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Thursday, January 14, 2010
Today's News Headlines
* E-commerce expected to expand 25-30% this year as internet users mature - Argentina
* PC market forecasted to grow 11% in 2010 - Argentina
* Latin American ICT now expected to move US$260bn this year - Regional
* Infosys sees North America profits increase 14%, retail sales up - Regional
* Roundup: Avantica, Seagate, IBM, Santa Fe - Regional
* Gas Natural signs Telvent for provision of turnkey tech solution - Mexico
* Banking, telcos, govt driving virtualization adoption, says VMware - Regional
* IN BRIEF Indra tapped for US$34mn radar project - Peru
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* E-commerce expected to expand 25-30% this year as internet users mature - Argentina
E-commerce in Argentina is expected to expand 25-30% this year compared to the 5.24bn pesos (US$1.38bn) moved last year, local consultancy Prince & Cooke director Alejandro Prince told BNamericas.
In 2008, e-commerce totaled 5.05bn pesos, Prince added.
Prince said that B2C sales account for approximately 5% of total sales in the country while the C2C segment accounts for the remainder.
However, e-commerce in Argentina still has a lot of room to grow, according to the consultant. Among the factors that will boost e-commerce in the country are the increasing number of internet users as well as increasing penetration of e-commerce services within large and medium sized businesses.
Prince also said internet users are more mature and are making more frequent use of e-commerce services.
According to Prince & Cooke, approximately 26% of internet users in the country make purchases through e-commerce channels. By year-end, there are estimated to be approximately 26mn internet users in Argentina.
By Juan Pedro Tomás
Business News Americas
* PC market forecasted to grow 11% in 2010 - Argentina
The overall PC market in Argentina is expected to grow 11% this year compared to 2.20mn units sold in 2009, local consultancy Trends Consulting analyst Eduardo Tobis told BNamericas.
PC sales last year decreased 2.4% as the overall market suffered the impact of the economic crisis, Tobis said. Desktop sales were down 15.5% on the year while the laptop segment grew 31.1%, the analyst added.
The desktop segment is forecast to grow 0.5% in 2010 versus the previous year. Meanwhile, the laptop segment, which includes netbooks, is expected to grow almost 30% this year compared to 2009, Tobis said, thanks to the expansion of 3G networks and interesting commercial offers for netbooks.
By the end of the year, the consultancy expects there will be one laptop for each 1.3 desktops in the country.
"The overall PC market will show signs of a slight recovery this year," the analyst added.
By Juan Pedro Tomás
Business News Americas
* Latin American ICT now expected to move US$260bn this year - Regional
Gartner has increased its 2010 Latin American ICT market projections to US$260bn, according to information sent by the consultancy to BNamericas.
Of the total, IT expenditures are expected to reach US$63.0bn, within which IT services will rack up US$30.7bn in sales. Hardware sales this year will reach US$25.1bn followed by software with US$7.18bn.
Gartner had previously expected the Latin American ICT industry to reach US$257bn in 2010, with IT pulling in US$62.6bn.
Meanwhile, the regional ICT industry reached US$238bn in 2009, with IT sales alone totaling US$57.7bn.
Last year's IT service sales reached US$27.5bn, followed by hardware with US$23.5bn and software with US$6.70bn.
Gartner's Latin American executive programs VP Ione de Almeida Coco recently told BNamericas that cloud computing and zero-based IT budgets represent two of the consultancy's top recommendations for its Latin American clients.
"We're telling all of our clients they need to review their infrastructure and look at cloud computing," she said. "With cloud computing, you can increase or decrease the size of a contract very easily. This is good for the companies. With the market changing, you can adapt your contract for your needs at that moment."
Turning a critical eye to IT budgets is also essential for Latin American companies, the analyst added.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Infosys sees North America profits increase 14%, retail sales up - Regional
Indian IT firm Infosys Technologies (Nasdaq: INFY) posted North America net income of US$801mn during the first nine months of its fiscal 2010, ended December 31, up 14.1% from US$702mn posted in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement.
Nine-month revenues in Infosys' North America division, which includes the US, Canada, and Mexico, increased 3.6% to US$2.31bn.
Operating expenses declined 1.6% to US$921mn.
Infosys CEO S. Gopalakrishnan said during a conference call that the company's Mexican subsidiary is still not turning a profit.
GLOBAL FIGURES
Infosys saw net profits during the first nine months of FY10 hold flat at US$964mn, while revenues were also flat at US$3.51bn.
Retail sector sales during the same period increased 8.7% to US$472mn. On the other hand, financial sector sales fell 2.4% to US$1.18bn and telecommunications revenues fell 12.3% to US$575mn.
Still, Infosys senior vice president Subhash Dhar said during the conference call that Infosys will be looking to capitalize off of future telecommunications sector expenditures, highlighting "the opportune investment in the networks that we have seen across the globe from major incumbent service providers."
For fiscal Q3, the company saw net profits remain flat at US$334mn. Revenues increased 5.2% to US$1.23bn, which was on par with previous sales projections of US$1.16bn-1.66bn.
Infosys expects Q4 sales of US$1.24bn-1.25bn, while year-long sales will reach US$4.75bn-4.76bn.
In December, Infosys announced the incorporation of a wholly owned Brazilian subsidiary under the name Infosys Tecnologia Do Brasil.
Infosys' head of new markets and services, Dheeshjith V. G., said the facility will serve clients in verticals including banking, financial services, insurance, manufacturing, retail, distribution, telecom, energy and resources.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Roundup: Avantica, Seagate, IBM, Santa Fe - Regional
Costa Rican IT consultancy firm Avantica has disclosed plans to open a subsidiary in New York City, newspaper El Financiero reported.
Avantica, which also has a subsidiary in Silicon Valley, said the new facility will serve its growing client base in and around the city.
In November, Costa Rica's IT chamber Camtic announced that Avantica would be merging with local outsourcer and software developer Northek Software.
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The Brazilian unit of US hardware manufacturer Seagate (Nasdaq: STX) has tapped Igor Beserra as head of OEM sales, online news source Reseller Web reported.
Beserra previously worked in companies including Brazilian computer manufacturer Kennex and local retailer Elgin.
The executive received a degree in digital systems technologies from Brazil's Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de São Paulo.
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Brazilian brush manufacturer Condor has awarded IBM (NYSE: IBM) an IT infrastructure contract, online news source Baguete reported.
Under the terms of the agreement, IBM will implement a system designed to improve storage and support increasing data flows.
The contract is worth 340,000 reais (US$195,300).
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The governor of Argentina's Santa Fe province, Hermes Binner, has met with Uruguayan government officials over the implementation of a digital plan, online news source CanalAR reported.
Under the terms of the agreement, Uruguay will help provincial government officials develop technological tools for educational purposes.
Binner also received a donation of 250 laptops, which will be distributed to school teachers.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Gas Natural signs Telvent for provision of turnkey tech solution - Mexico
Mexican gas company Gas Natural México has signed a contract with Spanish IT firm Telvent (Nasdaq: TLVT) for the delivery of a turnkey technology solution to control the former's extensive natural gas distribution network, Telvent said in a statement.
Through this new solution, Gas Natural will be able to increase the efficiency and security of its 15,229km of gas network, ensuring supply to 1.25mn residential and industrial customers in 38 municipalities of the country, Telvent said.
"Accurate, real-time field information will be integrated into Gas Natural's enterprise information systems to optimize processes such as billing and inventory management," the statement said.
Telvent is a global IT solutions and business information services provider serving several sectors such as energy, transportation, agriculture and environment.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Banking, telcos, govt driving virtualization adoption, says VMware - Regional
Latin American banking, telecommunications and government sectors led virtualization adoption in 2009, online news source InfoChannel quoted the Latin America vice president of California-based virtualization software company VMware, Steven Houck, as saying.
"The banking and telecommunications sectors saw virtualization going hand-in-hand with factors like competitiveness and technological value," he said. "Meanwhile, the government sector also had good results due to basic requirements such as stabilizing the economy and updating systems. Now the government is looking towards desktop virtualization and cloud computing."
Houck said VMware expects its Latin American revenues to increase 38% this year, noting that the company is focusing efforts in Mexico and Brazil.
"We want to grow along with our channels, and we will continue to expand our partner base," he said. "Together with our channels, we are making an effort to penetrate [SMEs] in different regions."
In November, VMware announced plans to team up with US storage solutions supplier EMC (NYSE: EMC) and Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) to form the virtual computing environment coalition. The alliance includes a data center virtualization offering and a transition to private cloud infrastructures.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* IN BRIEF Indra tapped for US$34mn radar project - Peru
The Peruvian government has awarded Spanish systems integrator Indra a contract to install an air traffic control tower in capital Lima, as well as secondary radar and communications equipment throughout the country, Indra said in a statement.
The so-called Aircon 2100 air traffic control system will monitor flights throughout the country and will also allow for the coordination of communications with airports, pilots and emergency services.
The contract is valued at US$34mn and will last through 2011.
Indra has Latin American offices in Mexico, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Panama, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Brazil and Venezuela.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
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In-deph interview
* The year of Linux
Carlos Muñoz
General manager
Linux Latin America
Regional
http://www.bnamericas.com/interviews/technology/Carlos_Munoz_,Linux_Latin_America,/169883802
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Main companies covered in today's news
* Hewlett-Packard Company
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Hewlett-Packard_Company-HP/169883802
* Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Corporacion_Nacional_del_Cobre_de_Chile-Codelco/169883802
* International Business Machines
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/International_Business_Machines-IBM/169883802
* Indra Sistemas S.A.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Indra_Sistemas_S,A,-Indra/169883802
* Cisco Systems, Inc.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Cisco_Systems,_Inc,-Cisco/169883802
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