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Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Today's News Headlines
* Financial, telcos, transport sectors Progress Software's 2010 priorities - Regional
* Triad Systems expects revenues to surge over 90% this year - Brazil
* TCS readying office to chase down financial sector opportunities - Colombia
* Roundup: Sonda Procwork, Sterling Commerce, Indra, Intel - Regional
* SAP sees Q4 revenues slip 9% - Regional
* Pro-Ideal Plus launch set for February - Regional
* BBKO acquires SYSone Consulting, readies IPO - Brazil
* Province to invest US$2.2mn in digital IDs - Argentina
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* Financial, telcos, transport sectors Progress Software's 2010 priorities - Regional
US software firm Progress Software (Nasdaq: PRGS) will hone in on Latin America's financial, telecommunications, and transportation and logistics sectors this year, the company's Latin America director, Carlos Atehortua, told BNamericas.
Atehortua said companies in those industries are looking for solutions that allow for real-time business process analysis, as well as improved management and customer relations.
Progress, which expects its Latin America revenues to increase 20-25% this year, will be targeting those sectors with its Apama and Actional solutions.
SAVVION ACQUISITION
Earlier this month, Progress acquired US software company Savvion for US$49mn. Savvion specializes in business process management (BPM) solutions and currently has 300 clients using those products.
Another top Latin America priority will be introducing Savvion's solutions into the regional markets, Atehortua said, noting that Progress will be looking to strengthen relations with integrators to extend the new offering to clients.
"The BPM solutions will allow Progress to offer our Latin American clients solutions that allow them to have operational responses," he said. "We believe that companies need to have this intelligence in order to be more agile and more aggressive when it comes to changing market conditions."
2009 WRAP-UP
Progress saw its Latin America revenues increase 28% during its fiscal year 2009, which ended November 30.
Atehortua said Brazil represented the company's top growth driver, followed by Argentina and Mexico. The executive noted strong sales of its Algorithmic Trading and Apama solutions to the financial and capital market sectors.
"In Latin America, the capital markets are starting to grow," he said. "They need to be able to analyze trends... for example, if there is any relation between the price of copper and a particular company's stock price."
Progress currently has 5,500 clients in Latin America. The company has its regional headquarters in Miami, subsidiaries in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, as well as a partner network that covers the rest of Latin America.
Atehortua said there are no plans to open new regional subsidiaries this year.
For full fiscal year 2009, Progress' global revenues decreased 4% to US$494mn.
By Matthew Malinowski
Business News Americas
* Triad Systems expects revenues to surge over 90% this year - Brazil
Brazilian software developer Triad Systems expects revenues to jump more than 90% this year compared to 32mn reais (US$18.1mn) billed in 2009, company senior account executive Sandro Zamarioli told BNamericas.
Revenues from the telecoms segment accounted for approximately half of Triad's revenues last year, the executive said, and the contribution from this segment is expected to remain flat this year.
The focus in 2010 will be on co-billing, MVNOs, VAS and billing solutions, Zamarioli said.
Triad's main clients in the telecoms segment include operators Oi, Telefônica, TIM and Vivo.
Revenues from the industry segment accounted for 23% of the company's overall revenues last year, while services and financial segments represented 20%, he added.
According to the executive, Triad Systems is currently studying a plan to expand the company's presence through the opening of field offices in certain countries in Latin America. The executive said the expansion program is expected to be executed in 2011.
The company ended last year with more than 70 active clients, Zamarioli added, and "our plan for this year is to increase sales to existing customers more than attracting new clients."
This year, the company has certified its São Paulo-based factory at CMMI level 3.
In Brazil, the company has offices in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Manaus.
By Juan Pedro Tomás
Business News Americas
* TCS readying office to chase down financial sector opportunities - Colombia
Indian IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) new Colombia office will be officially inaugurated in February or March, the company's Ibero-American VP Mario Tucci told BNamericas.
The facility, which will be located in Medellín, will target opportunities in the country's growing financial sector, Tucci said.
"Colombia is very developed, not only in the retail banking area, but it's also entering investment banking and money markets little by little," he said.
TCS's largest financial sector client in Colombia is Bancolombia (NYSE: CIB), which has outsourced roughly 25% of its applications to the IT services giant. Other key clients include the finance ministry, bank Banco de Bogotá and insurer Seguros Colpatria.
The executive noted that the financial sector accounts for roughly 50% of TCS's Latin America revenues.
Tucci previously told BNamericas that Latin America represented 4.9% of the company's overall fiscal third quarter revenues, ended December 31, up from 4.7% at the start of the fiscal year.
Globally, the company's third quarter profits increased 38.9% to US$384mn, while sales increased 10.3% to US$1.64bn.
By Matthew Malinowski
Business News Americas
* Roundup: Sonda Procwork, Sterling Commerce, Indra, Intel - Regional
Redecard, the card acquirer controlled by Brazil's Itaú Unibanco (NYSE: ITUB), has renewed its IT outsourcing contract with Sonda Procwork, the latter company said in a statement.
Under the terms of the agreement, for which a pricetag was not provided, Sonda Procwork will manage Redecard's software systems for five years.
Sonda Procwork is the Brazilian unit of Chilean IT systems integrator Sonda.
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US business integration solutions provider Sterling Commerce, a subsidiary of US telco AT&T (NYSE: T), has identified Brazil as one of its target markets in 2010, the company said in a statement.
Sterling Commerce saw 2009 revenues grow 10% in Brazil, which currently represents the company's third-largest software market.
Other target countries include the US, UK, Canada, Germany and France.
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Uruguay's industry, energy and mining ministry has formed an alliance with Spanish systems integrator Indra, the ministry said in a statement.
Under the terms of the agreement, the two parties will come together to look into developing audiovisual technologies, particularly for television.
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US chip manufacturer Intel (NYSE: INTC) has designed a netbook application platform from its facilities in Córdoba, Argentina, online news source CanalAR reported.
The platform, dubbed AppUp Center, is available online and can be installed on any netbook with an Intel Atom processor.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* SAP sees Q4 revenues slip 9% - Regional
SAP (NYSE: SAP) saw fourth quarter revenues slide 9% to 3.18bn euros (US$4.57bn), the company said in a statement on preliminary results.
Quarterly software revenues fell 16% to 1.11bn euros, while software and software-related service revenues declined 4% to 2.56bn euros.
Quarterly software and software-related service revenues in the Americas region fell 2% to 0.82bn euros.
Meanwhile, yearlong sales fell 8% to 10.7bn euros. Of the total, software revenues declined 28% to 2.60bn euros, while software and software-related service revenues slipped 3% to 8.19bn euros.
Yearlong software and software-related service revenues in the Americas region stayed flat at 2.71bn euros.
SAP will provide full Q4 financial results and its 2010 outlook on January 27.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Pro-Ideal Plus launch set for February - Regional
The Latin American IT cooperation initiative Pro-Ideal Plus will be launched in February, Costa Rica's IT chamber Camtic said in a statement.
Pro-Ideal Plus aims at promoting IT exchange between the European Union (EU) and Latin America. The program seeks to promote research and development initiatives between universities, research centers and companies.
Pro-Ideal Plus is being coordinated by Spanish firm Inmark.
Organizations currently participating in the program include the European Multimedia Forum, Mexico's Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, Cuba's Softel, Colombia's Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Brazil's Universidade de São Paulo, Argentina's science and technology ministry and Chile's law and computing association.
Camtic and Pro-Ideal Plus will hold an interactive workshop on February 16, in Costa Rican capital San José, to familiarize participants in the latter's ICT research program, as well as to outline the rules of participation in international cooperation projects.
Late last year, the EU earmarked 1.6mn euros (currently US$2.3mn) to help drive science and technology use in Central America.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* BBKO acquires SYSone Consulting, readies IPO - Brazil
Brazilian IT consultancy BBKO has acquired local IT consultancy SYSone for an undisclosed amount, online news source Reseller Web reported.
SYSone specializes in SAP (NYSE: SAP) implementations and the development of technologies over the .Net and Java software frameworks.
BBKO, which saw sales grow 30% last year, expects to continue its acquisition strategy through this year, as well as tapping business opportunities from its existing client base.
The company is also working to restructure its operation systems, as well as beef up its SAP All-in-One sales area before carrying out an IPO in 2013.
Late last year BBKO disclosed plans to invest 600,000 reais (currently US$339,000) in its medium-sized business segment.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Province to invest US$2.2mn in digital IDs - Argentina
The Argentine province of San Luis will invest 8.5mn pesos (US$2.2mn) this year in digital ID cards, online news source CanalAR quoted provincial governor Alberto José Rodríguez Saá as saying.
Rodríguez described the new ID cards as one of his top priorities.
"This document will digitally and physically identify provincial residents," he said. "It will allow for the use of digital signature, which is something that is used in Argentina, but has been implemented in very few countries."
The ID cards will also be used for financial, legal, administrative and tax purposes, according to the governor.
In March, neighboring Chile is slated to award a tender to provide new ID cards with an embedded contactless chip, which will include biometric information. The chip will also enable digital signatures and authentication.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
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In-deph interview
* Software exports to continue expanding despite crisis
Alvaro Lamé
President
Cámara Uruguaya de Tecnologías de la Información (Cuti)
Uruguay
http://www.bnamericas.com/interviews/technology/Alvaro_Lame_,Camara_Uruguaya_de_Tecnologias_de_la_Informacion_,Cuti,,/170504894
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Main companies covered in today's news
* Intel Corp.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Intel_Corp,-Intel/170504894
* Microsoft Corporation
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Microsoft_Corporation-Microsoft/170504894
* Tata Consultancy Services
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Tata_Consultancy_Services-TCS/170504894
* Banco de Bogotá S.A.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Banco_de_Bogota_S,A,-Banco_de_Bogota/170504894
* TIM Participações S.A.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/TIM_Participacoes_S,A,-TIM_Participacoes/170504894
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