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Friday, January 22, 2010
Today's News Headlines
* Latin American cloud computing to peak in 5 years, says analyst - Regional
* Financial sector digitalizing documents to accelerate processes - Regional
* GlobalCollect sees business opportunities in five markets - Regional
* Roundup: Neoris, Microsoft, Oracle-Snoop Consulting, Canieti - Regional
* SAS sees 2009 sales creep up 2.2% - Regional
* EU gives Oracle nod for Sun purchase - Regional
* Afina looks to recruit additional channel partners - Argentina
* HSBC unit readying US$700mn in technology investments - Mexico
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* Latin American cloud computing to peak in 5 years, says analyst - Regional
Latin America's cloud computing market still needs about five years before reaching maturity, the director for enterprise solutions at tech consultancy IDC, Lídice Fernández, told BNamericas.
Fernández said short-term cloud computing use will be led by large enterprises, which are looking to optimize existing infrastructure, while adoption by medium-sized firms will see an up-tick more in the medium and long-term.
Cloud services accounted for less than 1% of regional IT spending in 2009, but such investments are expected to grow three-fold during the next five years, according to IDC.
IDC has identified cloud computing services as one of the most up-and-coming IT trends in Latin America this year. The consultancy's VP for research and consulting Ricardo Villate told a conference call that Latin American cloud services will grow by 45% this year, led by a 62% increase in hardware.
More business productivity applications will be tapped from the cloud, Villate said, making note of CRM, e-billing, customer service and collaboration programs.
Carriers, outsourcing facilities and specialized channel partners are also expected to make headways as new cloud computing competitors.
OTHER TRENDS
IDC expects overall Latin American IT investments this year to increase 6.3% in constant dollar terms, reaching US$66bn. Service expenditures will increase 7.5% in comparison to 2009, followed by hardware with a 6.4% increase and software with a 3.7% increase.
BI will continue to top the priority list of regional CIOs, with acquisitions, divestures and new regulations representing adoption drivers. Analytics software sales will increase 12%, while query, reporting and analysis software revenues will rise 8%.
Billing and client system renewals - particularly in the financial, telecommunications and commercial sectors - will drive enterprise application investments, as firms prioritize customer care and client retention. Roughly US$1bn alone will be spent on migrating and updating billing systems in Latin America this year.
Mobility will have a strong presence, as IDC expects portable PC sales to finish higher than desktop computers.
Finally, IDC foresees greater consolidation in the Latin American hardware distribution market. Larger distributors are expected to make in-roads in new geographies through relationships with smaller clients.
Roughly 75% of PCs will still be handled by distributors or third parties before reaching end-users, Villate noted.
By Matthew Malinowski
Business News Americas
* Financial sector digitalizing documents to accelerate processes - Regional
Financial companies in Latin America are digitalizing their paper documents in order to speed up certain business processes, the head of US storage solutions provider EMC's (NYSE: EMC) Captiva area for Latin America, Arturo Ramírez, told BNamericas.
"A very typical example is a credit card or insurance request, whereby one fills out a form, turns in various documents and traditionally does all this through a messenger company," he said. "Through digitalizing [all of these processes]... in a matter of 10 minutes, one can receive credit card authorization."
Other client needs include centralizing documents and facilitating their transfer between different locations. Aside from the financial sector, government institutions are also driving interest in document digitalization.
EMC's Captiva area includes a range of image capturing and document digitalization solutions. Geographically, the EMC Captiva is strongest in Brazil and Mexico, Ramírez said, noting that his division wants to expand its presence in South America.
"The South American market is rather virgin," he said. "There is awareness, but it's not really something that is prevalent."
EMC Captiva clients in the region include Chile's tax office SII, Chile's finance ministry, Brazilian federal energy company Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) and Mexico's state oil company Pemex.
Globally, EMC's third quarter net profits fell 24.2% to US$298mn. Global revenues were US$3.52bn, off 5.3%.
Ramírez was unable to disclose financial information regarding EMC Captiva.
By Matthew Malinowski
Business News Americas
* GlobalCollect sees business opportunities in five markets - Regional
Dutch payment services provider GlobalCollect expects most of its business opportunities in Latin America to come from Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Argentina, the company's marketing communications manager Bettina Duske told BNamericas.
This week the company opened a field office in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires, from which GlobalCollect expects to expand its regional presence.
"We aim to turn the Latin American office into a major revenue center, consistent with the market share we hold in other geographies such as the EMEA region, Asia-Pacific and North America," Duske said.
The company's interface platform WebCollect is able to process transactions in Spanish and Portuguese, and contracts with local acquirers such as Barcode Santander in Chile, Pago Fácil in Argentina and Boleto Bancário in Brazil.
Duske said that among the company's regional clients are Sonico and LAN. "Of course we expect to grow this number quickly now that we're able to service merchants locally via the Buenos Aires office," the executive added.
GlobalCollect is a payment service provider of local e-payment solutions for international customer not-present (CNP) channels such as internet, mail and telephone orders. The company focuses on a wide range of industries such as travel, ticketing, telecommunications, retail, publishing, portals, online gaming and digital content.
By Juan Pedro Tomás
Business News Americas
* Roundup: Neoris, Microsoft, Oracle-Snoop Consulting, Canieti - Regional
Latin American IT consultancy firm Neoris has named four executives to new posts, the company said in a statement.
Neoris has tapped Art Fino as VP and leader of the SAP (NYSE: SAP) practice. Fino most previously served as senior VP and CIO at Dean Foods Company.
Ray Russ, Magnus Borg and Tom Taylor have joined the company as vice presidents. The executives have 15, 25 and 24 years' experience in the IT industry, respectively.
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Several Latin American companies have adopted Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Dynamics CRM solution, the company said in a statement.
New clients in the region include Venezuelan bank Bancaribe, Ecuadorian bank Banco de Guayaquil-Multibanco, Colombian pension service provider Cavipetrol and cinema company Cinemark in Brazil.
Microsoft Dynamics' product line includes CRMs and ERPs.
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The Argentine unit of Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) has recognized local IT consultancy Snoop Consulting for forming part of its partner network for more than 10 years, the latter company said in a statement.
Oracle had previously recognized Snoop as a leader in SOA and data base sales.
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Mexico's IT association Canieti will present the results of an information security study on January 27, the organization said in a statement.
The study was carried out together with IT consultancy Joint Future Systems and the Universidad Iberoamericana.
The presentation will be made in Mexico City.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* SAS sees 2009 sales creep up 2.2% - Regional
US software provider SAS saw 2009 revenues inch up 2.2% to US$2.31bn, the company said in a statement.
The Americas division, which includes the US, Canada and Latin America, accounted for 44% of total revenue.
Software revenues alone increased 3.3%, with sales being led by analytics, customer intelligence, data integration and risk management solutions.
Sales were strongest in the banking, government, health care, insurance and retail segments, SAS said. Financial services accounted for 42% of overall revenues, while government and retail made up 15% and 12%, respectively, according to CEO Jim Goodnight.
"We are seeing growing interest in using data as a strategic asset to combat fraud, make sure taxes are collected most effectively and ensure that citizens are getting the most for their tax dollar," he said.
"We're helping retailers price products and stock stores, taking into account regional, local and even store-level buying preferences of their customers," the executive added.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* EU gives Oracle nod for Sun purchase - Regional
The European Commission has approved Oracle's (Nasdaq: ORCL) acquisition of Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: JAVA) after determining that the deal would not create a database monopoly, the organization said in a statement.
In September, commission officials launched an investigation into the proposed takeover, arguing that the deal might restrict business in the database market.
The body has since found that "although MySQL and Oracle compete in certain parts of the database market, they are not close competitors in others, such as the high-end segment."
"I am now satisfied that competition and innovation will be preserved on all the markets concerned. Oracle's acquisition of Sun has the potential to revitalize important assets and create new and innovative products," said European Competition commissioner Neelie Kroes.
In August, the US justice department greenlighted the US$7.4bn cash deal, while Sun's stockholders approved the transaction a month prior.
Oracle said it expects to receive regulatory approval from Russia and China in the short term.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Afina looks to recruit additional channel partners - Argentina
The Argentine unit of Spanish IT wholesaler Afina expects to expand its channel network in the local market, IT news service Canal Ar reported.
The company is mainly looking for channels for SonicWall and NetApp products, for which Afina plans to provide sales and technical support to the new partner network, Afina Argentina product manager Rodi Contino was reported as saying.
Founded in 1990, the company distributes products and services from the main IT vendors in the areas of infrastructure, security and virtualization and data center.
Among the company's main partners are SafeNet, Aruba Networks, Barracuda, Blue Coat, Check Point and Websense.
Headquartered in Madrid, Afina also has offices in Portugal, France, Morocco, Mexico, the US, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Peru.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* HSBC unit readying US$700mn in technology investments - Mexico
The Mexican unit of UK bank HSBC (NYSE: HBC) will invest US$700mn in new technologies over the next three years, online news source La Crónica de Hoy quoted HSBC Mexico's CEO, Luis Peña Kegel, as saying.
The expenditures are aimed at automating 6,300 ATMs and branches nationwide, allowing clients to carry out banking transactions more quickly and safely. HSBC Mexico will also use technology to help bring services to regions that lack banking institutions.
Peña said HSBC Mexico will look to strengthen its mobile banking services during the next few years, noting that many users shy away from transactions made over the internet or mobile phones due to security concerns.
In spite of inflationary concerns, Peña said the unit expects that credit requests will not fall during the first half of the year.
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,,/171077011
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Main companies covered in today's news
* Microsoft Corporation
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Microsoft_Corporation-Microsoft/171077011
* SAS Institute Inc.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/SAS_Institute_Inc,-SAS/171077011
* Websense, Inc.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Websense,_Inc,-Websense/171077011
* Hewlett-Packard Company
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Hewlett-Packard_Company-HP/171077011
* Companhia de Gás de São Paulo
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Companhia_de_Gas_de_Sao_Paulo-Comgas/171077011
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