Totvs seeks minor clients
Valor Econômico
Laércio Cosentino knows he has picked a difficult name for his company. Four years later, many people still don't know how to pronounce "Totvs". The Latin term that refers to the idea of entirety has become an advertising campaign shown at prime time on TV. In the TV commercial, TV Host Marília Gabriela explained the correct pronunciation is "totus". As for the software itself, the business of the company, she hardly talked about. But Cosentino says he does not regret having chosen that word. It's a strong name, he says.
The challenge now is to turn Totvs, the largest software company of Brazil, into a common name among small companies spread throughout the country. Supported by partnerships with equipment manufacturers, Totvs prepares an offensive to attract a type of consumer that so far does not use their systems: the owners of small businesses, whether a bakery, a dentist's office or a law firm. The purpose is to massively sell software packages. Within the coming days, Totvs starts selling systems in packages similar to cartons of corn flakes. The product will have a license cost and a monthly fee for updating and support services.
As a result of the union of 22 companies, Totvs currently leads the sector by far. Surveys of the Getulio Vargas Foundation, from São Paulo, feature 39% of market share for the company, whereas SAP and Oracle hold 23% and 18%, respectively. Such consolidation, however, brought Totvs a new reality. It is not possible for the company to carry out major acquisitions. The remaining targets are smaller companies, specialized in segmented products. At the same time, it has to deal with strong rivals such as SAP and Oracle, the two largest multinational companies of that market. Growing outside Brazil, recognizes Cosentino, is an even bigger challenge for the company. Although present in 23 countries, the international operations do not represent 5% of the sales of Totvs.
It is through cartons of software that Totvs now wants to reach smaller clients, with annual earnings of up to R$ 4 million (US$ 2.3 million). The company has just entered into an unprecedented partnership with Hewlett-Packard (HP) and CTIS in order to sell its package of systems in the stores those companies. Matched sales will be made with equipment such as PCs and servers, the large-sized microcomputers that manage the network. In another initiative, with the manufacturers of equipment Ory and Accept, Totvs assembled "Businessman's PC". It is a package that combines a server, five thin clients and a trial version of the company's management system, free of charge for 30 days. After that period, Totvs will seek the users in order to provide them their programs in a permanent basis.