PT Inovação decided to bet on Brazil in 2002. A bet continuously renewed through several initiatives and which is now consolidated through the creation of the Softtware Research and Development Centre by PT Inovação Brazil. Salvador, in the state of Bahia, was the city selected for the creation of the company’s second subsidiary (the first one is located in São Paulo) aiming to develop software in the field of Real-Time Business and to consolidate the trade relations between Portugal and Brazil.

Photography: Débora Paes

The announcement was made during Zeinal Bava’s visit to this Brazilian city. A moment that was marked by the signature of an agreement between the Governor of Bahia, Jaques Wagner and Zeinal Bava aiming to install this new Centre at the Technological Park, dubbed TecnoVia. Created by the Secretary of Science, Technology and Innovation of the state of Bahia, TecnoVia will be a development pole, concentrating research institutes and companies in the fields of biotechnology, energy, and information and communication technology in the next few years.

During this meeting, in which Prime-Minister José Sócrates was also present, a technical-scientific interchange protocol between the Bahia Federal University (UFBA) and PT Inovação Brazil was also formalised, establishing a hiring priority for engineers originating from this University. This document, signed by the University Dean, Naomar Monteiro de Almeida Filho, and by PT Inovação’s president, Alcino Lavrador, aims at the cooperation between both institutions for the development of projects and activities oriented towards technology diffusion, publication of technical-scientific documentation and institutional planning and development. It also consecrates the support for employees in terms of obtaining master’s and doctor’s degrees in the best universities worldwide.

Zeinal Bava restated his company’s commitment and availability during PT Inovação’s consolidation process in the Brazilian market, its goal being the development of solutions not only for Brazil, but also for Latin American countries, Africa and Europe.

In a first phase, PT Inovação’s Software Research and Development Centre intends to hire 50 highly qualified engineers, attaining a 150 ceiling in the next three years. The main goal of this technological pole will be the development of new technological systems and platforms in the fields of billing, real-time business and front-office for the Brazilian and international markets.

One of the priority projects of new PT Invação’s Centre in Salvador will be the evolution of the support platform for voice, data and multimedia services with real-time control of mobile and fixed communications, used by TMN and Vivo, among other operators.

It should be recollected that PT Inovação was responsible for unifying Vivo’s systems. The operation consisted of the creation of a unique centralised platform for corporate and services management. During the 30 months of the project, around 30 million lines migrated to the new platform and 200 new servers were installed, in a scheme ensuring greater flexibility and allowing an increase in the offering of services.

According to Alcino Lavrador, the next step will be the development of a convergent real-time billing system for voice and data, for pay-as-you-go or pay-monthly mobile phones. “This is the new generation of billing platform that we want to develop at the Research Centre in Salvador”.

PT’s CEO stressed once again the strategic importance of Brazil for Portugal Telecom, which invested over 7 billion Euro in the last 10 years in the Brazilian market. Zeinal Bava also highlighted the work done by PT Inovação, saying that “the decision of installing a subsidiary in Brazil was decisive for Portugal Telecom’s internationalisation”.