Software AG prepares new growth in Brazil
Valor Econômico
Three years after starting to directly operate in Brazil and overcoming the initially outlined goals for the country, the German Software AG prepares the ground to consolidate a new stage of its local operation, currently considered the third largest operation of the company in the world. The Brazilian participation in the general earnings of the company is currently of 6.4%. "I believe it can reach a 10% to 12% share in the coming years", says Anthony Foley, new President of Software AG for Brazil and Argentina.
To reach such rates, the Executive says one of the initiatives will be to increase the presence of Software AG in the nearly 200 customers that already integrate the installed base of the company in the country. The move shows the interest of the company in aligning the local operation with the global strategies adopted by the direction of Software AG in recent years. Best known for developing systems to manage complex environments for Information Technology (IT), such as mainframes - large-size computers able to process a significant volume of data -, Software AG has been seeking to diversify its businesses.
The company has invested in packages called Business Process Excellence (BPE) that gained strength with the acquisition of the also German IDS Scheer by Software AG in 2009. The strategy combines the offering of software and services to automate and bring more efficiency to the operations, says Foley. According to Mark Edwards, Chief Executive for the Americas, Asia and Japan, one of the technologies available allows, for instance, to define the most appropriate business processes and simulate their applications before they are implemented.
The package also includes the development of applications capable of integrating old programs and the latest technologies. According to Edwards, the idea is to allow the modernization of the IT environments without having to invest large amounts in new systems. The BPE model was responsible for earnings of € 499.2 million in FY 2010. The total income of the company in the period amounted to € 1.1 billion, growth of 32% compared to 2009.
For Edwards, only now Brazil it ready for such approach. He said the initial goal of the company was to consolidate its traditional offers in the country. "We have concluded that first phase and Brazil has reached the technological maturity of other markets where we already offer the BPE", he says. In view of the new scenario, Software AG is investing in a new sales structure in Brazil. Those operations will be divided into three units, with the purpose of growing and improving the operation in other markets in the country, says Foley.
The first division will be headed by Valério Regente and it will handle the major accounts and the operations in the North, Northeast and Midwest. As regards the South and Southeast, the sales unit will be under the responsibility of Renato Xavier. The BPE projects, on their turn, main bet to boost the growth in the country, will be headed by Milton Cruz. Among other investments, Foley projects, for the beginning of 2012, the opening an office in Rio de Janeiro. The company currently has units in São Paulo and Brasília.