Initiating Tracking | Tropical R&D

The tools provided by the SIMILE project and used to develop this timeline gizmo in Drupal really are useful. .

It is useful, for example, to see Mr. Sorrell of the WPP group dining with President Obama not long after buying Blue State Digital, the agency that handles the spectacle of Obamism. I follow the company, and the timeline gives me a 1 to + 1 = 2.

I proclaim myself convinced, and I am ready to take a serious run at something I have wanted to do for several years now: track Brazilian IT.

Still a bug or two, as you an see. In any event, it all begins with the Computer Science Bill of 1985, subject of the prize-winning 1988 investigative report, long form, by Vera Dantas.

Once I get caught up and set my coverage universe, I can start think about translating the diachronic — one thing after another — into the syncrhonic — the general outcome as a whole considered as a structure or scenario.

Wandora would be one tool available for that purpose.

Information already gleaned through my Semantic Mediawiki just has to be transferred over …

And so I lift my Coney Island shot glass of Old Mudmaker arguardente to you, if you wish me well: May Brazilian IT become hot, hot, hot in about a year, by which time I will know a lot of detailed stuff about it, rather than the piecemeal knowlege I have now.

And if you do not wish me well, honi soit qui mal y pense.

Novos Mercados-Máquinas: IBM e Febraban?

Aí, o jeito que o tempo têm de complicar as coiss.

No meio da década dos 2000, eu editava um jornalzinho sobre a indústria financeira. Tinha meu gabinete quase na esquina da Rua Wall com Water.

Na época, a NYSE — a Bolsa de Nova York — era a NYSE que sempre tinha sido, ou assim pensavamos, e além de uma “demumutalização” da bolsa, não havia muita gente esperando as enormes mudanças à vir. John Thain, ex-Goldman e mostrado acima à esquerda, parecia ser um homem esperto mas nunca espertalhão.

À mesma época, atraia atenção o model de consolidaçao  de pequenas bolsas pela ambiciosa e tecnicamente avançada OMX, a Bolsa de Oslo, em Noruega. Eu sempre isso um modelo que deveria interessar a BM&F, seguindo nos passos do seu grande amigo e mentor, o Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Da Nasdaq eu, pelo menos, eu não esperava senão que ia continuar sendo o Nasdaq, cotando os preços em letras dez metros de altura no Times Square.

Então, a fusão NYSE-EURONEXT, e a emergência de bolsas de valores e balcões de transação inventandas na hora, em vez de crescer sobre o curso de um século, como tinham feitas a Londres e a NYSE.

E agora?

Do Estadão | Nasdaq e ICE elevam proposta pela Nyse em US$ 350 milhões.

A Nasdaq OMX Group e a IntercontinentalExchange ICE melhoraram a oferta para comprar a Nyse Euronext, oferecendo-se para pagar US$ 350 milhões, além da proposta anterior de US$ 11,18 bilhões, se autoridades antitruste bloquearem o negócio. Às 11h25 de Brasília, as ações da Nasdaq subiam 0,22%, as da ICE caíam 0,20% e as da Nyse avançavam 0,98% em Nova York.A oferta melhorada foi apresentada numa carta formal para o conselho Nyse Euronext, que na semana passada rejeitou a proposta não solicitada por motivos estratégicos.”Nós acreditamos que o conselho da Nyse Euronext procurará aumentar o valor para seus acionistas, reunindo-se conosco, para avaliar a nossa proposta melhorada”, disse o chefe-executivo da ICE, num comunicado.Representantes da Nyse Euronext não estavam disponíveis para comentar a notícia.

Softex | Hard Sell from Intel

Softex, the software development arm of BNDES, announces:, and I translate an excerpt or two:

Intel Brasil and Softex announce the signing of a Tecnical and Scientific Cooperation agreement that establishes a mutual commitment to the Brazilian software and IT services industry, inceasing Brazil’s share of a sector that already brings inUS$ 18.5 billion and is expected to grow 25% in 2011.

In recent weeks, Intel had announced it would bypass India and China and invest half a billion dollars in an R&D center in Brazil.

The MOU establishes work standards for the training of Brazilian IT personnel in bleeding-edge technology in order to make them more competitive in the world market and making it possible to offer services and products of the highest quality to the Brazilian consumer. at the same time, innovative solutions developed in Brazil will be immediaely made available all over the world through Intel’s online store. The initiative will benefit, not just Softex members, but all organizations represented on its board, such as Assespro, Abes and Fenainfo.

That is to say, industry syndicates generally aligned with the Business Sotware Association of America and the Entertainment Software Association.

The technology press here is dominated by “coverage” of the latest U.S. releases, with little if any attention paid to the Brazilian industry.

One of the first initiatives under study is a survey of IT firms which state of the art technologies,such as parallel programming, cloud computing, mobile solutions, security and graphics computing, should be focused on first in the context of the agreement. 

New regulatory regime for Brazilian software, Mercadante says

CETI is an IT business owners association from the gaucho South. It reports on what the sector is anxious to know: Will there be adequate subsidies for IT R&D in this year’s budget, despite fiscal austerity measures that are being taken? I translate an excerpt and comment for my notes.

BRASÍLIA — Federal science and tech minister Aloizio Mercadante defends the need for a new regulatory framework for the software industry in Brazil, which still depends a great deal on the Information Technology Law. He also demonstrated sympathy for tax-breaks benefiting companies in the sector. He was cautious, however, as to when such a measure might take the form of a bill sent down to Congress.

Without speaking in much detail about the proposed new regulatory scheme — escept to say that it could take the form of an amended Informational Technology Law — Mercadante, who was taking part in the opening ceremonies of AbineeTec 2011, at Anhembi University in São Paulo, was strident about the need for short-term incentives to help the industry grow.

“I am very sympathetic to tax breaks for IT firms. This is a sector in Brazil could be doing a lot more than it is today. We have all we need to fight for a better seat at the global table”, the minister said.

Asked about the revised version of the PDP, the Productive Development Policy, Mercadante promised that the IT sector will continue to be one of the pillars of the policy. “I can guarantee you that TIC is in the new PDP, we are going to improve existing measures so that we can realize appreciable gains”, he said.

Mercandante was reluctant, however to discuss whether Science and Tech might find itself at odds with other ministries, and the Treasury in particular, which has said that any such incentives will require a quid pro quo from the industry benefitted..

Explosions and Urban Drought | Where Are We, Fallujah?

Diário do Comércio reports: We are not the only neighborhood to suffer from exploding electrical transformers in the greater metro area.

These explosions, which never fail to scare the hell out of me, are regular occurrences during heavy rains, which peak in the summer months of Januray through March.

An AES Eletropaulo tranformer burned out around 5 p.m. yesterday, interupting service at the Baixo Cotia water processing plan, which provides water to some 350,000 reisidents of Itapevi, Jandira and part of Barueri, in the Greater Metropolitan Area.

In a press relese, Sabesp said that since replacing a transformer takes at least 4 hours, cities in the region may go without water. The company recommends rationing of water until service is restored.

Another district will have to wait until October to resolve problems caused by an electrical blackout that hit pumping stations in the area, the DC says.

Resients of the Jardim São Norberto, in the extreme southern district of São Paulo, have had problems with their water service for several weeks now, sincee a blackout took out 46 pumps in seven elevaors. In a press release, Sabesp said the area is in distant region at a high alititude, explaining the difficulty of serving it. Further, the company said, the area is densely populated with many irregular hookups to the water system. Work is planned for October of this year, but until then no solution to the problem is foreseen..

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Apax Enters Brazil

From time to time, I like to pretend I work for DealBook — recently cleverly  rebranded as DealB%k.

In my case, it is more a matter of “deal graffiti” — disjointed notes I manage to jot down before the Economic Reality Police catch me doing something I am not getting paid for. If were A. Ross Sorkin, moreover, I would not still be in my jammies at this hour.

I am guided more by personal interests and idle curiosity than by any overriding strategic picture, it should be said — though I have at times considered channeling all this energy into an alternative investment newsletter.

When and if I ever discover an entrepreneurial bone in my body, perhaps I will even give it a whirl. As it stands now, I am about four days behind the story — but then I have been busy with other wheelings and dealings.

Tivit will delist its shares from the Novo Mercado segment of the São Paulo Stock Exchange, paving the way the sale of a controlling 54.72% stake to Dethalas.

Tivit is the leading IT and BPO integrator in Latin America, with a portfolio organized into three main areas: IT Infrastructure, Applications Systems and Business Process Outsourcing. It currently owns 18 business units, located in strategic regions of Brasil, and possesses extensive infrastructure permitting scalability, reliability and information security.  TIVIT manages mission-critical operations for clientes that include 300 of the largest 500 Brazilian companies. It provides services to major banks, insurance companies, credit card operations, manufacturers, public concession-holders, and retail operations..

But who in the hell is Dethalas, which will up its stake from 43% in the tender offer scheduled for December 20 and priced at R$18.10 — US$10.50 — per share?

That’s  about R$873.8 million, or US$507 million.

Dethalas, according to the local press, is a Brazilian representative of the London-based buyout firm Apax Partners.

The Junta Comercial — analogous to Secretaries of State in the U.S. in the role of corporate registrar — has greatly improved, offering this basic information about the firm.

The Junta still demands the equivalent of your SSN in order to access more detailed information — which I tend to feel is pretty damned intrusive of my privacy.

Dethala’s paid-in capital is just a little over the proposed pricing of the tender offer.

“Telefônica Crashes 911 And Can’t Get It Running Again”

Vigilante consumerdom: angry Argentines spank the Spaniards. Source: Iconoclastas

Due to this situation, the information systems of the state military police, the state transit department (DETRAN) and the fire brigade were down. It was not possible to report crimes at police precincts or use some services offered by the Poupatempo state services department.

Telefônica diz passar por “evento técnico complexo e raro”; conclusão pode sair à noite: Valor (Brazil) reports rewrites the press release — burying the fact that the local equivalent of 911 emergency has apparently not been working for 24 hours now.

SÃO PAULO – A Telefônica espera concluir o “rastreamento técnico completo” em sua rede de transmissão de dados até o fim desta noite. O processo poderá permitir “chegar a uma conclusão” sobre as causas da pane que derrubou os sistemas eletrônicos de parte dos serviços essenciais do estado de São Paulo desde a noite de ontem.

Telefônica expects to wind up “a complete technical trace” on its data transmission network by the end of tonight. The process will allow it to “reach conclusions” about the causes of an outage that took down electronic systems furnishing some essential services to the state of São Paulo starting last evening.

Esse é o prognóstico que a empresa fornece em comunicado distribuído há pouco, no qual também “lamenta os transtornos causados”. Embora ainda não explique o que aconteceu, a companhia diz estar passando por um problema técnico parcial em sua rede de transmissão de dados para serviços corporativos.

That was the prognosis the company gave in a press release distributed a short while ago in which it adds that it “regrets any trouble caused.” Though it has not yet explained what happened, the company said it is having a partial technical problem [sic] with its data transmission network for business customers.

Net Serviços: The Cable Empire Has No Disclose

In the Bovespa’s Plantão Empresas newswire today (above, click to zoom), Net Participações S.A. informs us “that its financial statements, set forth according to international accounting standards in both Portuguese and English, for the period ending March 31, 2008, along with management’s comments on results for the period, are available on the Bovespa Web site in the menu ‘Companies / For Investors / Listed Companies,’ under ‘Material Information.’”

This is simply not the case.

Consolidated and company financials for the period are available on the Bovespa Web site, but only in Portuguese, and management comments are nowhere to be found:

“Virtus Hired as Telefónica’s Geek Squad”

Source: Gazeta Mercantil

On Virtus, recently formed by the merger of seven smaller software shops, see also

• Brazil: Firming Up Software

7 de abril de 2008 – A Telefônica anuncia amanhã um novo formato de atuação no mercado. A operadora telefônica fechou uma parceria com empresa do grupo Virtus para dar suporte e manutenção a equipamentos relacionados a telecomunicações.

Telefónica will announce tomorrow a new way of operating in the market. The telephone operator has sealed a partnership deal with a member of the Virtus group to provide maintenance support for its telephone service.