity to enhance the generation of skilled jobs for the many young professionals, aiming to peg supply and demand in the labor market and generate the awakening vocations for the technological education, the government, in partnership with associations business, has developed a complete diagnosis of the market for IT professionals in Brazil, designing an innovative design, based on the digital relationship and brokerage vacancies.
Attracting Global Centers of R&D
Due to the robustness of the Brazilian market, as well as positioning of the country in the axis of international investments in science, technology and innovation, has been a growing influx of investment companies and institutions of international technology in the installation of their centers of global R&D in Brazil.
In order to support the continuation of this cycle of investments in the country, this program provides a series of measures to support the installation of these units in Brazil, emphasizing the formation of a local scientific network and technological development.
Thus, the process of generating innovation for global cooperation promotes the formation of a natural ecosystem that has internationalized and value chains interconnected and based in multicultural exchanges. The focus is to attract to Brazil the key activities and technology intensive processes of software development and IT services, seen as "world class", reinforcing its participation in the development of these technologies and expanding technological capabilities in the country.
Business Intelligence
From the continuous collaboration with existing programs should be created a program of Market Intelligence also related with the private sector, so as to allow the architecture and structure of research reports meeting the needs of different audiences of this service.
The goal is to establish a set of strategic information in an industry with a more intangible, supporting the adoption of public policies, government guidance of investment in research, development and innovation, decision-making support for government agencies and understanding of the dynamics and technological market chain software and IT services.
Integrated Investment Funds
This line of action aims to generate synergies between investment portfolios and existing programs, which is essential for the development of the IT sector. The link between support programs and encouragement of RD&I and the Strategic Investment Fund is to leverage digital ecosystems, the chain of co-investors locally and internationally, as well as the participation of big companies in the process.
International Poles
With the goal of providing services to Brazilian IT companies seeking international presence, or foreign companies with business interest or investments in Brazil, the proposal is to establish points of presence located in international target markets, involving business centers and diplomatic offices, to support these businesses through market intelligence services, trade promotion and development of its internationalization capability.
Construction of a Schedule for a Competitive Regulatory Framework
Analyzing the Brazilian strategy in the areas of software and IT services, were identified the following opportunities for improvement of the Brazilian legislation and new mechanisms, in order to foster the sector:
- Ensure a percentage of the Lei da Informática (No. 8.248/91) and the Lei do Bem (No. 11.196/06) for the generation of start-ups
- Develop scenarios of special tax regimes for export of software and services, like what happens in most competitive countries
- Propose tax incentives for venture capital, including angel investment in IT
- Evaluate models of procurement of Information Technology, seeking to balance the minimization of costs for public administration and generation of added value for the sector
- Improve legislation on outsourcing and subcontracting of work in the sector
- Studying aspects of Brazilian and international legislation regarding intellectual property software, with analysis of comparative law, assessments of the economic impact of legal barriers to innovation for small businesses, impact on value creation from Brazilian market, among other topics
- Examine the possibility of implementing fast-track mechanisms for the attraction and attachment in Brazil of international experts
- Support the implementation of a law to protect personal data