[Gufsc] Financial Times: Brazilian ministries plan move to free software

[Gustavo Bouzon]

A reportagem abaixo pode até já não ser novidade, mas é sempre 
interessante...

Tem um ponto que a reportagem toca, que pra mim é dúvida: o Ministério 
do Desenvolvimento andou alarmando que, dentro da nova política 
industrial, o Brasil vai investir em software, inclusive com vistas à 
exportação. Qual modelo de negócio vai ser pensado para exportação? 
Software Proprietário?

O que me parece é que o SL é uma preocupação somente da Casa Civil.

Estou mandando em anexo o "Plano de Política Industrial" que tirei da 
página do Min. Desenvolvimento. É interessante ver que em "Opções 
Estratégicas: TI/Software" (página 5), software livre aparece como uma 
coisa de gueto.

Ah, engraçada no texto é a afirmação de um tal Gilberto Lima Junior.

Até, Gustavo Bouzon.
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INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY: Brazilian ministries plan move to free software
By Raymond Colitt in São Paulo
Financial Times; Apr 22, 2004

Brazil's left-leaning federal government is set to adopt free software 
on a big scale in an effort to save taxpayers billions of dollars and 
increase independence from multinational suppliers such as Microsoft.

At least five ministries in the federal government are to switch their 
internet web servers and most desktop computers to free software, such 
as Linux, the alternative operating system to Microsoft Windows. Already 
nearly a dozen government agencies, including the defence ministry, have 
used free software on a trial basis.

In addition, Brasília is providing incentives for state and local 
governments to follow. Next week more than 1,400 computer technicians 
are being trained to install and operate free software in public offices 
throughout the country.

While some government agencies in France, China and Germany have adopted 
free software, Brazil could become the largest government client yet.

Unlike proprietary software, the source code of free software is 
available to the public and can be altered by anyone. Providers of free 
software usually earn a fee by providing a service for the product.

Brazil's move, based on an initiative that emerged with the president's 
chief of staff, is a further blow to proprietary software developers 
such as Microsoft, which has seen Linux make significant inroads in 
several markets. Adopting open-source software will save the federal 
government hundreds of millions of dollars in annual licence fees paid 
for commercial licences. In 2001 it paid US$1.1bn (€920m, £615m) for 
such licences.

The move will heighten the diversity of government suppliers and help 
develop Brazil's home-grown software industry. "We will no longer depend 
on a single supplier but have competition," Sergio Amadeu, head of the 
government's information technology institute, told the FT. Open-source 
software will "drive local intelligence" because it involves many 
participants, Mr Amadeu said.

Most of Brazil's competitive software industry focuses on the large 
domestic market. The government has declared software exports one of its 
four priorities of industrial policy.

But industry leaders cautioned that the benefit for locals would depend 
on the procurement terms. "If we replace imported commercial software 
with imported free software, there won't be much benefit will there?" 
said Gilberto Lima Junior, head of Brains, a group of Brazilian software 
exporting companies.

While many public bodies have autonomy over their information 
technology, the government has issued directives that provide incentives 
to adopt free software.

Brazil has one of the world's highest internet and personal computer 
growth rates. It ranks eighth in the number of web servers.

Government IT spending in Brazil makes up only 6 per cent of Microsoft's 
total revenues, compared with 10 per cent in most countries. Yet 
analysts say the computerisation of Brazil's public sector is growing 
fast and could trigger a domino effect in the private sector.

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