But what kind of leadership is there at SoftDesign? How does the company foster a culture of innovation for employees and customers? And how do these characteristics impact the projects undertaken and the creation of new digital businesses?

We spoke with our CEO and founder, Osmar A. M. Pedrozo, to ponder these questions. After all, no one is better suited than him to explore topics that are so relevant to the world of startups and enterprises.

Where it All Started

SoftDesign – This November (2022), SoftDesign turned 25 years. Along this journey, a lot has happened, but how did it all start?

Osmar A. M. Pedrozo – It all started with a personal need. 25 years ago, I didn’t imagine myself as an entrepreneur, nor did I imagine where SoftDesign could reach. I worked as a contractor for a large technology company, which was developing a project for the Government at the Center for Information and Communication Technology of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (PROCERGS).

That contract ended, and so I was challenged to provide services to the Company, but I would need to compete with other companies through bidding processes. But at that time, I still didn’t have a company. Therefore, this was a period of learning, which resulted in the foundation of SoftDesign, in 1997. The first contracts arrived in 1999 when we won our first bid.

At that stage, we worked mainly for the government. Over the years, I decided to invite others to join the company. The first guest was Eduardo Farah, who is still our investing partner. In 2001, we were still working individually for several technology companies, acting in consulting – projects that we kept in parallel for some time.

In the fourth year, I realized that I had people skills. At that time, I was working as a programmer and I didn’t know I had this soft skill. That’s when they started looking for me to ask for professional referrals for specific jobs and projects. With this happening more and more frequently, I had the idea of offering this service through SoftDesign, which was also hired to supply a demand for IT professionals.

Expanding the Business

SD – How was this initial process of growth and expansion for SoftDesign?

OP – In 2002, with the evolution of the company, we started hiring employees. I concluded that our business had a lot of potential and that I could manage it along with other consulting activities. In 2003, SoftDesign grew even more, and I invited Rafael Paludo to join the team of partners.

This expansion led us to better structure the services provided. However, I make a point of remembering that when it all started, our first headquarters was my apartment. Farah and I lived in the same building, in Porto Alegre. This was the initial address of SoftDesign, which was born in the same way as many startups.

In 2004, we had more employees and many of these people became partners over time. Over these years, we have created many projects and delivered software to important clients such as Fundação Carlos Chagas, from Sao Paulo. At that time, web systems were rare and I remember that we developed an online test for the Foundation, our first “software factory” client.

Shortly thereafter, we bought SoftDesign’s first headquarters in 2005. The office was located at Rua Siqueira Campos, on the 11th floor. I can say that the beginning of our Brazilian software company was marked by problem-solving, entrepreneurship, team building, and a lot of collaborative work. We were a group of good professionals, all very technical, who got together on Saturdays to manage a software company.

The Beginning of the Climb

SD – How were the first 15 years of SoftDesign? What happened in this story that contributed to the evolution of the company?

OP – The history of SoftDesign is a history of learning. We were a group of excellent technicians, mostly programmers, but with little knowledge of management. We had to learn everything: how to run a Brazilian software company, hiring and firing people, and how to pay taxes. I can say that we made a lot of mistakes in this process, but we learned from our mistakes and evolved.

It is precisely for this reason that I talk a lot about transformation, because I believe that we were transformed at the same time that we were creating the company. Chronologically speaking, six years after the foundation we bought our first headquarters and I believe this is a great milestone in our history.

In 2009, we carried out the first evaluation of the MPS.BR Program (Improvement of the Brazilian Software Process) – a kind of ISO in the technology area – and we reached the G level. This was our first quality seal. In 2013, we reached level E, and we became the first technology company in Rio Grande do Sul to achieve this classification.

At that time, we also bought SoftDesign’s new headquarters, located in the same building, but now in a much larger space, which was completely renovated in 2014. In other words, the first 15 years were marked by great achievements: purchase of the new headquarters, formation of the new corporate structure, increase in share capital, and technical evolution of our employees.

Lifelong Learning

SD – After more than a decade of learning and evolution, SoftDesign went through many transformations that shaped the company. What were they?

OP – There are many important and decisive facts in the history of SoftDesign. As time went by, we learned. I, for example, in addition to acting as a technician, also had to become a good manager. Therefore, in 2011 I graduated in Accounting from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS).

This was an important step and, soon after, in 2011, I started taking a Postgraduate Studies Program in Controllership, at UFRGS. The search for knowledge is something that has always been in SoftDesign’s DNA. We didn’t stop in time simply because we opened a company and we were doing well. We continue to invest in training and this continues to this day. 

With that in mind, in 2016 I started a Master’s in Business Administration (UFRGS). At the same time, I also lived for a month in the United States, in California. My goal was to study and learn a little more about how things worked or should work in the world of a technology company. This exchange and the Master’s innovation courses changed my way of thinking and helped shape the new SoftDesign.

The year of 2016 was also remarkable, as it was when I took over the company’s strategic management in a more incisive way. I asked SoftDesign’s partners for a vote of confidence to start a major transformation. After all, we had been with the company for almost twenty years and things could be bigger and better, as there was room for growth.

It’s Time to Innovate

SD – After changing the company’s management model, what were the main changes that occurred?

OP – From the master’s degree, also attended by the Head of Product and Innovation at SoftDesign, Karina Hartmann, we began to debate a lot about how the company was and how it could be. I remember a time when we did a project on SoftDesign, and one of our professors said that because it was a Brazilian software company, we needed to have a bigger and better result. I confess that I was bothered by this, but I realized that he was right.

So, in the last five years, we started to innovate and improve processes. We had an agile revolution and left the traditional world of Project Management. Anyone who has experienced this knows that this movement represents a huge change in the organization and, in our specific case, it affected the way we think, sell, attract customers and deliver software.

In addition, with the arrival of Digital Marketing, we began to develop new short and long-term strategies. The fruits of these actions were harvested in 2019. At this stage, several areas of the company changed. Also, I really became a CEO, making decisions that were not so collegiate and more individual.

Another important change was training in innovation. We went through a process with PUCRS, which helped us to understand that SoftDesign was indeed an innovative technology company.

Welcome to the Startup World

SD – Another significant change was the beginning of partnerships with startups, right?

OP – Yes! In 2016, we started working with startups, and we experienced a strong wave of innovation in our projects. With that, we had to remodel ourselves to serve companies that didn’t even exist yet. This resulted in a more open working model. Our head office has become an even more collaborative space, bringing employees and clients together.

I felt that SoftDesign and I became more innovative as a result of these changes and transformations. These last five years represent that. We changed everything: processes, development, tools, and platforms. We also made room for a Culture of Experimentation.

With this new SoftDesign, new Marketing, Pre-Sales and Sales structures also arrived. In the areas of HR and ADM, we have adopted platforms to assist in the process of selecting people and managing them. One consequence of these improvements was the growth of the team. Anyway, I believe that nothing is by chance. Everything was thought and built to get us where we are today.

This period was more than a turning point. In a way, it prepared us for future challenges. When the Covid-19 pandemic began, we had already undergone many transformations in processes, that is, we were prepared to grow. And we grew a lot in 2020, 2021 and 2022 – which will be our best year in terms of revenue, new clients and internationalization. This was only possible due to investment in training decision-makers. Through knowledge, we change the reality of technology companies.

Technology and Humanity

SD – Those were years of many changes that took us away from the former SoftDesign. Therefore, in 2021 we started a rebranding process: we felt that our old brand no longer represented us. What was it like to participate in this project?

OP – For me, there were many different feelings involved. Looking back, I can say that it was a moment that helped to end this cycle of the last five years. The old brand, created in 2009, brought us here. However, we had already achieved our strategic vision, which was to be a Brazilian software company recognized for its technical capacity and commitment.

We discovered this during the research process carried out on the rebranding. Even so, it is difficult to go through the step of removing a brand from the wall and replacing it with a new one. At first, I was quite worried, but with the result we achieved in the repositioning, I realized that we managed to revisit the feeling we always had.

We were able to reproduce the purpose that permeates the entire history of the organization over these 25 years: transforming people and businesses. That’s what we’ve done all this time, and that’s what we like to do. We are very happy with the new brand, but it is clear that the process was conflicted due to everything that the old brand delivered.

Far Beyond the Code

SD – In August 2022, we launched our new brand, along with new positioning. What has changed? What are the new values and essence of SoftDesign?

OP – The new brand has a lot of what we’ve always been. We remain committed and in search of a position of recognition. In the past, our vision was more developmental, but we have matured. This maturing process made us realize that we want to participate in the entire innovation journey of our clients’ digital solutions.

We don’t want to be just a Brazilian software company that takes an order and delivers a product. We want to question and help our partners to see what we see during our innovation processes. This means that we want to help other companies be as trailblazing and authentic as we are.

These are values that we consider essential. After all, if we want to work with innovation, we need to be transformative, innovative and strategic. Technology plays a fundamental role in companies and should not be used only as a support for the operation, as it has the potential to leverage business.

That’s why we want to do it together, and this is a statement that was missing from our previous positioning. We want to be co-creators in light and human processes, as this is a fundamental condition for the new worlds that came after the pandemic. With that in mind, we promote adaptation to transform the client’s reality, while remaining responsible, experienced and specialist.

In addition, the relationship of trust and transparency remains the same and we want to further strengthen it to deliver transformative digital solutions. SoftDesign is a reference in the innovation journey, from idea to result. We understand that by putting these values into practice we will be able to achieve goals and create digital solutions that people love to use.

Follow The Leader of a Brazilian Software Company

SD – The innovation journey is a collective construction, but it is only possible with leadership. How do you deal with the challenge of playing the role of leader in a software company with more than 160 people spread across the world?

OP – I don’t do this alone. I have a very close relationship with several people who manage SoftDesign and that makes all the difference. What I seek is to have an alignment between how I would do things and how I would like them to be done. First, we need to believe in people and have good replicators, that is, managers who help make the company work.

When we work with transparency, without command and control, people tend to deliver their best. I see how these 25 years have transformed me into a leader of a Brazilian software company who doesn’t panic, who thinks calmly and reflects before making a decision. Also, I was able to reduce my impulsiveness by gaining more experience.

I believe there are excellent people working with me. I trust them and I hope they trust me. Through this relationship, I understand that I can help transform lives, finding a path for the professional development of each SoftDesign employee.

I think all the time about how to develop people, and that’s what positions me as a leader. I always liked professors who instigated me with challenges and, therefore, I try to replicate this behavior in the company. This is not a difficult task for me.

Inheritance, Authenticity, and Transformation

SD – Our culture of collaboration is only possible because of this trust. What leadership style do you exercise? What leadership style does SoftDesign, as a Brazilian software company have? How does it affect the development of the clients’ projects?

OP – I follow the democratic and situational style, which values an empathetic and questioning leadership, and which often causes a certain astonishment among clients and new employees. In Brazil, we have a very strong culture of direction. We came from a dictatorship that said what we could or couldn’t do, and for a long time we were trained to follow orders.

I don’t know how to give orders and my way of thinking can lead to conflicts with people who belong to a culture of hierarchy, and professionals who need someone to say what should be done. At SoftDesign we don’t do that, because we are horizontal. We believe that this way we boost high performance, as we share a more open, transparent perspective, of trust and courage, so that everyone can ask and express opinions.

In a conversation with one of our international clients, I was told that our differentiator in relation to other partners, from other countries, is precisely the questioning. This critical sense is very important in the process of creating digital solutions. After all, we believe that it is necessary to participate in the innovation process and not just execute it.

This behavior is a consequence of democratic leadership. I don’t feel better than anyone and I’m not. At SoftDesign, we give everyone a voice. I also use situational leadership a lot, that is, I am several people depending on each person and situation since I need to understand and connect with each one, respecting their moment and their career goals.

Knowledge Is The Secret To Innovate

SD – In addition to leadership and culture, innovation has also become a matter of survival in the business world. How do you see innovation at SoftDesign?

OP – I go back to that fateful year of 2016, when a master’s professor told me that “innovation is at the limit of knowledge”. I’ve searched my whole life for the discovery of new things to share my learnings. At SoftDesign, we have always contributed by paying for certifications, courses, undergraduate, graduate, master’s, programs etc. We always had in mind that we needed to know a lot to evolve. To survive, not only a Brazilian software company but all companies need to innovate, study and learn. I’ve seen this happening at SoftDesign since the beginning.

A culture of knowledge supports a culture of innovation. One does not occur without the other. Therefore, we continue to learn, experiment, create services and reflect on innovation. We work in search of continuous improvement; the Product Conception service, for example, is our creation. When we started offering it in Brazil, nobody did that, nobody called it this, and as a result, our method was copied several times.

We recently launched other services: Product Experimentation and Product Marketing Consulting. We understand that to achieve results we need to launch the product, not just find the market fit and develop it. I want SoftDesign to be even more innovative. We are working and developing an exclusive area of innovation, which will allow us to continue studying, learning, experimenting and adding new services.

Today, I still consider this process slow. Cycles are long, so I want to reduce the time to launch new services and process improvements. The main objective is to help our customers in their innovation journey. While we are learning, we will be innovating. That’s how a Brazilian software company stays alive.

Demystifying Innovation

SD – We often have the idea that in order to innovate we need to create something disruptive, capable of changing an industry, service or behavior in society. But innovation can be more subtle. How does SoftDesign propose to innovate in digital products for clients?

OP – I understand that in order to innovate in customer products we cannot only think about development, and here I am referring specifically to programming, for example. I believe that we need to unite a series of other types of knowledge to achieve the objective of innovating in digital solutions.

It is necessary to go through an exceptional product conception, composed of research with users, benchmarking analysis of existing products and creation of a business model. That is, to innovate we have to go deeper, and this requires knowledge about the business, customer, product or service we are creating.

It is important to understand that to innovate, we also need to test. That’s why we launched the Product Experimentation service, which proposes testing and simulations of low-investment strategies, such as low-code and no-code, before Software Development. In this way, we try to validate hypotheses that arise in the creation of the product to reduce the investment risk.

However, risk is part of innovation, as I mentioned in the lecture I gave at the Gramado Summit 2022. At SoftDesign, when we talk about innovation in digital products for clients, we are looking at the entire journey of creating a product or service and not just development. We participate from idea to result, sharing the know-how we have in the areas of design, technology, marketing, research, among others.

Many companies, depending on their size, do not have all this knowledge. Therefore, through our methods and specialties, we drive the innovation process in startups, scale-ups and corporates, creating solutions that generate impact.

The Future is Now

SD – And what can we expect in the coming years? How do you think technology and IT will impact future businesses?

OP – All technologies play a fundamental role in businesses. Especially IT, since today technology is the core business of many companies. I understand that more and more businesses will be impacted by this, and those who do not understand this relation, who do not learn to deal with current and future technologies – whether to support their daily operation or to build new services or products – will be obsolete soon.

It’s a matter of time: if you haven’t developed the ability to adapt, you won’t digitally transform. Digital transformation is about knowing how to deal with technology and knowledge. This is a complex path and we will increasingly have this strong dependence on Information Technology, which will represent much of the current operations of companies, whether in terms of what they sell or what they will sell.

There is no escaping this reality. Either we learn to deal with the concept of software development, or companies will find it difficult to evolve their own businesses, especially a Brazilian software company like SoftDesign. We saw a simulation of this in the pandemic, when many businesses ceased to exist, as they were unable to sell online and transform themselves digitally. This is not a fast process. It takes time, a culture of innovation and maturity.

In addition, there are many trends emerging in the technology market: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Science are good examples. Most companies are using this in a very incipient way, but those who put these ideas into practice will have a competitive advantage. In Brazil, we are still working a lot in the process of computerization and creation of systems. There are many opportunities to grow and innovate.  

Start your Innovation Journey!

Investing in innovation is not an exclusive need for a software company. To keep business relevant and competitive in a changing society, having an IT partner is crucial.

With experience in the national and international markets, we are a company specializing in the innovation journey in digital solutions, from idea to result. Our Product Conception, Product Experimentation, Software Development, Consulting, and Outsourcing services drive the creation of digital products and services that transform businesses and simplify users’ lives.

If you are looking for an experienced, responsible, and innovative Brazilian software company, fill out the form below and talk to one of our specialists. Together, let’s start your innovation journey!

O post 25+ Years Delivering High-Value Solutions: Brazilian Software Company apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.

Amid a scenario full of uncertainties and risks, the event brought more than 71,000 people (42% women) together to discuss the role of technology in the future of society. In times of the pandemic, wars, and political, economic, and environmental crises around the world, experts and global leaders shared trends and pointed out paths for 2023.

Opening Night

During the opening ceremony, Paddy Cosgrave, CEO and Founder of the Web Summit, highlighted in his speech that this year’s edition was the largest ever. In addition, he highlighted the significant increase in the number of Brazilian and Ukrainian startups at the conference.

Among the speakers at the opening ceremony were the Minister of Economy of Portugal, António Costa Silva, the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, Apple’s VP of Environmental Initiatives, Lisa Jackson, and Binance Co-founder & CEO, Changpeng Zhao. Even with so many distinguished presences from the world of business and public administration, the highlight of the night was the surprise participation of Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine.

In her speech, Olena shared reports of the war that the country is experiencing, which started in February this year, and appealed to the audience for technology not to be used in the service of terrorism. “Your innovations move the world and, more than that, you have the power to determine the direction in which this world moves”, she said, on the central stage of the Altice Arena.

Data Accessible to All

On the first day of lectures at Web Summit, François-Xavier Pierrel highlighted in the “D is for Data” panel that it is time to decentralize and democratize data. However, JCDecaux’s Group Chief Data Officer explained that this does not mean that we will have the answers to all questions. “For the last two years, we couldn’t predict what was going to happen, and it had a huge impact on our lives. The question is: how will we react to these unpredictable scenarios?”.

For Pierrel, the answer is through data division. “What we’ve built through data analysis is the ability to respond to any scenario as quickly as possible, to make sure we can overcome any crisis and keep the business running. The unpredictable can be extremely negative, but also surprisingly positive. This will depend on our ability to find answers and opportunities”.

Collect, activate, structure, transform, leverage, and explore are key steps in a data-driven strategy. After reaching this cycle, JCDecaux set a new goal: to implement the D Strategy – Decentralize, Democratize, Demultiply. This strategy has three main objectives: 1) expand the data community within the organization; 2) expand access to data to as many people as possible, and 3) enhance the ability to drive innovation.

According to Pierrel, data is a fantastic lever to achieve any business objective. “I’m not suggesting that people become Data Analysts, but I think it’s important that all levels of the organization realize the value of data. This can be put into practice through a click, learn, export, and get back to work. There is no need to dive deep into data because what we really want is for them to support people’s decision-making in their areas of expertise”, he concluded.

Turn Uncertainties into Opportunities

The Fintech market — considered a global phenomenon — has become a saturated and highly competitive environment. With an economic recession on the way, the MoneyConf stage gathered a significant audience in the 2022 edition of Web Summit. To discuss the future of the sector, experts shared analyzes and forecasts in the “Fintech 2023: what next?” panel.

According to Tegan Kline, Co-founder of Edge & Node, Fintechs experienced a huge boom due to the inability of large banks to take advantage of technology. “Traditional banks do not serve individual users, as they are concentrated in customer volumes and corporate accounts. That’s why platforms like PayPal, which basically charge no transaction fees, are successful”.

Tegan pointed out that it is difficult to predict how the market will react, but guarantees that there are many opportunities in the crisis. “Businesses are emerging and there are areas that we are not paying much attention to yet: NFTs and Cryptocurrencies, for example, a branch where many people invest millions of dollars”.

According to Carolyn Rodz, Founder of Hello Alice, we all want freedom of choice, as well as knowing how banks operate and share our information. “Right now, the market is terrible, and we’re likely to be impacted one way or another. We represent a very small slice of the financial market (2%), but there are opportunities emerging, and we need to be attentive while the economy recovers”.

Carolyn highlighted that the market will react and that the key to this is understanding how Fintechs can work together with banks and governments, as they have a lot of power and influence. Tegan agrees that systems need to be decentralized. “I believe in the potential of the metaverse and the blockchain. What Google does for the decentralization of the web, The Graph does for Web3. Decentralized networks guarantee open data, always available and easily accessible”.

Brazil In Focus

Even with the forecast of a challenging economic scenario for the next year, Brazil was represented at the event in prominent stands, and by thousands of entrepreneurs and hundreds of startups. In the panel “Brazil in focus: why is the startup ecosystem booming?” Felipe Matos, President of the Brazilian Association of Startups (Abstartups) said he believes there are many reasons why the Brazilian ecosystem is growing so much.

For Matos, the pandemic boosted this growth. “We had an increase in digital demand at a time when the macroeconomic scenario in our country was favorable. With that, we managed to attract a lot of investments during the last two years. In 2021, Brazil raised 9.8 billion dollars in Venture Capital investments, and now we already have 16 unicorns, and in 2018 this number was basically zero”.  

Mariana Vasconcelos is the Founder & CEO of Agrosmart, and when she started as an entrepreneur, there was practically no ecosystem. “I come from the countryside and in Brazil there is a lot of business concentration in São Paulo, which makes access to institutions like Abstartups, for example, difficult. So we went through a different step-by-step process starting at the local university, which connected us with a startup accelerator, which then introduced us to investors. When we started, there was little capital available, angel investors and the legal framework for startups was not regulated yet”.

Brazil represents a giant market. We are 214 million people, and there are many bureaucratic and tax-related challenges. According to Mariana, in the future, our country will be a power in the provision of ecosystem services. “Brazil is a huge agricultural producer and exporter. I believe we have an opportunity to increase our market value through the intersection of agriculture and technology. This will allow us to create business models to finance a transition that will result in the export of more environmental services.”

The Future of Marketing

On the second day of lectures at Web Summit, one of the main featured panels was Marketing in 2023, with Sir Martin Sorrell, Founder of S4 Capital, and Julia Goldin, Global Chief Product & Marketing Officer of Lego. The experts spoke about trends for the future and discussed the economic recession and the political crisis.

According to Sorrell, 2023 will be a very difficult year. “The next ten years will be very different from today’s reality, due to new technologies and the fragmentation of the world. I believe that the North and South American markets will be more relevant. We have more than ever to be strategic when making bets on how to invest and where to expand geographically.”   

Julia pointed out that for the Lego Group, diversification into multiple markets is important, mainly to achieve the purpose of impacting the largest possible number of children around the world. “We opened a new factory in Vietnam, aiming to have more representation and visibility. The Asian market is certainly expanding”.

Julia also highlighted that in times of economic uncertainty, it is normal for companies and consumers to be afraid. “Thinking about business, this means that we need to pay even more attention to the experience we deliver along with products and services. We are very focused on creating the best products, taking into account important points such as passion and desire to buy, delivering an incredible holistic experience”.

The evolution of the digital environment and the metaverse are also opportunities to expand markets, as they facilitate the segmentation of audiences, which is excellent for marketing. “These spaces will be enabled with new technologies that will be more immersive and advanced. This will create opportunities for people to engage across different devices and connect with millions of people at the same time”, Julia concluded.

The Future of Software

Another talk that gathered many participants at the Web Summit was “Software may be eating the world, but low-code could eat software”. According to John Brisco, Co-founder & CEO of Coherent, software companies have begun to break ties with traditional organizations: “What we have seen in the last ten years is the creation of companies like Netflix, Airbnb, and Uber, which use software to promote a disruption in business models”, he explained.

However, as time went by and with the emergence of low-code and no-code, the software also began to experience a disruptive process. For Christine Spang, Co-founder & CTO of Nylas, in the last decade many people started to have interactions with software, mainly when creating businesses. This resulted in a high shortage of professionals. “We don’t have enough people to create that much code anymore. Low-code requires little knowledge of programming languages and, therefore, has become a solution for those who need to develop”.

According to experts, in the future, we will all be developers. “The reality is that there are not that many programmers in the world. Therefore, we need alternatives that can help in the more efficient use of these professionals. Low-code will be present in 65% of new applications by 2024. This will happen because it is easier, simpler, and more efficient”, emphasizes Brisco. 

Programming remains one of the most promising careers in the modern world. However, for Brisco, in the universe of startups, it is not just programmers who develop businesses. “The successful professionals of the future will be those who manage to translate traditional programming languages, while learning new technologies such as low-code and no-code, for example. Teams will be increasingly collaborative. If you transit between these two worlds, you will certainly have a guaranteed job”, he concluded.

The Future of Social Networks

Finally, we will share important insights from the lecture “Search beyond the search: the biggest opportunity in digital marketing”, in which Neil Patel, Co-founder of NPD (Neil Patel Digital), highlighted that users are more active on social networks than on search sites. “Google searches appear in the 5th position of the list that ranks the use of media on the internet, where videos watched on TikTok are in first place”.

Patel pointed out that marketing is becoming increasingly crowded and expensive, and with so much competition, there are many sites sharing the same information. With that in mind, how can we become relevant among those who really matter to our business? 

The answer lies precisely in the search for information. “From the moment we are born, we seek knowledge. And an important fact is that 15% of all searches on Google have never been searched before. This is important because if you are always chasing what others are doing, it becomes very competitive”.

Neil Patel said he believes search engines transform us. “During the journey of discovery, people change as they learn. The same happens with the algorithms, which adapt according to what the user is looking for. If they see that the second result was considered more valuable, they automatically start changing what will be shown to you and millions of other people. That’s the power of the search engine”.    

Over time, patterns of behavior change, and so do algorithms. Ever wonder if your product users are searching for information via voice, text, on a computer, or with the help of Alexa? For Patel, original content can be the key to standing out among so many repeaters.

Resilience to Drive Businesses and Boost Innovation

According to the speakers who spoke at the event, the coming years will be full of challenges, which is why resilience remains on the list of essential behavioral skills for professionals in the technology sector. However, not everything is in crisis; in 2023 Web Summit will have its first event outside Europe.

The summit will be held in Rio de Janeiro between the 1st and 4th of May and should bring 15,000 people together. In November of the same year, the conference will return to the stage of the Altice Arena, in Lisbon. We are already looking forward to these next editions, and we hope to meet our Anexth partners again, who in this year’s edition were part of the Beta startups team.

If you need help developing transformative digital solutions, contact us using the form below. Maybe next year, your business may also make it to the list of startups at the largest technology conference in Europe.

O post Web Summit 2022: Data Science, MKT and Low-Code apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.

At Web Summit 2021, world leaders shared important insights into the future of technology and society. In the following article, we will share highlights of speakers from large companies in the global market, such as Microsoft and SAP. Among the main themes are advances from the Covid-19 pandemic, remote work, agile transformation, and low-carbon economy.

Technology and Awareness in the Pandemic

According to the president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, the world desperately needs solutions to current environmental problems. Therefore, new inventions need to be aligned with strategies aimed at sustainability, as only through awareness will we be able to build the future of technology that will revolutionize and preserve life on earth.

“Many companies say that they contribute to preserving the environment by paying for trees not to be cut down. However, paying people not to cut trees is like hiring someone to do nothing. With our arms crossed, we won’t solve the world’s problems“.

Smith emphasizes the importance of developing new technologies that enable a greener market and an even more effective remote working model. Furthermore, he highlights that we need to build new industries, with purpose and innovation to do what the world needs to be done.

“We never know precisely where the future will take us. Therefore, the role of technology companies should be to create tools that help to connect and empower people in remote environments. We are different and we want to work in different ways and places. Think of it as an opportunity to create successful jobs and businesses.”

Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, on the center stage of Web Summit 2021.
Photo: Stephen McCarthy.

How to Turn Promises into Progress?

In this post-pandemic scenario, we all have a big commitment: to create a “new normality”. With this in mind, Microsoft is committed to zero carbon emissions by 2030. For Smith, the “new normality” is to be Net Zero, that is, all energy consumed on-site is also generated on-site. “I am optimistic as I see people and leaders finally debating issues and thinking of strategies to measure and reduce their carbon emissions. I believe that this is an important step towards progress”, he contextualizes.

In a globalized and constantly evolving world, it is common for us to use the same words, even if we do not speak the same language. Therefore, Microsoft’s president proposes the creation of a universal carbon language, based on the four Rs of sustainability: rethink, reuse, reduce and recycle. “We need to learn from our business experiences around the world. Microsoft is committed to transparency and the United Nations Global Compact“.

According to Smith, one of the first lessons we learn in business is that we can’t manage what we can’t measure. With carbon emissions, it is no different. Therefore, we need to move from mathematics to carbon accounting, in order to put effective actions into practice.

“If we can measure something in scale, we can automate this process. It is time to build a new ecosystem that connects sources directly. This is the future of technology we want and need in order to save the planet. Together, let’s put the world and ourselves on the path that turns promises into progress.”

Progress is in Agile Transformation

 Reducing carbon emissions is also a corporate goal of SAP, a German company that develops software for business process management. According to Juergen Muller, CTO at SAP, in some parts of the world, we are still very divided, but if we look at the Inequality Crisis and at the Climate Crisis, we can all conclude that the planet will not last much longer in the current situation.

We know that technology is synonymous with change, but what do we want as a society? Muller points out that at SAP there is a lot of dialogue about the future of technology and work. “Inequality continues to grow and we believe that learning is the best way to reduce these gaps. Many people, even the financially vulnerable, have smartphones. With that in mind, we provide free courses on our platforms, with the aim of training the workforce”.

The Climate Crisis is a reality, as well as the scarcity in certain professional markets. To resolve these issues, we need cooperation between nations and software that helps companies work efficiently and with planning. “We believe that everything that can be automated must be automated and that companies need to develop increasingly organized processes. It’s very difficult to find the right person with the skill necessary; therefore, we are always monitoring the market, which is increasingly challenging and global”.

Muller highlights that there are many questions that need to be answered within organizations, such as how to build a culture of engagement and sustainability? How can we be sure we produce enough to meet demand? How to have the best people and raw materials? How much energy and money does it take to put plans into action? These issues are complex but generate debates that are essential for building a mindset based on Agile Methods.

Juergen Mueller, CTO at SAP and Janosch Delcker, CTC at DW, on the CIS stage of Web Summit 2021. Photo: Diarmuid Greene.

What to Expect from the Future of Technology?

Innovation continues to dictate the pace of the market. According to Nico Gramenz, CEO of Factory Berlin, an ecosystem that helps startups from more than seventy countries, industrialization has placed us on another level of society. Therefore, it is time to unite people and technologies.

“Technology should be bringing ideas together and shortening distances, however, we have many challenges to improve this purpose. Web Summit, for example, is no longer just a startup movement. We are here to get to know each other, strengthen ties and work towards global goals, anticipating society trends and building the future of technology“, he analyzes.

Gramenz believes we need more sustainable unicorns and initiatives capable of creating marketplaces with more financial equity. “We are different people, creating businesses around the world. But, after all, how do we do this without forgetting the social impact?”. For Gabriel Braga, CEO of QuintoAndar — a Brazilian startup focused on renting and selling real estate — everything we do has benefits and consequences, and sometimes innovation is responsible for causing distinct effects on society and on stakeholders, which could result in negative impacts on communities.

Braga contextualizes that, in Brazil, QuintoAndar challenges the status quo and invests in innovation to revolutionize the real estate market. “When you identify a problem, you have an opportunity to solve it at the same time. I believe that there are more and more responsible companies with a positive impact on our society. Therefore, we need to reflect as entrepreneurs and citizens: right now, does the world need more unicorns or high-impact social initiatives?”

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/websummit/

Made in Brazil

When asked about the current impacts of political instability in the country at Web Summit 2021, the CEO of QuintoAndar highlighted that the political environment can greatly benefit business — especially when there is predictability and stability. “I agree that the Political Crisis is a challenge for companies in Brazil and Latin America. It would be easier if we were aligned and integrated into a structured economic development plan. However, innovation is happening even without an ideal scenario”, he guarantees.

Being a unicorn startup requires talent, a plan of action and expansion, and, of course, a loyal and massive user base. QuintoAndar reached this position in 2019, after a USD 250 million investment round. So what can we expect from the Brazilian startup in the coming years?

“We have a lot of work to do in Brazil. However, we have already started our internationalization plan in Latin America and we will open an office in Lisbon soon, with the aim of expanding the market in Europe. It is a big challenge, but we’re very happy”, Braga shares.

The CEO also spoke about the future of technology, highlighting the Fintechs — startups in the financial sector that drive innovation and make society more efficient and inclusive. “In the coming years, we will see many things change around us. With the pandemic, we learned that people can work from anywhere and that the development of skills must be constant. More than ever, we need to bring people closer to technology, remembering that we educate a new generation by inserting it into the job market, and sometimes, this same generation teaches us how to think about the future. It is this mixture that will help us shape the reality of the new times.”

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/websummit/

We’re hoping for the positive predictions to come true and we’re already looking forward to Web Summit 2022!

The first article in this series: Web Summit 2021: Highlights Of The Technology Event

O post The Future Of Technology: Web Summit 2021 Predictions apareceu primeiro em SoftDesign.