Brazilian IT industry grows 15 percent in 2013

Investments in hardware, software and services in Brazil have seen a better-than-expected 15.4 percent uplift in 2013 in relation to the previous year, according to an annual report on sector performance by IDC.

The growth achieved last year equals an investment total of $61.6bn and surpassed the 14.5 percent rate for 2013 predicted in the previous edition of the report and ranks Brazil seventh in the global IT investment league, according to the research, commissioned by the Brazilian Association of Software Companies (ABES).

The research also suggests that Brazil accounts for 47.4 percent of the IT market in Latin America, despite having lower economic growth than Argentina, Peru, Venezuela and Chile in 2013. The total investment in IT in 2013 means Brazil retains a 3 percent slice of the global market.

"The 15.4 percent growth in IT investments exceeded the most optimistic expectations, driven primarily by growth in sales of new mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. The software and services industry grew 10.1 percent, impacted by the appreciation of the dollar against the real," says the president at ABES, Jorge Sukarie.

About $10.7bn were generated by the software sector alone, while services represent a $14.4bn chunk of the total amount invested in IT in Brazil during 2013, according to the IDC study.

Regarding the acquisition of software for sectors of the economy, the finance sector was the main buyer, with 26.3 percent of the total investment, followed by telecommunications with 24.4 percent and manufacturing with 20.2 percent.

According to the research, the Brazilian market for software and services is made up of micro and small enterprises, accounting for 43.9 percent and 49.6 percent of the sector, respectively. Mid-sized businesses account for 5.2 percent of the market, while large businesses account for only 1.3 percent of all companies active in the sector.