Creative initiatives will have an impact in both cultural and economic terms around the world.

In today business environment, creativity is the key factor driving development.

Across the world, enterprises based on individual creativity are booming. Furthermore, knowledge and culture-based activities now play a central role in the activities of all businesses. This is the era of the creative economy. These changes are having a dramatic impact on global culture and on the economy.

Your goal as an administrator must be to help people engaged in the development of the creative economy to communicate and share resources with one another.

Hurry! Brazil is in need of Software for the Telecommunications Industry

The demand for telecommunication software is expected to grow as a result of the convergence of data, voice, and conventional and mobile telecommunications. The most significant topic in this sector is the increase of data communication in cellular telecommunications, which is expected to continue growing for the next few years.

As the largest and most dynamic IT market for the telecom industry in Latin America, Brazil offers significant opportunities for international suppliers of IT products and services for the telecom industry.

The Information Technology IT market for the telecom industry has outpaced Brazil’s economic performance. While the Brazilian GDP has grown 2.9%, the IT sector has grown 15% more than the previous year. The dynamic IT market for the telecom industry in Brazil is nothing new. During the last five years, this market has had an average annual growth of 18.6%, while GDP growth peaked at 5% during the same period; hence, the IT market has been expanding its share of GDP.

There will be a variety of opportunities in Brazil’s telecom sector. For example, the demand for telecommunications software is expected to grow as a result of the convergence of data, voice, and conventional and mobile telecommunications.
The most significant trend in this sector is the increase of data communication in cellular telecommunications, which is expected to continue for the next few years. Business opportunities over the coming years will be linked to increasing data traffic quality and broadband speed.

Tax breaks for Digital TV and semiconductors included in the Government Acceleration Program (PAC)

The Brazilian government's growth acceleration program (PAC) includes tax breaks to stimulate the national digital TV and semiconductor industries by exempting digital TV and semiconductor producers from PIS and Cofins social security taxes as well as IPI industrial tax and Cide tax.

The PAC program was introduced on January 22 with a goal of encouraging R$504bn (US$236bn) in public and private investment over the next four years.

The actions are divided into five groups:

1) Infrastructure (transport, sanitation and housing);
2) Credit stimulation;
3) Institutional development;
4) Tax exemption;
5) Long-term fiscal measures.

By including digital TV in the PAC program the government aims to create conditions that will enable the industry to start commercial transmissions by December this year.

The first digital TV set-top boxes should be on the shelves of shops by now.

The federal development bank BNDES is also studying options to provide a line of credit related to digital TV investments.

American FCPA law reaches Brazilian companies

The American law “Foreign Corrupt Practices Acts (FCPA)”, valid only for companies of North American nationality gained new understanding and its reach was extended for any company that operates in the U.S.A. financial market. With this, the 37 Brazilian companies that negotiate ADR (bonds receipts) in the New York Stock market are now under the same law, even in business done outside the U.S.A.

This is an important step in assuring transparency in international trade operations.

Achieve sustainable, successful international businesses

In today’s global market, businesses are trying to deal with high expectations and margin pressures.

One way to cope is by increasing the company participation in international markets (like Brazil), reaching to achieve sustainable and successful international businesses.

To do that and increase international market share, companies must focus on three main levers: accelerating innovation, enhancing local operational excellence, and empowering local information workers.

The ability to execute these strategies better and faster than your competitors is critical to success, and it requires new business processes or modification of existing ones...

Global environmental challenge: Doing our part by fully embracing telecommuting.

I’ve being “playing around” with the concept of a total new and radical approach to the way we do business, having in mind three priorities: 1) guarantying the success of our clients venture; 2) having a more productive and well-balanced workforce and; 3) reducing our energy consumption and carbon output at the same time.
To accomplish this challenge, I got to the conclusion that the best way to achieve those three goals (at the same time) is by fully embracing telecommuting, leaving our new energy-hungry corporate office and by that, reducing the use of our cars.

Background
Winston Churchill once said that “People trying to build the present merely in the image of the past, will miss out entirely on the challenges of the future.”
Futurist Alvin Toffler predicted a quarter of century ago, that “the rise of the electronic cottage would help usher in a more environmentally sustainable way of life, with new economic vitality and enhanced communities and families.”
Combining those two concepts and adding the technology advance of the century: the Internet; we have the answer we where looking for: Telecommuting.
CompuStream implemented Telecommuting (see News: CompuStream implements telecommuting to enable employees to perform some of their work from places other than their designated work location. - 6/1/2006) achieving great results, not only on employee morale but on client satisfaction.
The world is changing and this is now becoming a reality with a profound impact in energy consumption. One example: By 2005 telecommuters in Los Angeles and New York alone were saving almost $6 billion annually in energy costs. These telecommuters saved some 200 million gallons of fuel with attendant reductions in green-house gases – again, reduction of energy consumption and carbon output at the same time.

Conclusion
The future may not be as green as any of us would like, but if actions are taken now by small, medium and big companies across the corporate world, we may help reduce the damaging effects of climate change, have a better quality of life and, why not, increase profit…I am definitely considering leaving our new energy-hungry corporate office and by that, reducing the use of our cars.

What do you think?

Come on in, we are having a party!

Not long ago, a client from Atlanta-Georgia told me that every time he spoke to me he felt the joy and cheerfulness in the way I speak. He said that he related the feeling as if I was saying, “Come on in, we are having a party!”
Well, I am the first to admit that the atmosphere around the office is not one we would always describe as dancing-on-the-tables festive – especially when we are on a deadline – but he was right about the excitement and pleasure I find in what I am doing. Besides, a party is less about the setting and more about the people who are there and in this; I have always been very lucky with the client’s I worked with.
I am mentioning this because, yesterday, I spoke to a new client from Aruba and I felt the same way. I don’t know if the island had some influence but I am sure he was having a lot of fun doing what he was doing. I am very excited to start working with him.

A first step in playing a front-line role in saving the oceans

I read Seakeepers paper “11 Critical Ocean Issues, with Action Items for Concerned Citizens” (http://www.seakeepers.org/) and was very impressed by its content and the society’s objective.

I consider myself a sailor and “a man of the sea” and I would like to try to take some of the actions described in the city of Guaruja (http://www.guaruja.com.br/) - Sao Paulo – Brazil, concentrating at first in the pollution issue, one of the biggest problems of the city that sends all the sewage directly to the ocean.

I think that this would be (quoting part of Seakeepers mission) “...a first step in playing a front-line role in saving the oceans..."

At least in the beach community of Guarujá…You see, I believe in small steps.

But maybe my small steps, combined in some way with Big steps…like the one being made by Jean-Michel Cousteau’s (www.aote.org), DOW Brazil and the Programa Mangue Limpo - Unisanta (http://www.universiabrasil.net/noticia/materia_dentrodocampus.jsp?not=35690), that together, has launched this February, 23 in the city of Guarujá the environmental education program, Ambassadors of the Environment (AOTE) (http://www.aote.org/menu/prog/out/index.htm) an outreach program for elementary and middle school students with the goal of helping young people connect with the environment, each other and the future…can make a difference.

You are welcome if you want to help.

Wondering where and how all the data collected in the world is going to be used…

This one is more a concern than a comment...

At a recent Microsoft-sponsored database conference, Paul Flessner, Microsoft Senior Vice President of Server Applications, discussed the growth of data capacity requirements in layman’s terms:

• 1 MB (one million characters or so) = two novels (about 500 pages);
• 1 GB (1,000 MB) = about 1900 novels;
• 1 TB (1,000 GB) = about 1.9 million books (requiring 15 miles of bookshelves and 50,000 trees);
• 10 TB = about the size of the Library of Congress (LOC), or 19M books;
• 1 PB (1,000 TB) = 100 LOC's; in dollars, more money than in all the world's banks;
• 12 EB (1,000 PB) = total of human knowledge through 1999 (about 1.2 million LOC's)

The next 12 EB were created by 2002; 7 EB was created in 2003 alone.

At this rate, I don’t think humans could possibly keep up with all the data created and recorded.

It’s also clear that we keep accumulating data and that with technology, there is no restriction on the amount of data we can keep.

Anyway, I was wondering, after we get beyond the next+next 12 EB my question is: Where and how the data is going to be used?

New UCP 600: check its impact on your import/ export routine

The International Chamber of Commerce - ICC - announced in Paris, 4 December 2006, the publication of the 2007 Revision of Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits or, just UCP 600, (ICC Publication No. 600).

ICC’s new rules on documentary credits, which are used for letter of credit transactions worldwide, were approved by the ICC Commission on Banking Technique and Practice on 25 October 2006.

The implementation date is 1 July 2007 so, if you are involved in export/ import, hurry to understand it (more: http://www.iccwbo.org).

Basically, UCP 600 contains significant changes to the existing rules, including:

• A reduction in the number of articles from 49 to 39;
• New articles on “Definitions” and “Interpretations” providing more clarity and precision in the rules;
• A definitive description of negotiation as “purchase” of drafts of documents;
• The replacement of the phrase “reasonable time” for acceptance or refusal of documents by a maximum period of five banking days.

UCP 600 also includes the 12 Articles of the eUCP, ICC’s supplement to the UCP governing presentation of documents in electronic or part-electronic form.

What’s UCP 600 impact on your import/ export routine? Well, check any letter of Credit and you will see it written into virtually every one.