The Economic Crisis and IT Opportunities Theme of Rio Info 2009 in September
The current global economic and environmental crises are the principal themes of Rio Info 2009 – 7th National Business and Technology Conference, which will be held from September 9–11 at the Hotel Intercontinental in Rio de Janeiro. The Conference will address the question “How to do more with less: IT trends and opportunities in a time of crisis”. A portion of the event will be devoted to considering suggested select themes and/or those proposed via the internet.
Now in its 7th consecutive year, the event will feature national and international business roundtables composed of national and foreign companies, lectures and workshops. One exciting new addition to this year’s Conference is the “Innovation Hall” (“Salão da Inovação”), where proposals, software projects and innovative IT services – including those still in the planning stages yet nearing completion of a business plan – will be presented, discussed and evaluated by a commission of specialists, businesspeople and potential investors.
Crisis and Opportunities – The coordinator of the event is the president of the Union of Information Technology Companies of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Sindicato das Empresas de Informática do Estado do Rio de Janeiro [SEPRORJ]), Benito Paret. Mr. Paret explains that given the current global instability, Rio Info will be a unique forum for investigating new business opportunities and partnerships. “The global crisis will be the backdrop, with its challenges and opportunities in IT. There will be discussions, presentations of case studies and innovative proposals, with participation from executives, business people, market specialists and academics.”
Paret believes that now is the time to take measures to confront the crisis, “but also – and above all – to creatively develop positive, transformative processes, not merely to reduce costs. We need critical vision, always oriented toward possibilities, demands and pioneering experiences of transformation that technologies can bring to software companies, services, users and society in general.”
As the only event of its kind, Rio Info is the principal IT event held annually in the state of Rio de Janeiro and one of most important in Brazil. Space is allocated for presentations, discussion and evaluation of innovative proposals by new companies regardless of whether they are eventually implemented. As a result of the success of previous conferences, today Rio Info is a world-class venue for exposition and recognition for institutional and commercial IT companies, focused on the presentation of innovative technologies and discourse about the future of the industry.
Content and Critical Analysis – Rio Info is an event with an enormous amount of content and critical analysis related to the IT sector according to the coordinator of the Technology Seminar (Seminário de Tecnologia), Luiz Carlos de Sá Carvalho. One of the key points, he says, will be how to indentify IT products and services that will actually be valuable for users: “It is one of the critical challenges confronted by people who work in this sector. It is often necessary to shoulder a substantial investment of time, effort as well as investment capital simply to evaluate a new tool or working environment, and consequently one runs the risk of not being abreast the latest trends, or perhaps loses a professional or business opportunity.”
“This year we face immense transformations provoked by the global economic tumult, over and above the well-know environmental predicament. Will these powerful forces remain merely destructive waves? Or do we confront an opportunity for IT businesses, professionals and researchers to expand their vision and action plans by transforming this extraordinarily challenging moment into something positive and innovative?” asks Mr. Sá de Carvalho.
Roundtables – Rio Info 2009 will examine the trends, opportunities, business alternatives and the means by which IT is able to minimize the adverse effects of the current global turmoil (both economic and environmental) and eventually convert these into advantages. Discussion topics will include technical implications, the economic and legal aspects of the distribution of digital content, new proposals and opportunities and projects related to mobile solutions (cell phones, smart phones etc.) and protocols.
Themes such as Green IT, virtualization technologies and infrastructure cost reduction will also be on the agenda, along with economical methods and strategies for streamlining quality systems. The objective is to explore – from both conceptual and experimental perspectives – the principal tools, methods, perspectives, and economic and management implications in order to cope with the growing pressure for time and cost reductions, while maintaining high quality software products. Case studies and company projects will also be selected, including those which invest in certification processes (CMMI and MPS-Br).
Internet security and protection for both individuals and companies in a complex and interconnected world, one increasingly more dependent upon protective innovations, will be among the themes examined. Rio Info 2009 will also present and explore ideas associated with dynamic and creative experiences, including spontaneity exercises, supported by social networking sites: protocols and standards, uses and experiments, digital marketing, risks and limits of networks, opportunities for companies and individuals, control mechanisms, economic aspects, education, information and social deviation.
Workshops – Five workshops, lasting half a day each, will permit an in-depth look at the following themes: “Financing Opportunities: How to Develop Projects,” “Internet: Mobile Solutions (Marketing, Content Distribution, m-Commerce etc.),” “Agile Methods: State of the Art,” “Web 2.0 Projects” and “IB Solutions”.
Rio Info 2009 Solution Prize – A “Rio Info 2009 Solution Prize” will be awarded to provide incentive for IT solution development in Brazil. Awards will be presented to companies whose products stand out for quality, innovation, and aggregate value and importance for clients, among other criteria.
The Business Forum will consist of four specific modules:
International Business Meetings – This roundtable will help internationalize domestic IT companies through international partnerships with the objective of accelerating commercial and technical marketing improvements, enabling companies to gain a competitive edge. The focus here is on operations abroad not purely for the purpose of exportation, since “there is also a direct impact in terms of the generation of new jobs, the formation of professionals and the growth of Brazilian firms”, explains Giosafatte Gazzaneo, coordinator of the Business Forum. Participants will include firms from France, Spain, Portugal and Angola, among others.
National Business Meetings – The national business roundtable will begin with Information Technology and Communication (TIC) Network Services – created by the Stimulus of the Use of Information Technology in Micro and Small Enterprises Program (PROIMPE), developed by the Brazilian Micro and Small Enterprise Support Service (SEBRAE) – in partnership with the National Federation of IT Companies (FENAINFO), the Association of Brazilian IT, Software and Internet Companies (ASSESPRO) and Softex, with the objective of coordinating product availability and software service providers from each local market and corresponding firms seeking solutions. Some of the participating delegations include those from Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and Distrito Federal.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Meeting – This gathering will bring together Brazilian and invited Latin American companies for the presentation of case studies, exchange of experiences and partnership networking. It seeks to foster development via IT “incubator” companies, technological parks and entrepreneurship.
Business and Open Software Seminar – Lectures and panels will present and discuss Software in the Public Interest and the opportunities for MPEs and IT, the importance of government procurement of open source solutions, business models (legislation, licensing and distribution), and the contribution of corporate incentives and opportunities for companies in the e-Gov domain.
